Where to find the best coders?

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

I thought this article was pretty interesting but not sure if the sample size is big enough to really declare winners but interesting to see the country breakdown.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/08/30/who-would-win-the-coding-olympics/

China and Russia at the top but also cool to see Singapore come in at #13.

People always ask if there is talent outside of the USA or the known ecosystems of record and I always say that there are but that things like culture, experience and supporting cast members have a lot to do with success as well. Hard to rival Silicon Valley or the USA ecosystem in general due to some of those factors and the shear size of the market but you can’t ignore Asia.

Impossible.

I tend to have always thought the raw coding skills in Asia are as good as the USA but the experience of working for large tech firms on global products is lacking but that is improving with time and the presence of companies like Google who are beginning to build product in the region.

Good time to be in Asia.

Attores :: Cool stuff made in Singapore

~ michael_msft ~ 1 Comment

Singapore is a pretty happening place when it comes to fintech stuff and startups using the blockchain to build product.

One such company is http://attores.com/

They actually just hosted an event last night that Vitalik of Ethtreum attended – some pics here :: https://www.facebook.com/attorescom/

It’s interesting to see Singapore be the regional HQ for innovation around finance, thank you MAS, and of course seeing Singapore lead the way with autonomous vehicles as well.

Good times. Good place to be.

Great VC post 

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

Thanks to Chris from http://kintulabs.com/ for the link.

A must read :: http://whoo.ps/2016/08/31/a-junior-vc

There is much to glean from the read but some spot I like:

Fear not, that wide open new paradigm does exist. What’s happening today on the Bitcoin blockchain and other new blockchains is incredibly exciting and intellectually consistent with Schumpeter’s model of creative destruction and the cyclical history of communications networks. If you still view Bitcoin as a techno/anarchic/utoptian/libertarian model for consumer payments, you haven’t been paying attention.

Very true. It is early days in the blockchain world and anyone working on anything cool in the space is really just getting started, so hard to tell traction and revenue models yet. This area is especially perplexing for me because I find it so interesting but yet it is not easy to grok and hard to separate the charlatans from the real entrepreneurs.

This is awesome too:

But more importantly, talk to people who are building things. Don’t just talk to founders of investible companies, but also talk to people who are experts in their field or following modes of thought that contravene mainstream thinking. Play with their API’s and go deep in forums, even if there’s no investment in sight. Mess around in the corners of the internet.

Structuring my time is really hard now since I have tons of folks to meet, lots of fund mechanics to learn, a team to manage and also need to find time to learn. Not complaining but time management becomes a big deal.


I’ll end with this one:

It is a difficult job. As I described at the beginning of this post, I was naïve when I entered this business. Two years later, I have graduated from being naïve to being dumb, because now I am no longer so naïve that I fail to realize all the things that are happening in the world of technology that I don’t yet understand. The license to study these things is what makes it such a privilege to work in venture capital.

I am super lucky to be where I am. If you ever hear me complain – slap me.

Term Sheet Hell

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

Update – Another post about this discussion :: http://continuations.com/post/149697635535/pre-money-vs-post-money-valuation-best-practice

Interesting post out today getting lots of Internet chatter, from a blog I have not read before – http://robgo.org/2016/08/29/quick-post-post-money-valuations/
The short of it is the discussion around how a new investor, say a seed stage VC like myself, wants to see the term sheet expressed in post-money valuation terms versus pre. I am not an expert at this by any means so I won’t claim to be but I think this paragraph really nails it though as to why this is happening:

Today, nearly all early stage term sheets I see are expressed as post-money valuations. The main reason for this, I think, is that there has been such a proliferation of convertible notes, SAFE’s, and other instruments that it becomes tough for a new investor to feel confident that they fully understand a company’s cap table prior to an investment. On top of this, the rise of multiple seed rounds prior to an early stage investment further complicates matters, since you might have multiple notes stacked on top of each other, each with different discounts, caps, etc.

Lots of startups are taking notes – which I won’t diss but generally it means there is very little paperwork, not much due diligence and many of the documents needed for an equity round have not been created or finalized. So when the equity guy comes around, they want to get things all cleaned up and sometimes the only way to do that is to get the post money math all worked out.

I think it is a good thing for the startup and the VC.

Your mileage may vary.

On this point I will also add that if you are a startup raising money and you have NOT read this book – you are entering into a complex deal without the knowledge you need to negotiate it.

Read the book :: Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist

Happy fundraising!

No NDA’s

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

I think most startup folks know this but funnily enough, we get asked this quite a bit.

Let me break it down – VC’s don’t sign NDA’s.

Let’s have Brad tell you why :: http://www.feld.com/archives/2006/02/why-most-vcs-dont-sign-ndas.html

I love this paragraph:

As an entrepreneur, don’t think of this as “arrogance”, think of it as “practicality.” Your friend the VC is actually trying to save you time and money. If you think you have something super secret that no one else should know, just don’t tell me about it. Oh – and check your assumption in that case – especially since the value is in creating the thing, not simply having the idea.

Enjoy…