Disqus - Latest Comments for mhwinn

Re: The Marquis de Lau Phenomenon in Venture Capital

Fta_Files — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:40:33 -0000

I suspect that it protects us on the downside risk more than it aids on upside opportunity. Is it then in the best interest of the entrepreneur to maximize exposure in order to generate an arsenal of patterns or strictly focus in order to revolutionize?

Re: Two Types of Entrepreneur: "Alpha" and "Beta"

free_stocks — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:37:36 -0000

Very interesting topic. It seems like a natural observation that should be talked about more frequently. At the last Forge Louisville event, Andy Swan made a fantastic point about ideas versus execution, noting that each of us have a dozen ideas, so we must focus on the execution of the best one(s).

I think that Ben has a great point. Alpha entrepreneurs will turn into Beta entrepreneurs because they have to become better at execution in order to stay in the game. Perhaps the trick is to harvest that Alpha spirit inside Beta-stage entrepreneurs. I have known (and been inside of) each camp, noticing that the Alpha entrepreneur doesn't seem to see what they are missing on the execution side of things. Perhaps there is a way to "teach" Alphas about execution without destroying the ingenuity that drives them.
Thanks

Penny Stocks

Re: Google Reader Trends Reveals Your Reading Habits

mhwinn — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:54:43 -0000

Ha! thanks, Jason. funny that the same day you posted this, I finally posted to my blog! what are the odds of that?? thanks for sending good web karma. :)

Re: Announcing VCDB (Venture Capital Database)

Matt — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 23:09:52 -0000

Alex - lost your comment in my inbox for a day but it's been discovered. Minuscule world. Especially in the venture circle, though ironically it still needs such a tool. ;)

Hope we can connect sometime when I make it to the left coast.

Best,
Matt

Re: Announcing VCDB (Venture Capital Database)

Matt — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:03:46 -0000

Thanks, Nick. Appreciate the kind words!

Re: Announcing VCDB (Venture Capital Database)

Matt — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:24:47 -0000

Thanks, Kate. Glad to help.

I'm sure you're right about the Seattle PI list - I'll see what we can do to incorporate.

Best,
Matt

Re: Two Types of Entrepreneur: "Alpha" and "Beta"

Matt — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 20:23:54 -0000

Ben - yes, and rarely the other way around (a largely beta developing creative insight to help reinvent or transition a business). Love your "biz journal."

Best,
Matt

Re: Two Types of Entrepreneur: "Alpha" and "Beta"

Matt — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:44:08 -0000

Thanks, Nick!

A further exploration would describe what's clearly a continuum of alpha/beta in any given entrepreneur.

Best,
Matt

Re: I'm in a painting... well... sort of.

Matt — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:43:07 -0000

Hilarious. I made mention of the resemblance to Ashley about a month ago. Glad you picked it up!

Re: Build Something "Big and Clear"

Matt — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 12:39:41 -0000

Thanks, Shafqat. You're getting at something that I think has a lot of folks concerned - investors, entrepreneurs, and even established media companies. Is advertising as a business model over? Definitely not. It's become the defining monetization mechanism for content on the Internet. Are VCs a little shy around pure advertising models? Some are. Investors saw the advertising spigot dry in 2001/2002 and they're afraid it'll happen again. Forget the short-term outlook on recession; VCs will take the long view since it's usually the only route to building the kind of value we need in order to drive the kinds of returns that make fund economics hunt. The long view indicates that there will likely be a business cycle dip over an investment horizon and advertising may be a scary place to hang your hat during that time. You'll hear some counter that measurable, ROI-based advertising would be the last to go. I think there's some validity there. I also think entrepreneurs will continue to innovate around monetization. "Attention" always has value; one must examine HOW MUCH value in a given scenario. In order to justify a venture investment, a VC might have to believe you can drive LOTS of attention to weather the downturn. Plenty of investments are being made under that assumption today.

Best,
Matt

Re: [bijansabet.com] the personal tumblelog of Bijan Sabet

bijan — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 18:20:02 -0000

The wii rocks.

