May 2009
27 posts
Videos From My Talk in Vancouver →
The videos from my talk in Vancouver last week are up on the Bootup Labs Entrepreneurial Society web site. They are embedded below – the first one talks about entrepreneurial communities and the…
April 2009
32 posts
Participate in the 2009 Startup Executive... →
Furqan Nazeeri put up a post titled 2009 Startup Executive Compensation Survey Opens. It in he points to a compensation study produced by J. Robert Scott, Ernst & Young, and WilmerHale in…
Transforming the State of Colorado’s Information... →
After Bill Ritter was elected governor of Colorado in 2006, I was asked to be a member of the IT transition team. We had about a month to review the current state of affairs with regard to…
The Best Entrepreneurs Know How To Fail Fast →
Last night at the TechStars Boulder Mentor dinner I got into a conversation about what makes a better CEO of a new startup – an experienced entrepreneur who’s last company was a failure or a big…
Don’t Confuse a Conference and a Trade Show →
Eric Norlin has a great post up this morning titled A conference is about community. In it, he describes clearly the difference between a conference and a trade show, what makes a great…
Foodzie and Brightkite Make Businessweek Best... →
My friends at Foodzie (TechStars 2008) and Brightkite (TechStars 2007) were both recently named Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs of 2009. There are a bunch of neat links up on the…
High School Prom Is Just Around The Corner →
I stayed at my parents’ house in Dallas on Tuesday night. My mom has been going through a “clean all the shit out of the house” routine and keeps dumping piles of old stuff on me. This trip, I got…
Vancouver Entrepreneurial Energy →
I did another Beers with Brad event tonight in Vancouver. Danny Robinson and Boris Mann of Bootup Labs pulled it together with some help from their friends and a few sponsors. 150 people showed…
The Maturing of the Implicit Web →
I’ve been fascinated with the notion of the Implicit Web since I determined that I was tired of my computer (and the Internet in general) being stupid. I wanted it (my computer as well as the…
The Sun Shines On Oracle in Colorado →
Sorry – I just could not help myself when crafting that title. I wonder if it’ll get good SEO juice. And yes – it was a really sunny day today in Boulder.
By now everyone in the tech universe…
The Power of Peer Groups →
I had a phenomenal day.
A few months ago my friend Bill Flagg recommended that I be a speaker at this year’s Gathering of Titans (GOT) event. This is an annual gathering of graduates of the
Help Todd Vernon Put On A Leash →
I love working with Todd Vernon, the CEO of Lijit. Todd and I have been friends since I met him in 1997 when I was an investor in the seed round for Todd’s last company, Raindance (fka Evoke…
Zell at CU, NewsGator at University of Michigan,... →
There are piles of great things going on all over the place right now. I’m really psyched about the energy level I’m seeing around entrepreneurship throughout the country, as well as the…
When I Grow Up I Want To Be A Solutions Provider →
Awesome video. It’s worth two minutes and thirty six seconds of your life.
When I grow up, I want to work in the channel!
Spud’s From Noon to Two on Tuesday 4/14 →
I’m serving up Spud’s tomorrow at Spud Bros between Noon and 2pm. 50% of all revenue goes to charity (The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County) so bring your appetite. Location: the…
How To Get A Job In Venture Capital →
I (Jason) get asked often how I got into venture capital and how interested folks may get involved as well. I always tell them that I “fell” into the job, as most folks that I know who are VCs and…
Designing The New West →
My friend Jonathan Weber – the publisher of NewWest.Net - is putting on second annual Designing the New West conference on 4/16 and 4/17 at the Gallatin Gateway Inn in Bozeman, Montana. While…
CU Boulder Entrepreneurship Week Schedule →
Next week is the first annual entrepreneurship week at CU Boulder. There is a full schedule of great events for anyone interested in entrepreneurship.
Monday 4/13: 11:30am – 2:00pm: Starting…
Tennis Mini-break →
I love tennis. I don’t play nearly as much as I’d like to. About half of my Qx vacations with Amy include tennis; the first day is usually frustrating as I dust the rust off my strokes. By the…
Limbo and Brightkite Merge →
Last night, Brightkite announced that it has merged with Limbo. The resulting company, which will be called Brightkite, recently closed a $9 million financing. I’m psyched for Martin, Brady,…
Games People Play →
I’ve always loved computer games. My Apple II screen had burn marks in it from Olympic Decathlon, Choplifter, Castle Wolfenstein, and Ultima. Recently, I’ve become addicted to several of Zynga’s…
New VC Blogger: Highway 12 Ventures →
My friends at Highway 12 Ventures have started a blog. The gang at Highway 12 is based in Boise, ID and has built a very interesting portfolio throughout the Rocky Mountain region. Plus they…
Two Entrepreneurs Under One Roof →
I’m having a blast working with Mark Pincus on Zynga, his latest creation. Mark embodies so many things to love about an entrepreneur, including relentless energy and an endless drive to move his…
Does The Concept of Addressable Market Matter? →
Q: Can you please address the issue of estimating Addressable Market when the product or service is trying to solve an emerging problem and opportunity that is about to hit in the near future. For…
Send us your Ideas for EFCO 2009 - Board Meeting &... →
Celebrate Your Victories →
Q109 is over. The numbers are starting to roll in. After all the gloom and doom at the end of 2008, I’m very pleased with the performance of most of the companies in our portfolio. As I mentioned…
Entrepreneurial Communities →
At Foundry Group, while we live and office in Boulder, Colorado, we invest all over the United States. In the last 18 months, we’ve invested in companies based in Seattle, New York, Boston, Los…
Do VC's Guess The Exit At The Beginning? →
Question: You often hear to leave out the possible exit scenario when you pitch. Brad states that its because its usually wrong. I suspect most VC’s discuss likely exits with their partners…
The Tech Engine Revs Back Up - Maybe →
One of the neat things about business is that it runs in cycles. I’ve been involved in the software business since 1985 when I started my first company. Since then, I’ve seen numerous cycles with…
Be The Kid Rock of Tech Marketing →
Eric Norlin, producer of the Defrag and Glue conferences, has a phenomenal rant up today titled An Open Letter to Technology Startup Marketers. We had an email exchange the other day about…
Great Entrepreneurs Believe in Karma →
I met with an entrepreneur yesterday that I hadn’t seen in a few years. I originally met with her about five years ago when she was starting her company. She’d been a very successful executive at…
Pitch Me At The Glue Conference →
Today, my partner Seth Levine, Eric Norlin, and I cooked up the idea to Pitch Brad and Seth at Glue. If you are an entrepreneur working in the area we define as Gluewe’d love to spend…
