Metrics that matter to social platforms (Part 1/3)
A few months ago, we wrote about the data we focus on to evaluate marketplaces and later shared a marketplace KPI dashboard that we created to guide founders on the important metrics they should track. As we have been developing our investment thesis on social platforms, we want to provide the similar information and tools. There are […]
The most successful Bitcoin / Blockchain company won’t look like any we have today
The Blockchain is such an innovative and fundamentally transformative technology, but Bitcoin and Blockchain apps have not yet scaled as much as I would have liked. This slow traction is likely due to two things. First, Bitcoin startups that focus on commerce/payment solutions in North America are competing with existing products with strong network effects. […]
Network effects on social platforms: why the quality of user matters
Back in July, we wrote about network effects in marketplaces and social platforms and how they are critical to defensibility. In the post, we talked about the difference between direct and indirect network effects, and how they may or may not relate to virality. Since then, we have been further developing our investment thesis on […]
The most important lesson learned in early-stage investing
Sean Silcoff had a thoughtful article in Saturday’s Globe & Mail on my path from entrepreneur to investor. It is a well-written piece with many great quotes and anecdotes and included the most important lesson about early-stage investing that I learned over the past 8 years: “If the fail rate of our companies is not high enough, it’s […]
Nine common things that start-up founders tend to underestimate or overestimate
When you’re in the midst of building a company, it’s hard to fully assess the significance of various activities and decisions- particularly for first-time entrepreneurs who don’t yet have the wisdom learned from prior mistakes. As an investor (who was also once a first-time entrepreneur), I have noticed several key areas where founders either overestimate […]