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As USV is now about six months into investing our first climate fund, I am starting to see more clearly what climate investing is all about and my partner Albert said something in a team meeting earlier this week that really stuck with me. I did not write it down but it was something like, […]
I recently nominated James Oliver's ParentPreneur Foundation for the new Techstars Accelerate Equity Program. Amy and I provided the lead gift of $100,000 through our Anchor Point Foundation. For a detailed look at what the ParentPreneur Foundation does, take a look at Techstars Foundation Empowers Black ParentPreneurs, So They Can Leave A Legacy F...
A credit card, also known as a charge card, is a credit card issued to consumers to enable the user to pay a retailer for products and services based upon the cardholders' accrued debt. Some credit cards offer cash back or store cards that allow…
Coinbase shipped an important piece of its wallet product portfolio yesterday, the Coinbase Wallet Browser Extension. You can download the chrome extension here. If you want to use DeFi apps, buy and collect NFTs, or do anything that requires a crypto wallet in your browser, then the Coinbase Wallet Extension is the best way to […]
I've been reading hard science fiction lately, along with some actual science. The hard sci-fi includes Dragon's Egg and Starquake by Robert Forward (wow – awesome) and Nova by Samuel Delany (also awesome). The science includes The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of Everything by Michio Kaku and Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality by Frank...
Last week, I had to clear my calendar for two days and spend them in doctors' offices and radiology labs. I developed a kidney stone last week and my doctors and I wanted to understand how large and where it was. The answer is 4mm and it was somewhere between my kidney and bladder as […]
With turmoil in the jobs market, the data last week from the Labor Department recording only 266k net new jobs in April, meaningfully below whisper estimates of at least one million new jobs for the month, was followed by numerous … Continue reading →
Trade shows are one of the most important events for any business in the world. A trade show is an international fair organized by different companies so that businesses in a particular industry can showcase and introduce their latest technologies and products, interact with clients,…
Each morning during the week, after morning coffee together, Amy says, "Ok, time to go eat my frogs." She's usually told me about the one or two or three frogs she has for the day, and her statement is a rhythmic part of our morning. Yesterday, I asked her where that phrase came from. She pointed me at Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrast...
This public art work speaking to the growing refugee crisis around the world is really great. I backed it earlier this week when I saw my friend Sunny back it. From July to November 2021, a giant puppet of a 9-year-old Syrian refugee girl called Little Amal will walk from the Syria-Turkey border, across Europe […]
In February, we announced our investment in Gig Wage. After some entertaining back and forth, I encouraged Craig Lewis, the founder/CEO of Gig Wage, to write up a quick story of how things unfolded, as he remembered them, and I'd post it here. I love founder stories, and origin stories, and always learn something from reflecting on them. So, in Cra...
Stock-based compensation plans throughout the startup and tech sector are based on "golden handcuffs" – the idea that an employee can't leave because they would be giving up too much money if they do. I've never loved that concept. It feels like staying in a bad marriage for the kids. So I have been involved […]
I was talking to a friend yesterday and he said, "Just another Monday." But yesterday was Tuesday. I asked him what he meant. He said, "Every day feels like a Monday – I just get up and do it again." It has been 427 days since I mark the start, for me, of the Covid crisis (March 11th – the first day I stayed home.) As the world, at leas...
As vaccines are being widely deployed in the United States, it seems as the volume of harsh rhetoric these days demonizing "the other" side's response to the current state of the pandemic is rising. On one side, if you will, some are being exceptionally cruel towards folks that are genuinely nervous and scared about the […]...
A massive update to one of my all-time favorite and formative books, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasionby Dr. Robert Cialdini spurred a return visit to Remarkable People. At the time I recorded, he was the only return guest but then Dr. Jane Goodall snuck in for Earth Month. If you're into marketing, influencers, evangelism, The post Dr. Robe...
My partner Seth Levine and his co-author Elizabeth MacBride recently wrote an important book called The New Builders: Face to Face with the True Future of Business. It is out and available. Foundry Group is hosting an open virtual event to discuss the book. Seth and Elizabeth will be moderating the discussion with special guests Colorado Senator Jo...
