Category Archives: Companies

Judging the Plug & Play Tech Center Spring Expo

I was pleased to participate as a VIP Judge at the Plug and Play TechCenter’s Spring Expo. Other judges included folks from LightSpeed, Menlo Ventures, Shasta Ventures, Doll Capital Management, Norwest Venture Partners, and NEA.  I was impressed with the … Continue reading

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In Ecommerce – Revenues are Ego, Profit is Intellect

When it comes to ecommerce or retail, Revenues are Ego, Margin is Intellect.  I owe this key insight to my former partner Tom Stemberg, who founded Staples and built it from scratch to a $17B company.  Ecommerce businesses, by and … Continue reading

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Keynote Panel at AlwaysOn Venture Summit Silicon Valley

I recently participated in the opening keynote panel of AlwaysOn’s signature event, Venture Summit Silicon Valley (VSSV).  My highly distinguished fellow panelists included Norm Fogelsong from Institutional Venture Partners and Neil Dempsey from Bay Partners.  It was really quite an … Continue reading

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Judging the G-Startup Competition at the Global Mobile Internet Conference

I was honored to be a lead judge at the G-Startup competition of the Silicon Valley Global Mobile Internet Conference (GMIC) held at the San Jose Convention Center. Other speakers and judges included Yuri Milner, Tim Draper, Vaughan Smith (VP, … Continue reading

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Sweet and Sour of Investing: Do’s and don’ts of making the deal

“Wow! You’ve got an amazing idea for the game-changing new product of the century. But no money to bring it to market. What to do? Your road ahead is paved with decision trees and gotcha traps. “Picking the right investor … Continue reading

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Online Marketing Revolution

Consumers are increasingly using email, mobile, social media and websites to access information and interact with brands. Media consumption is shifting from offline channels to interactive channels, driving marketers to increase the percentage of advertising spending on interactive marketing. According … Continue reading

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Meet the Facebook of China

On behalf of the MIT Club of Northern California (MITCNC) and the MIT Young Alumni Leaders Association (MITALA), I am very pleased to be co-hosting a talk by Joe Chen, an MIT alum (G ’95) and CEO of RenRen (aka … Continue reading

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