Re: [bijansabet.com] the personal tumblelog of Bijan Sabet

Matt — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 18:17:33 -0000

Bijan:

The "inspi(red)" shirt reminded me of my favorite Louisville artists' piece on the campaign: http://www.ashleycecil.com/2006/12/02/aids-awar...

I'm heading to New York for the holidays and have to admit, I'm looking forward to family Wii! It's just plain fun.

Best,
Matt

Re: Venture Capital Job Search Toolkit

Matt — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:07:46 -0000

Thanks, Dan!

Re: Birth Order and the Entrepreneur

Matt — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 07:43:18 -0000

Thanks, Jun, and congratulations on your step into the startup world!

Best,
Matt

Re: Career Discovery and LinkedIn Make Sense

Matt — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 18:43:29 -0000

Jun,

I suspect a professional virtual world is inevitable. Whether it's what we think of currently (e.g., Second Life), I'm not sure. I do think we'll see dramatically improved video teleconferencing, etc. which will facilitate virtual meetings, and eventually obviate the need for a fair amount of business travel. I'm on the fence about InMail and the barriers at LinkedIn. I like to keep a rather fluid, open network but understand both the business and relational case for the existing system.

Best,
Matt

Re: Talking Points For Entrepreneurs (Beyond the Elevator Pitch)

Matt — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 18:33:11 -0000

Jun, thanks for the kind words. If you've got a minute, you're pitching a "trailer," something enticing to encourage a "full viewing." Checked out, and enjoyed, your blog.

Lexi, I briefly looked into Services4Stock. A couple thoughts: (1) for a company with serious growth ambitions, giving up stock for advertising should be viewed as VERY EXPENSIVE advertising (especially since it's easier than ever to receive free coverage if one has a great product); (2) I like that in a business cycle downturn, when publishers will have more unused ad inventory, startups will also be more cash strapped and both parties can really benefit. Thanks for pointing me their way!

Best,
Matt

Re: Talking Points For Entrepreneurs (Beyond the Elevator Pitch)

Matt — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:53:38 -0000

Thanks, Ben, for stopping by and leaving a note.

Welcome to peHUB readers!

Best,
Matt

Re: Touch Typing on the Cell Phone

Matt — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 23:31:53 -0000

Thanks, Eric, Tom, and Anon, for weighing in. Tom, I think your argument is persuasive and likely holds. I remember looking at "smartphone" growth predictions in 2003 and the numbers were paltry. It's a different story today, but still far from "average" and the style over substance issue is, sadly, real.

Best,
Matt

Re: The Venture Apprenticeship, Preface

Matt — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 22:56:17 -0000

Thanks, Sarah! I'll be curious to hear your perspective, too.

Best,
Matt

Re: Forge Louisville Launches!

Matt — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 22:54:35 -0000

Michelle, thanks so much. I'm glad we could finally meet and look forward to having a less harried time to get to know you.

John, thanks for heading over from Lexington once again! You bring an incredible energy.

I'm still on cloud nine.

Best,
Matt

Re: The Forgotten Form Entry

Matt — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 00:11:11 -0000

Atul,

Thanks so much for stopping by, and for the article tip - can't believe the timing. Would love to hear more online or off regarding the Root Markets opp.

Best,
Matt

Re: Everything You Wanted to Know About Careers But Were Afraid to Ask

Matt — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 23:24:57 -0000

Indeed. Thanks for coming back.

Best,
Matt

Re: Personality Typing in Venture Capital

Matt — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 23:20:50 -0000

Thanks for stopping by, Steve, and for the additional info!

Best,
Matt

Re: What’s Your Facebook Profile Value?

Matt — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 16:26:19 -0000

John:

Thanks for the kind words. Unfortunately, I wouldn't hold my breath on profile usage ROI but it's an enticing thought. Looking forward to seeing you next week.

Best,
Matt

Re: The Marquis de Lau Phenomenon in Venture Capital

Matt — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 08:01:24 -0000

Well reasoned, Rob. I like the notion of accelerating one's work through depth, then taking on breadth. On the other hand, I think it sometimes leads to viewing new patterns all through the prism of one's original focus, an attitudinal fault and one that's adjustable.

Best,
Matt