Last week I spent three hours with my six partners in a conference room talking through what we are investing in and why. It was a terrific session and I had more "ahas" in those three hours than I have had in many many months. There really is no substitute for sitting together with your […]
Boulder has been our home for 25 years and we love it. Amy and I support numerous local non-profit initiatives through our Anchor Point Foundation. The following video captured my attention this morning and resulted in a bathroom-sized donation to Growing Up Boulder. Bella and Mads – well done! You can call us Brad and Amy (not Mr. and Mrs.)....
I have read more books written by Steven Johnson than any other author. In addition to being a friend and a USV-funded founder, Steven writes about things that fascinate me. And he is a wonderful writer. That's a potent combination. I am about to embark on another journey with Steven. This one is called Extra […]
I received a lot of positive feedback on my post highlighting the 2nd annual Emerge Virtual 5k Run so … Its time for the 10th Annual Happy Smackah 5k Fun Run and Walk. This would have been the 11th Annual, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we canceled the May 2020 event. But, its back, this time as a Virtual 5k in 2021. You can ru...
Longtime AVC reader Alex Wolf has a Kickstarter project that I think is awesome. She has long been working on a "pattern alphabet" to encode the patterns of nature and life. This project turns this alphabet into cards that can be used by kids in school and at home to learn. I backed the project […]
I learned a valuable and expensive lesson about taking liquidity when the offer arises, or rather NOT doing so in my case. Earlier in my career I had the chance to sell some stock and take some liquidity and I passed. I was so preoccupied with the companies potential energy, that I didn't think to …
In 2017 I helped get the Techstars Sustainability Accelerator off the ground in partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Amy and I have been supporters of TNC for over 30 years and Amy serves on their global board of directors. The program has been running in Colorado supporting pre-seed to post-seed stage startups at the intersection of cons...
Yesterday's post has this line in it: I suspect all buy maybe two of those eleven funds have outperformed the public markets As you can see, there is a typo there. "buy" should be "but" A number of readers let me know about the typo, which I very much appreciate. But for some reason, I […]
My mom is extraordinarily patient. Several weeks ago, I bought her a brand new Mac as a mother's day present. She was using a 2010 Mac, and it was time for her to use one that didn't have an endless spinning pinwheel of Mac slowness on it. I had it sent to me, although there's a whole story in just that. I set it up, downloaded and set up all the a...
This episodes guest is Dr. Katy Milkman. She is a professor of operations, information, and decisions at Wharton. She is also the author of How to Change: The Science of Getting From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. For those of you who are influence, persuasion, and social psychology fans, this The post Dr. Katy Milkman appeared first on Gu...
There has been this narrative about investing in VC funds that you have to get into the top quartile (25%) or possibly the top decile (10%) in order to generate good returns. I have heard that for as long as I have been in VC and probably have written it here a few times. Well, […]
My long-time business partner Seth Levine has written a book with Elizabeth MacBride titled The New Builders: Face to Face with the TRUE Future of Business. It's extraordinary – buy a copy now! For many years, Seth has been frustrated about the entrepreneurial narrative around the White male tech founder. He's been active as an investor and p...
My friend Seth Levine and Elizabeth MacBride have written an important book about the changing face of entrepreneurship in the US. It is called The New Builders and it came out this week. You can purchase it at all the places listed here. This bit from the book's Amazon page explains The New Builders' message: […]
Boundless Immigration, a company we've been investors in since they spun out of Pioneer Square Labs venture studio, raised a $25 million financing last week. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I've been involved in and advocating for legal immigration since 2010, when, with a half dozen other VCs and entrepreneurs, I co-created...
