Each year, our funds define specific areas of investment focus for the year. We then do a mid-year review of each of these and adjust our approach if necessary. Most often, this mid-year correction is modest, just a tweak or lane change. But this summer, we felt that changes in our immersive experiences and content […]
Business
How to Supercharge Your Marketing with Humor
I believe humor can change the world, enabling someone to take some time out of their busy day to focus on what you’re saying. Now imagine that someone being a potential customer. In business, the goal is not only to make a profit but to connect with your patrons. Infusing humor into your marketing strategy […]
When Interviewing a Startup Law Firm, Talk to Senior Lawyers
It’s easy to get the impression, particularly when all you read about startups is a handful of publications representing a pocket (albeit a very vocal one) of the broader tech ecosystem, that the legal decisions startup entrepreneurs often face have all been standardized and templatized. But in truth, this is a façade. Extremely important, and […]
Artificial Intelligence, Bona Fide Fraud
A look at why AI fraud is so widespread, and what you can do to protect yourself without missing out on investing in what is still the most potentially impactful technological development of modern times.
Where We Are Investing Now: Digital Brands
Both of our fund families focus on consumer products. Social Starts takes the angle of commerce and focuses on Digitally Native Brands based purely on their market characteristics. Joyance focuses on consumer goods derived from deep science with high emotional content. For us, Digitally Native Brands must deliver a generational opportunity to invest in a […]
3 Mindset Shifts To Prepare For The Transformative Power Of Blockchain And Emerging Technologies
Do you remember when MapQuest first hit the scene in the late 90s? It blew people’s minds that they could print out directions for getting anywhere they wanted to go. To be sure, making a map digital and interactive was a huge step forward, but it was a linear, incremental way of thinking. This fact […]
How New Ventures Can Avoid Conventional Media Costs
Resources must be focused on capturing customers, who are looking for engagement, rather than the loudest noise. Z.E.R.O. marketing is not zero marketing.
What is Bitcoin?
As Bitcoin starts to gain the attention of the broader population again, we continue to struggle as an industry to define what Bitcoin is in a way that’s accessible to most people. I recently attended a Bitcoin 101 class taught as part of the grand opening of the awesome Bitcoin Center Miami. It’s a great way to help […]
10 Business Areas Where Data Is The Key To The Future
Even though ‘big data’ has now been around for several years, the opportunities for startups seem to keep growing, just as the amount of data keeps growing.
The Three Different Bitcoins
For most, Bitcoin remains an enigma. I think part of the difficulty in understanding Bitcoin is that it’s not just one thing. Bitcoin can be many things, depending on how you look at it. Depending on the prism you look at the world throug