Controversial post.
I personally struggle with this one a lot.
Category: Apprentice VC
The end of the beginning — Benedict Evans
The end of the beginning — Benedict Evans
This looks to be one to watch. Not always agree with him but love the data.
Nice quote:
Finally, as we think about the next decade or two, we have some new fundamental building blocks. The internet began as an open, ‘permissionless’, decentralized network, but then we got (and indeed needed) new centralised networks on top, and so we’ve spent a lot of the past decade talking about search and social. Machine learning and crypto give new and often decentralized, permissionless fundamental layers for looking at meaning, intent and preference, and for attaching value to those.
Investing in Southeast Asia: What’s Behind the Boom – Bain & Company
Nice time to be investing in SEA
Boom!
Investing in Southeast Asia: What’s Behind the Boom – Bain & Company:
At a Glance
Bain research shows that Southeast Asia’s investment ecosystem is entering a new phase of growth. We expect that by 2024, the region will give rise to at least 10 new companies with a market value of more than $1 billion each.
More than 1,300 companies in Southeast Asia received a first round of seed financing since 2011, including 261 in 2017—five times the level of 2011.
Total deal value over the next five years is likely to reach $70 billion, double the level of the previous five years.
How Superhuman Built an Engine to Find Product/Market Fit | First Round Review
Long but good read on product/market fit.
I dig Superhuman so maybe I am biased.
Here are the 4 points:
1) Segment to find your supporters and paint a picture of your high-expectation customers.
2) Analyze feedback to convert on-the-fence users into fanatics.
3) Build your roadmap by doubling down on what users love and addressing what holds others back.
4) Repeat the process and make the product/market fit score the most important metric.
Read on to get the skinny on each point!
How Superhuman Built an Engine to Find Product/Market Fit | First Round Review
Welcome Amazon – AVC
I like the grown prosper, invest, fix, grow, prosper mantra
Nothing is perfect but you have to start in order to have something to fix.
Lots of people will sit on the sidelines and complain or just armchair quarterback everything.
Neither work.
But I am a fan of grow, prosper, invest, fix, grow, prosper.
What Happens When A Founder Is Fully Vested? – AVC
There is a lot to unpack in this one.
Let me just quote this since yes – this is a polarizing issue in general:
This is a common question I hear from founders. They ask me what is standard in this situation. And I tell them that not only is there no standard answer, that this is one of the most emotionally charged issues to come between founders and their investors and boards and companies.
What I usually find surprising is that some founders are shocked there is any notion of founder vesting.
There is.
However this post is more about what to do when fully vested which I have no experience with.
Stepping on others as the way to get ahead
Added a page for the Code of Conduct :: https://seedvc.blog/code-of-conduct-sea-style/
I have written before around the whole Karma thing, being nice – understanding your actions will have results. I took a stab at it once here with some links:
https://seedvc.blog/2014/08/18/more-on-karma/
Increasingly in the local ecosystem I find these occurrences where people essentially talk down about others or basically step on someone to get ahead. I guess for some folks they feel taller of sorts by standing on someone else in order to get a better view.
Its easy to do this. If I find myself doing it – I try to catch my words or an action before it is too late it but I would have to be honest enough to admit I slip up more than I would like.
It’s not pretty.
I believe the world works better by being nice, even helpful. We are so accustomed to the dopamine hit of a quick payoff that many times we forgot that the benefits of being nice or helpful may take a long time to have a result but honestly you should feel good during the whole being nice action.
The beauty is in the doing – not the payoff but the payoffs will come.
I like this tweet:
Even outside of startup / venture land it works but it is even more crucial in startup / venture land than most people realize.
I was listening to Scooter Braun the other day on a podcast and he has an interesting practice for his close friends. If they are not doing as well as he is then he buys the yearly vacation. I don’t have that kind of dosh but I get the principle. It forces him to try and help his friends also be successful so that he isn’t always footing the bill. I am sure the money is nothing given his wealth but I like the mantra.
Hopefully we can figure this out in our local startup / land. Paying it forward is a good thing and you don’t have to be an ass to get ahead of the next person. All boats can rise.
Just be nice.
PS. We have a telegram group for our startup / venture land where we try to chat and be helpful.
The Evolving Role Of Crypto Investors – Multicoin Capital
The Evolving Role Of Crypto Investors – Multicoin Capital
Still digesting.
Rise of the Global Startup City
Super cool report out about global startup cities :: Rise of the Global Startup City
The entire PDF can be found here :: http://startupsusa.org/global-startup-cities/report.pdf
Some snapshots I find interesting.
Top 10:
The cities with the most growth – wow Bangkok but SEA cities get 3 out of the top 10:
This next one I really love which shows which cities have the most investment per capita. Which means when you think about the reverse of this just note that when people talk about SEA region being frothy or too much capital the actual truth it is that it is just getting started and there is not enough capital to cover the future given the amount invested per capita:
Gonna dig in some more to read the full report.
Should probably end with this one:
Tech Founders’ Absolute Power Is Destroying Company Culture | WIRED
Good read. Complicated subject since anytime a VC wanna governance it is usually taken to mean not founder friendly these days.
Tough one. I think we have to start aligning around “company friendly” which means governance since the board and the VC are there to protect the company.
Tech Founders’ Absolute Power Is Destroying Company Culture | WIRED
Dreampipe's Blog 