I was purchasing some domains with Ethereum yesterday and ran out of funds in my wallet and went to Coinbase to buy some more ETH. The price was approaching $3000 and I thought to myself, "the demand side of this network is exploding." The way crypto-networks work is that the supply side gets built first […]
This past weekend, in addition to an estimated 120k mint juleps consumed, it is thought that over $150 million was wagered on the Kentucky Derby (spoiler alert: Medina Spirit won going out at 12-1 odds). This is a fraction of … Continue reading →
Flvio Assub Amy Winehouse – All My Loving All My Loving, Amy Winehouse
The off season on this little island is my favorite. Each Spring is quite magical as the daffodils appear seemingly out of nowhere, the birds return, the afternoon light hits different, and the island is still quiet just before summer. (All photographs made with a Mamiya 7ii and Kodak Portra 400. Developed and scanned by […]
One of the many things I love about Kickstarter is when a friend backs a project, I am alerted. My friend Kirk went on a binge yesterday and backed a half dozen photo book projects and I followed him on that binge. I thought I'd blog about one of the projects we backed today. NYC […]
Fundamentals by Frank Wilczek. An easy read about the fundamental particles, forces, fields that make up the universe. All very simple at one level, though allows obviously for a massive amount of emergent complexity. The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders. Eh, a little bit inventive situation, but characters all […]
When I was in my early 20s, I had a conversation with my dad. I told him I was against nuclear power because it was dangerous and because it created radioactive waste that we had no idea how to safely dispose of. He replied that there certainly were problems with nuclear energy but that they […]
A trend I've been watching for a while now is the use of solar for devices that live outside away from electrical outlets. Last summer, I bought an inexpensive device that keeps snakes away from our yard. It vibrates into the ground like the animals that hunt snakes and scares them away. I don't really […]
This episodes remarkable guest is Mark Manson.Be forewarned, theres some profanity in this episode because, sometimes, only profanity can fully communicate what a person is saying. Mark is the author of two New York Times best-sellers: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life, and Everything The post M...
To suggest that I am a tremendous admirer of Joel Meyerowitz would be a gross understatement. I have several of his books on my shelf and bedside table. I return to them several times a year to appreciate the brilliance and for inspiration. I've watched and heard countless interviews. He has been a guest on […]
Leadership Basecamp announced a policy change this week, limiting internal political discussion. It has not been received uniformly well on Twitter. I totally get it though. When I first joined Xevo, people were using internal tools for divisive and contentious discussions. Xevo provided software to some of the...
I thought I would share some photographs from our trip to Lousiana last month. I'm healing quite nicely and just finished my fourth and final rabies shot from the dog encounter. I also added a new subscribe feature to this blog. You can receive my posts via email now if you wish. I'm feeling motivated […]
Jason Fried, CEO of Basecamp, posted a message to his team yesterday in which he outlined a bunch of changes they are making to the way they run the business. Some will be familiar as others have done similar things (no more politics on the company's communication channels, no more committees, rethinking the review process). […]
It's time for the 2nd annual Emerge Virtual 5k Run produced by Rise Against Suicide (formerly Second Wind Fund of Boulder County). It'll be from 8:00 am to Midnight MT on Sunday, May 2, 2021. Amy and I are helping underwrite it as we did last year and I just signed up to run it. Rise Against Suicide provides access to funded counseling service...
Jeff Bezos notoriously launched the Fire Phone around 2014 to much attention – I think most agree that it was a spectacular failure. But was it really? This project was a $170M write-off for the company. There was the hardware, software, and marketing costs. Not to mention the person toll on the people. I bit …
I saw this tweet in my feed yesterday and I sent some ETH to India this morning. Sandeep followed with a bunch more wallet addresses to use if you want to send other crypto assets: With the pandemic easing in the US, thanks to vaccines, we cannot turn a blind eye to what is happening […]
Many of us will be familiar with how to make money online. For those who are not we will have to start by explaining what is it about online money making that we find so appealing. We all know that there are many opportunities and…
"I like coffee, I like hot sauce, would I like hot sauce in my coffee?" So starts the pitch for this Kickstarter. It's a good one. Since I like coffee and I like hot sauce, I backed it. Email readers can click here and see the pitch.
Last June, I wrote about board diversity and suggested some things we are doing and that you can do to diversity your board. In the ten months that have passed since I wrote that I am pleased to say that we have seen a noticeable increase in board diversity in our portfolio. I have personally […]
Dear Discord: Please go public and stay independent instead of being acquired. Love, Brad. I've become a huge Discord fan and user of the past year. I've got many daily reference points from products that I use for real-time communication channels: Slack, Telegram, Signal, iMessage, Zoom, Voxer, Mighty, and of course, email. An increasing number of...
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