What We’re Reading
Here are a few good articles the Collaborative Fund team came across this week.
Learning
Josh Brown asked his investing friends what they learned in 2016. There are some great responses:
Izabella Kaminska (FT Alphaville): I am addicted to my mobile phone and that this is impeding my attention, productivity, ability to commit and general social skills. I have come to the conclusion that if the same applies to most people then this is leading to a profound negative impact on the economy without any of us really appreciating the root cause of the problem. I also learned that instant gratification should not be mistaken for economic progress if it comes at the cost of greater inequality, unsustainable labour systems, cross-subsidized systems and the destruction of the life journey itself.
iPhone
The inside story of how the iPhone was developed is fascinating:
While competitors like Microsoft were trying to shrink the PC into a phone, Apple was looking to grow the iPod into something more sophisticated … It just so happened that in another part of Apple, work had started on a touchscreen Macintosh computer.
Innovation
Sequoia’s 2005 investment memo on why it should invest in YouTube is fascinating:
Doing good
Raising money as a social-impact company isn’t easy. Some veterans offer their advice:
“In sharing our story with investors, we always lead with our social-impact mission, but it is the business model and product that get them to invest. Doing good isn’t good enough to get investors to invest, or customers to buy. You truly have to offer best-of-class products and show innovation in both product and processes.”
Two types of knowledge
Ben Carlson writes a great piece on the difference between knowledge and intelligence:
Anyone can read a book or memorize dates, events, quotes or formulas. The real money is made through the application of knowledge and ideas.
Cycles
Some perspective on VC funding rounds:
Have a good weekend.