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Hanging up my spurs

lowercasecapital.com

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Re: Hanging up my spurs

#61

Post by rlucas »

mbesto wrote: post #25
mozumder wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd like to see a list of his investments that also includes the ones that failed, as well as the amount on each investment. Are there places that track this info among VCs?

Pitchbook, it'll cost you a few grand a year though.

Pitchbook doesn't even come close to figuring out the actual invested amounts and returns across an investor's portfolio.

Don't get me wrong; Pitchbook is good and I pay $$$$ for it. But it serves a company-centric intel need, not an investment performance measurement need.

Re: Hanging up my spurs

#62

Post by econner »

canistr wrote: post #43
giarc wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Leaving the investing scene and liquidating their positions aren't the same thing, and Chris didn't say anything about selling his stock.

I'm not saying they're the same thing. But there is the appearance that they are effectively "getting out of the game". Not mentioning he is selling stock doesn't mean he hasn't sold some of it. Especially considering Sacca has a lot of Twitter stock and he's ridden the rise and fall from $90+ down to its current levels.

He doesn't own any Twitter: http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/15/twitter-gets-its-worst-cri...

Re: Hanging up my spurs

#64

Post by fortenforge »

arikr wrote: post #59
luhn wrote: post #35

I just started listening to the Startup podcast, which features Chris in the first episode. He seems to be a very intelligent and talented guy while still remaining grounded. I wish him well with his future endeavors. Also, ten minutes after reading the article, I just realized the pun in the name "Lowercase Capital."

What's the pun?

"Capital" is a synonym of "Uppercase," so the name sort of means "Lowercase Uppercase"

Re: Hanging up my spurs

#65

Post by oxryly1 »

jtraffic wrote: post #54

It's interesting to think about this decision in the context of Nassim Taleb's writing. If you have a large sample of investors, some of them would be good just by chance. It's possible that Chris Sacca is not good just by chance, but we can't really know, and that is an excellent feature of walking away at this point. Most people will just tell themselves that Sacca "beat the game" and left. It could easily be that…

True, and the only way to know more about the quality of his decision-making is to wait another 20 years and see where he's at.

Re: Hanging up my spurs

#66

Post by sah2ed »

rlucas wrote: post #61
mbesto wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pitchbook, it'll cost you a few grand a year though.

Pitchbook doesn't even come close to figuring out the actual invested amounts and returns across an investor's portfolio. Don't get me wrong; Pitchbook is good and I pay $$$$ for it. But it serves a company-centric intel need, not an investment performance measurement need.

> not an investment performance measurement need.

Can you please expand on this? Genuinely curious as to what the metrics are in this case.

Re: Hanging up my spurs

#67

Post by angersock »

sulam wrote: post #60
angersock wrote: post #56

> As a rich white guy, being an activist/loudmouth in the #resistance often means taking up political positions that are against my own apparent self-interest. These oppressive zealots in the White House... > You mean beyond fighting a despotic regime... > I assure you, that’s not going to happen. Nevertheless, I am spending a great deal of time meeting with all of the beautifully spontaneous and decentralized organi…

It's not a strawman opposition when you see people you work with unable to re-enter the country, environmental leadership questioning the human role in global warming (or even the role of CO2 in warming!), members of organizations that openly identify with the Nazi movement as first tier advisors to the president, etc... This is not a strawman, this is real and it's worth fighting. So are the other things you mention…

Everyone is free to pick their fight, sure, but when people have accumulated great power there is great responsibility, no?

And if these people come from a philosophical and cultural and political monoculture, I think it's reasonable to be suspicious about them. FWIW, I feel the same way about the energy execs and crooked politicians--except in the case of at least Trump, there is at least a mandate of government granted by the people that voted for him.

Who, exactly, voted for these millionaires? Nobody.

Re: Hanging up my spurs

#68

Post by asciimo »

luhn wrote: post #35

I just started listening to the Startup podcast, which features Chris in the first episode. He seems to be a very intelligent and talented guy while still remaining grounded. I wish him well with his future endeavors. Also, ten minutes after reading the article, I just realized the pun in the name "Lowercase Capital."

I just made this connection when I was looking at their portfolio [https://lowercasecapital.com/posse/], and saw Gimlet Media. Lot of interesting stuff on that page.

Re: Hanging up my spurs

#69

Post by Thrillington »

angersock wrote: post #56

> As a rich white guy, being an activist/loudmouth in the #resistance often means taking up political positions that are against my own apparent self-interest. These oppressive zealots in the White House... > You mean beyond fighting a despotic regime... > I assure you, that’s not going to happen. Nevertheless, I am spending a great deal of time meeting with all of the beautifully spontaneous and decentralized organi…

With most people, I'd agree with you that local engagement would be more effective. Doubly so in the homeless hating bay area.

However, Chris' access to capital, which equates to power in America, makes it more successful for him to fight on the federal level. trump in the white house has emboldened local behavior that threatens our education/healthcare systems, the homeless and countless other social safety net related issues. There are plenty of us left who can bring the fight on the local level. I'm coming around to the idea that winning the larger fights is also important.

I've not heard of Chris Sacca before reading this article. He appears to be that rare person with an understanding of the social obligations of wealth and the means to build some larger communities around that.

Re: Hanging up my spurs

#70

Post by sillysaurus3 »

ghaff wrote: post #48
staunch wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, exactly. You don't get the output of a big Apple or Google without them existing initially as startups. Mark Markkula funded Apple. Andy Bechtolsheim funded Google. These didn't happen by accident. They weren't inevitable.

Yes. And pretty much every product and service I use on a day to day basis was created by a company that was once small and may have received outside investment even if only friends and family. And just about every product and service has some technology component or innovation that differentiates itself. But now you're just arguing that companies build the products we use and companies start small which, while overw…

pg answered your questions conclusively in http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html
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