A VC in Vacationland
Seeking the next gen supply chain technology breakthroughs
recent posts
- The Role of Generative AI in Supply Chain Investment Strategies
- AI’s Impact on Supply Chain Investment Strategies
- The ‘New Normal’ is now the ‘No Normal’ in Supply Chains
- SRR—Sustainability, Resilience, Risk Management: The Latest Supply Chain Buzzwords & Investment Opportunities
- 3PLs–Investing in the Next Generation of Outsourced Supply Chain Solutions
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Category: Venture Capital
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Image by Ed Yourdon via Flickr There is a great article in the April 20, 2009 New Yorker on Hanging Tough in a recession. It is short and well worth a read for entrepreneurs. The primary message for start ups is that recessions create more opportunities for challengers, not less. Companies targeted at the lower…
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Image by Linda Nowakowski via Flickr A major issue I often see in start-up business plans is what I call the "great idea syndrome" . Someone has a great idea, but the projected success may be questionable for a number of reasons. It is rare that I see a really stupid business idea, but I…
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Image via Wikipedia We all spend a substantial amount of time trying to find the right candidates for our companies, whether it is a CEO or a developer. I often find that founders or their hiring managers do not review three simple areas to make sure that the candidate is an honest, law abiding citizen:…
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Image via Wikipedia One of the more difficult initial questions an entrepreneur faces is how to allocate founder shares in their company. I have seen all sorts of allocation proposals from entrepreneurs and lawyers, from the most complex to the simple. My advice? Keep it simple. The initial "allocation temptation" is to "please" anyone who…
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Image via Wikipedia One of the big problems with being an entrepreneur (or venture guy) in today's investment marketplace is the minimal equity exit options for private companies. You can do an IPO (good luck), sell your stock to an insider or another investor (if you can find one), or get acquired to monetize your…
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Image via Wikipedia Jigsaw Data Corporation has a developed a unique company contact database offering, one that is continuously updated and enhanced by their current customer base. Jigsaw grows their product offering by sharing and trading their existing records for client and potential client contact databases. In early 2004, Jigsaw started with less than 100,000…
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Image by Laughing Squid via Flickr According to VentureBeat, Zoom Systems, the San Francisco-based provider of luxury-good vending machines, just brought in $20 million in fifth-round funding to increase its market presence in the U.S. and Japan. You may have already spotted its machines (termed “automated retail stores”) in airports and shopping malls. By and…
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Image via Wikipedia March 23rd was the anniversary of Patrick Henry's famous 1775 speech before the Virginia Assembly where he proclaimed the famous phrase "Give Me Liberty ,Or Give Me Death". In the speech, he proclaimed that war had already begun with England and that the only choice was whether to fight. He fired up…
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Image via Wikipedia I am usually not a big fan of web sites offering "reviews and rankings" of funded start-ups, like ChubbyBrain. One often does not know much about the credentials of the reviewers. ChubbyBrain is a bit different, in that the reviewers are clearly identified by name and affiliation, such as Satya P. at…
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Image via Wikipedia A major issue facing web-enabled software start-ups is whether to target users or sellers as the primary source of revenue. Well, the gods have spoken to Google on this issue. It's the users, stupid. Google has shut down its expensive ($200+ million investment) adventure into aggregating unsold radio and newspaper ad inventory…
A VC in Vacationland 