Do you need data engineering before data science?
Last week, I shared some lessons learned from a Domino Data Science Pop-up that I attended a month ago. There were some very important discussions surrounding the world of data science today. One thread explored the differences between data science and data engineering. I’ll admit that I was completely unaware of the engineering behind data science when we […]
Takeaways from the Domino Data Science Pop-up: Defining a data scientist
Three weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the Domino Data Science Pop-up, which was one of the best days of talks on data science that I have attended. You can check out recordings of the talks as well as copies of the presentations on SlideShare. I won’t dive into all the nitty-gritty discussions on math and […]
Revisiting the Engagement Pyramid
Back in 2014, I blogged about building a user engagement pyramid for social platforms, inspired by Fred Wilson’s 100/10/1 rule. The premise of that post was simple: since user-generated content is king, the top of the pyramid (aka the most engaged users) are those who post status updates, photos and links. And, these creators are inspired when […]
Some of our favorite investment themes right now: AI and machine learning
At Version One, we take a thematic approach to investing and are very focused on start-ups with strong network effects, like marketplaces and social platforms. This year, we’ve been writing about the power of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and the potential for strong data network effects to emerge with these companies – particularly when start-ups […]
AI is moving mainstream, but are users ready to trust it yet?
When DeepMind’s AlphaGo defeated South Korean master Lee Se-dol, it was a historic stride for AI. The depth of this development, coupled with higher computing power and cheaper data storage, is moving AI into the mainstream. Perhaps the most popular application of AI today comes in the form of virtual assistants and bots, or “agents” […]