Don’t ask a VC to sign your NDA
I have bad news: Your idea isn’t as unique you might think. I have good news: Ideas matter much less than the execution.
Care fanatically about users
“You have to care fanatically about these people... these people as people, and these people as in the roles they are doing.”
The people who believed in us
It’s never been lost on me that we’re taking someone else’s hard-earned money knowing there is a 9 in 10 chance they will never see it again.
3 principles of a great startup mentor
Over the past decade as a Techstar mentee and mentor, The best mentors value authentic, two-way relationships over mere mentorship tasks and “catching up.”
Small teams move faster
At Fancred, we beat Facebook to live video. They had 5,000 eningeers. We had 5.
Atlanta startup fundraising in May 2023
Six companies, including a leading carbon credits provider.
Startups without existential urgency don't win
Practice pragmatism.
You’re faster than you think.
Techstars Boston ten years later
I kept this Demo Day handout for Techstars Boston 2013.
Here's what happened since…
Atlanta startup fundraising in April 2023
Nine companies, including Y Combinator and Techstars alumni.
Startups should be Data-Informed, not Data-Driven
Data doesn’t dictate; it informs.
Every team I’ve been a part of takes a data-informed approach, not a data-driven approach.
Bye bye Boston’s Boylston base
We had a front-row seat to the Patriots Super Bowl parade, the stream of thousands of Boston Marathon finishers, and a daily view of the Public Garden.
Scattered convictions for December 2022
Convictions on my mind lately through interactions with my team, other founders, and other entrepreneurs.
We raised $9 million to build the “Fidelity for crypto”
Crypto had a miserable summer, which made our story all the more impactful.
Becoming a Moon Bites advisor
The world needs guilt-free chocolate snacks. Say hello to Moon Bites.
Founder advice for Techstars Mentor Madness
I've been through Techstars Mentor Madness many times on both the mentee and mentor sides of the table. I believe that a few decisions by founders during Mentor Madness can help make the most out of a necessarily brief 20-minute meeting.
The two reasons startups fail
Startups fail for one of two reasons… they scale before finding product-market fit, or they never find product-market fit.
How to hire at a startup: 10 hiring habits of great founders
A startup is only as good as the people it hires. This is how the best startups hire the best employees.
Notes
📕 Highlights and thoughts from articles and books.
✏️ Thoughts, maxims, and others’ insights.
🎙 Interesting moments from (mostly) business, startups, and technology podcasts.