Viewing profile — holaamigos

I have a 6 person start up, premiums are up 29% again (last year they quoted a 37% increase). Current deal is pretty generous, how stingy to be on the insurance going forward?

I was a management accountant prior to starting my company - as non-tech as you could get. I co-founded with an engineer, so it was always a clear cut - I did sales, marketing, fin…

>80% of start-up networking opportunities are in the valley

This is BS - if a company knows all the answers to these questions, then the company is not innovating. The hardest thing about innovation is finding out who else believes your vis…

After we raised our series A, the new investor insisted we change our name. The old name kind of sucked. We discussed it as a team for months - it was a pure time-sink, never getti…

Convertible debt sucks for angel investors, they are taking far more risk than the VCs but are only getting a 20 to 30 percent discount.

The most important thing about taking VC funding is the money. Its real money that you can spend now. We raised $3MM and this allows us to iterate on the product and the pitch and …

Its very bad comparison. A couple of problems: the comp is purely of retirement savings, however the college kid is spending more on consumption per year all through his life (not …

VC investment is great for founders, you can pay yourself a real wage (no more ramen), you can hire, and really make the company a success. Giving up 30% of the pie to have $5M in …

So if google was around in WW2, and Himmler published a map of where all the Jews lived - you would support the publishing of this map? This is more than "cultural sensitivies", Bu…

But the problem is that this is not purely a historical document, it is an ongoing rights issue. By publishing these maps on top of modern maps, Google is facilitating the racism a…

I have a meditation hack that works real well for me. Imagine a sine wave, a real smooth one (or a circle, with a revolving point on the circumference). Breath as a sine wave, very…

Most start ups fail. With a prediction market, betting on failure is a good default option, even if you know little about the idea. However, most startups require optimism and a be…

I have done both. Doing an MBA is so different than starting a business. With an MBA, there is no risk, its a fun, intellectual 2 year experience. Even better if you have a busines…

Yeah - like you are going to refuse a pay rise? I have yet to meet someone who does not want more. However, rationalizing that you are at the perfect pay now is a good strategy for…

I am now raising my second round of financing and have never been asked for a business plan - don't waste your time writing one. I am running a silicon valley start up. I raised $3…

Bet your friends $500 that you can lose more than they can. A morning after a booze and pizza filled night, my buddy and I were feeling particularly fat. So we placed a bet, the on…

The best ideas come to me when I am stoned. I have a set of huge white boards, I smoke a little then doodle. 95% is not worth much the next day, but some of the ways my mind drifts…