Expanding Your Frame of Mind and Thinking Bigger

I recently attended a conference for one of our fund managers and the keynote speaker was none other than Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and Co-Chair and Trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. For the 0.0001% of you who may not know who Bill Gates is, he co-founded Microsoft in 1975 with Paul Allen and the two of them grew it to become … Continue reading Expanding Your Frame of Mind and Thinking Bigger

Venture Capitalists Must Be Globally Minded

I attended an annual meeting this week in San Francisco for one of the venture capital funds in our portfolio and I came away very impressed with not only the content shared at the meeting but by the people I met there as well. There were investors there from all over the world including China, Spain, Canada, Israel, India, and several other countries. What I … Continue reading Venture Capitalists Must Be Globally Minded

Entrepreneurs Who Are Shooting For The Stars

I attended a conference this week in San Francisco and had the opportunity to briefly talk one-on-one with several entrepreneurs that are in my opinion “world-changers.” One of the first conversations I had was with Payam Banazadeh, CEO and founder of Capella Space. Capella Space has developed a miniature, cube-shaped satellite that provides hourly, reliable, and persistent imagery of any location on the globe delivered … Continue reading Entrepreneurs Who Are Shooting For The Stars

My Perspective on Hot Topics in Venture Part 2 – Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a fascinating technology that has been under development for decades. The premise of AI is that computers can be built to function like the human brain, endowed with the ability to think and reason. In the 50’s and 60’s scientists were convinced they could build such a machine, but later realized the computing power necessary to accomplish such a task did … Continue reading My Perspective on Hot Topics in Venture Part 2 – Artificial Intelligence

The Rise and Fall of Fidget Spinners

My son has 38 fidget spinners! In fact, his collection of fidget spinners practically doubled on Christmas day because my wife and I bought him a large box full of them as Christmas present. About a year ago, purchasing a box full of fidget spinners and not breaking the bank, would have been impossible. Now, every store we go to there are piles of fidget … Continue reading The Rise and Fall of Fidget Spinners