Ray Dalio, Founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, is a man after my own heart. A few years ago he publicly set down his core Principles for living, managing, and investing. Bridgewater uses these codified rules for recruiting, training, and most important, managing the firm’s culture. It’s well worth your time to read them,...
[Continue Reading]How to pitch an entrepreneur and persuade her to take your cash
With the rise of a trillion-dollar crowdfunding market, angel investors bundling their investment offerings, and family offices doing more direct investments, venture capitalists are no longer the only available source for entrepreneurs seeking funding. Now that anyone can benefit from the global growth of entrepreneurial activity, venture capitalists need to show their true added value...
[Continue Reading]How and why to be an angel investor
Dave Kerpen, founder and CEO of Likeable Local, just published an interview with me on Linkedin, which I’ve included below . (He’s the #1 LinkedIn Influencer of all time in page views, ahead of Bill Gates, Jack Welch, Mark Cuban, and President Barack Obama. Incidentally, this is a great example of why it’s helpful to move to...
[Continue Reading]How to disrupt the investing business, with Katina Stefanova (Ex-Bridgewater Management Committee)
I had a conversation recently about the investing business with Katina Stefanova, who recently left Bridgewater, the largest hedge fund in the world. I’ve always had great respect for Bridgewater, which unlike most investing organizations realizes just how critical processes and culture are to investing success. Katina served as a Senior Executive and Management Committee...
[Continue Reading]HBS Alumni Angels NY accomplishments to date, and our new Chairman
I’m happy to announce that Jason E. Klein, CEO of On Grid Ventures, will serve as the new Chairman of Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater NY. Jason is an experienced angel and company builder. I’m shifting to “Chairman Emeritus” (an overly polysyllabic title). I’ll still be an active involved member. In December 2010, Richard...
[Continue Reading]Why are venture capitalists (76% white men) ignoring the future?
Why do so many venture capitalists ignore the single best predictor of the future: demographics? Paul Graham, cofounder of Y Combinator, observes, “Many suspect that venture capital firms are biased against female founders. This would be easy to detect: among their portfolio companies, do startups with female founders outperform those without? A couple months ago,...
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