Mobile is eating the web
Marc Andreesen famously said that “software is eating the world.” Now it looks like mobile is eating the web. Back in 2010, Mary Meeker and Morgan Stanley predicted that within the next five years, “more users will connect to the Internet over mobile devices than desktop PCs.” We’ve arrived at that milestone. The shift from desktop […]
Jelly app: the challenge of immediate primetime
When Jelly launched a week ago, it was amazing to see how quickly the app got traction – over 100K questions were asked during the first week. Certainly, Jelly’s high profile team (co-founder Biz Stone, and individual investors like Jack Dorsey, Bono, and Al Gore) helped spark widespread speculation and buzz leading up to the […]
Can office design improve innovation?
If you want to make sure your start-up fosters innovation, office design may have a larger impact than you might think. Unfortunately most North American offices and office parks have focused on cost-effective design, rather than aesthetics and function – with generic gray cubicles, and the same drab carpet, wall color, and blinds. Upgrades like adjustable […]
Growth versus capital efficiency
I often see two entrepreneurs executing on similar opportunities, but with two very different capital efficiencies. First, there’s the aggressive one who spends money very quickly, building a large team, buying early growth through aggressive marketing and sales, and hoping for a large upround in the next financing round. Then, there’s the bootstrapping entrepreneur who […]
3 lessons from a customer-obsessed company
Last week, I attended a fascinating talk about Customer Obsession given by Kim Rachmeler at version one’s portfolio company, Frontdesk. Kim spent 10 years at Amazon.com, where she served as VP of Worldwide Customer Service, CIO International, among several other critical roles. While it’s no secret that Amazon.com is a customer-centric company, Kim shared a […]