I recently decided to leave the world of investment banking. I moved to New York City to learn how to code. I now live in Greenwich Village in a tiny, one bedroom apartment with four other roommates, one of whom is a mouse. I'm attending Fullstack Academy, the top ranked coding bootcamp in the U.S. … Continue reading Fullstack Academy
Coding is like Basketball
Coding is like basketball. If you don't enjoy basketball, don't get discouraged. Coding is also like a lot of other things. The problem is that even though basketball and coding are very similar, people approach them in very different ways. Think about the process of learning to play basketball: you don't memorize all of the … Continue reading Coding is like Basketball
Investing in the Sharing Economy
The rise of the Sharing Economy will change the way we think about personal investment portfolios. This essay will explore the dynamics of personal investing, the nature of the Sharing Economy, and the relationship between the two. First, what is a personal investment portfolio? A personal investment portfolio is just stuff that you own that … Continue reading Investing in the Sharing Economy
Aligning Motivations
Startups live and die by the new hire. The marginal impact of a new hire decreases as the total number of employees increases, so young companies experience incredible volatility with good and bad hires. A startup's first few employees will largely determine whether or not the company reaches its growth potential. How do you make good hires? … Continue reading Aligning Motivations
European Startup Hubs
I'm about to travel to England for the first time. My previous international excursions have been to Mexico, Jamaica, and Bangladesh. In honor of my first trip to Europe, I decided to write a feature on European startup hubs and discuss some of the unique challenges and dynamics that startups face in Europe. I've pulled … Continue reading European Startup Hubs
Learning vs. Staying Informed: an Important Distinction in the Realm of New Ventures
Learning and staying informed are two different paradigms for receiving information and forming a view of the world. While staying informed is to some degree a necessary requirement of learning, on its own it is insufficient for dealing with new ventures. People that want to operate in the creative space of new ventures should aim … Continue reading Learning vs. Staying Informed: an Important Distinction in the Realm of New Ventures
Reclaiming the Meaning of Luxury
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Dictionary.com, respectively, define luxury as: noun: a condition of abundance or great pleasure and comfort noun: a material object, service, etc., conducive to sumptuous living, usually a delicacy, elegance, or refinement of living rather than a necessity As made apparent by these definitions, the noun luxury can refer to a condition or … Continue reading Reclaiming the Meaning of Luxury
Venture Capital Math and the Challenges of Small Markets
I've talked before about the dynamics surrounding venture capital funds. You can read that post here, but I'll run through a high-level refresher. Private investors commit money to venture capital funds hoping to get a large return on their investment Venture capitalists take the money in the fund and go out looking for promising startups to … Continue reading Venture Capital Math and the Challenges of Small Markets
What Are App Coins, and Do They Spell The End of Venture Capital?
This post, more so than any previous post, represents a compilation of unfinished thoughts. I have so many questions surrounding app coins (or "tokens", as some prefer to call them), and there don't seem to be many answers. The topic is a deep rabbit hole that lends itself to grandiose posturing on one side and … Continue reading What Are App Coins, and Do They Spell The End of Venture Capital?
A Brief Introduction to Blockchain Technology
What is blockchain technology? A quick search of "blockchain" on Crunchbase, the startup and investing data base, yields 304 unique results. Blockstream, a startup focused on improving blockchain technology, has raised $76 million in funding. Chain, the leading blockchain platform for enterprises, has raised more than $43 million. Factom, Gem, Elliptic, Storj, Funderbeam, and Colu are just … Continue reading A Brief Introduction to Blockchain Technology
Supersaturate 