Helping elite scientists become elite startup founders Trend: Silicon Valley now celebrates the technical founder CEO. Myth: Most VCs still think that scientists can’t be good CEOs. How: Be the first investor and advisor for startups led by scientist CEOs. Opportunity: Elevating scientist CEOs is good for everyone. This idea is a work-in-progress. If you’dContinue reading “Scientist CEOs”
Tag Archives: Startups
The Y Combinator Era for Biotech
YC is now focused on biotech. Will VCs follow? Introduction: Both of these VC models are built for the old playbook for biopharma company formation: Two big changes have made it much cheaper to launch and scale biotech companies: The new playbook for biotech will be the YC fundraising model, as explained by Paul Graham:Continue reading “The Y Combinator Era for Biotech”
Stay in the Pocket
Imagine you’re a quarterback. The center snaps the ball to you. Look up. Take three steps back. Two defenders are coming through the line, one on each side. Pause. What do you do next? Everything in your body tells you to run, escape. You want to get out of the pocket. But the right moveContinue reading “Stay in the Pocket”
It’s 1994 Again
We are in the dot-com era for biotech. Introduction: For the last 25+ years, we have been living through one of the greatest technological revolutions ever, the Information Age. From Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 to Mobile to Web 3.0, the best startup founders and investors have ridden these waves to impact billions of peopleContinue reading “It’s 1994 Again”
The Front Door
We Need A YC for Everything This is Problem #3 on my list of The World’s Biggest Problems. The short answer is you need to know somebody. If you don’t already know one of them, you’re not getting in the front door. Those who do break through without connections take a grueling path to success,Continue reading “The Front Door”
Y Combinator for Mittelstands
Both of these ideas are on my list of solutions to The World’s Biggest Problems. DM or email me if you want to invest! Summary: Accelerator: Invest the first $100K+ to help new pre-Mittelstands launch and grow. Ventures: Invest $1M+ to help pre-Mittelstands go from $1M to $10M+ revenue. Most VCs won’t fund niche servicesContinue reading “Y Combinator for Mittelstands”
We Need A Middle Class For Startups
Bootstrapped from zero. “Sell a product or course online! Sell services locally!” There are millions of different get rich quick schemes floating online now. The goal here is to secure the bag and escape the grind ASAP. Raised $100M+ from VCs. “Are you a Unicorn yet? Which Y Combinator class were you in?” Startups areContinue reading “We Need A Middle Class For Startups”
The Decades Are Short But The Centuries Are Long
Labdoor is turning 10 years old this month! We’ve been through so much — moving cross-country to SF to join Rock Health, raising a seed round led by Mark Cuban, creating a passionate community of smart consumers, getting accepted into Y Combinator’s Winter 2015 class, fighting multiple lawsuits from supplement companies, raising a Series A ledContinue reading “The Decades Are Short But The Centuries Are Long”
Public Ventures
How Governments Can Run VC Funds The public should get equity in businesses that take government funding. No more free-money bailouts for billionaires. Public VC funds share in the upside when the startups they fund succeed. This incentivizes governments to invest more in earlier-stage startups. Public VC is a renewable economic resource. Successful investments inContinue reading “Public Ventures”
43North for Detroit
Create a $5M+ per year fund sponsored by the City, State, and/or nonprofits. 43North invests $5M per year in startups that move to Buffalo. This accelerator is funded by the State of New York as part of its Buffalo Billion program. 43North’s Grand Prize winner gets a $1 million investment. Create thousands of jobs inContinue reading “43North for Detroit”