Imagine what increased fractionalization could do for startup investing. VCs (1-10 wires) → Angels (10-100 checks) → Crowdfunding (100-1K+ credit cards) → Crypto (1K-1M+ wallets). Legal innovations like SAFEs started this trend. Crypto’s fractionalization and smart contracts will add 1000x more access to startup investing. What other industries need fractionalization? Look for businesses with highContinue reading “Fractionalization”
Category Archives: Essays
Politics is the Biggest Game
Goalie, St. Louis Blues: 1992-95 Astronaut, NASA: 1995-99 President, USA: 1999-2010 Owner, St. Louis Blues: 2000-Now Help Dad Rebuild His Business: 2010-12 Make Independent Testing Ubiquitous: 2012-2020 Solve the World’s Biggest Problems: 2020-Now That’s me. Give me the world’s hardest jobs and I’ll step up and take my best shot. Put me in Coach. I’mContinue reading “Politics is the Biggest Game”
The 2 Hamming Questions
“I started asking, “What are the important problems of your field?” And after a week or so, “What important problems are you working on?” And after some more time I came in one day and said, “If what you are doing is not important, and if you don’t think it is going to lead toContinue reading “The 2 Hamming Questions”
Art vs. Fame
That’s Art without Fame. Some people romanticize this as ‘true’ art, but it can be a path to madness. Right now there are thousands of people around the world who are stuck in this very spot. I call them ‘Stellar’ — they have all the ingredients to be a Star, but they haven’t blown up yet. IContinue reading “Art vs. Fame”
I am an American.
I am an American. I was born on May 18, 1988, in St. Louis, Missouri. I became a father for the first time this week. My son Kai is one of our newest Americans. My father is an American. He became a US citizen the year I was born. He was born in a villageContinue reading “I am an American.”
Take Down This Flag
When I was two years old, my parents bought their first home in America. For two immigrants from India, this action epitomized the ‘American Dream’ that was promised to them a decade earlier when my father left his homeland with just $20 + a scholarship to a US PhD program to his name. To celebrateContinue reading “Take Down This Flag”
The Founder Tree
Who is the greatest football coach of all time? Championships matter, of course. But when ESPN assembled an all-star panel to pick the 20 best NFL coaches in history, these experts focused on another key attribute when ranking these leaders — their coaching trees. It’s not enough to win now. You also have the responsibility to recruitContinue reading “The Founder Tree”
Entrepreneurship = Get Rich Slow
Ever seen this quote? “Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life living like most people can’t.” Starstruck wantrepeneurs: Understand the real-world challenges that you’re going to face as a startup founder. It’s not just 100+ hour work weeks coding inContinue reading “Entrepreneurship = Get Rich Slow”
Valuing Seed-Stage Startups
When you’re fundraising, you want to be able to confidently say “I’m raising ‘X’ at a ‘Y’ valuation.” Do you have 6+ months of runway? If Yes: Continue to Step 2. If No: Calculate the minimum investment needed to get to your next milestone. Make a list of the five investors who are most likelyContinue reading “Valuing Seed-Stage Startups”
On Being ‘First’
As entrepreneurs, we’ve all experienced the rush of excitement that accompanies the arrival of a bright new startup idea. There’s something magical about the belief that you are the very first person in history to figure out this secret. It’s hard not to start counting the billions of dollars in your future bank account. TheContinue reading “On Being ‘First’”