I think we’re starting to see frothy valuations coming back in certain areas, especially genAI. We’re talking about $30mm pre for pre-seed, pre-product teams. I don’t think that’s particularly healthy. If you were lucky enough to raise big venture funding, one thing I often tell founders is treat the money as if it was a … Continue reading My Money vs. Money to be Returned
For fellow soul-searchers, one potentially useful framework is what I call the “Doctor’s Test”. Imagine you got a call from your doctor, and were told (God forbid) you have a terminal illness and only have 5 years to live. How would you spend the rest of your life? If you could think of a project … Continue reading Doctor’s Test
Geography still matters for startups – i.e. the density (of smart, like-minded people) and walkability. Cities with a walkable downtown, like Boston, Austin TX, and Santa Monica (not LA) are well positioned for startup ecosystem: Graduates, startup founders, and VCs are always bumping into each other or can walk up a short distance to take … Continue reading Geography and Startups
What’s the future of jobs in the post-AI world? Today’s Youtubers and Twitch streamers might give us a clue. What’s the percentage of people who are making meaningful income only doing what they truly love to do? Must be very small today. But some Youtubers and Twitch streamers are already doing just that. They make … Continue reading Glimpse of Future of Jobs
A startup founder told me recently: “There are times when I get lazy and coast. You know, startup life is so hard. But that’s when I see my cofounder showing up on the shared Figma board at 1am, and committing a code change at 2am. That’s a total kick-butt moment for me. He makes me … Continue reading Healthy Cofounder Relationship
NVDA is worth $960bn, which is almost 3x Samsung Electronics today (at $353bn). What a change in 20 years. I remember, when I was at Samsung in 2004, some folks at Samsung even refused to take meetings with Nvidia because they were considered too small. What does this small upstart company, headed by this guy … Continue reading What Can Happen in 20 Years
Founders need to keep practicing compartmentatlizing their brain. At startups, bad sh*t happens all the time. Don’t let one bad thing affect the rest of your day. Lock up the bad thing in one zone, like locking up a beast in a cage, and move on. Of course this is easier said than done, but … Continue reading Compartmentalizing Brain
Soon after starting my career, I had a chance to meet a highly accomplished Taiwanese entrepreneur during his visit to our company. (My first job was at a Korean internet company – I worked there in lieu of the compulsive military service.) I was lucky enough to sit next to him during dinner (the fact … Continue reading Shine in Small Things
I often find I’m pretty bad at keeping in touch with folks. I don’t really have any good system. So what I try to do more these days is “micro check ins”: “Hey – I was reading this article/book and was thinking about you”“Just a random ping – how’s everything?”“Thought you and s/he should meet, … Continue reading Micro Check-Ins