Steve Murchie's Comments

Feld Thoughts : The Magic of Email Conversations

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 15:06:42 +0000

I have lived in "conversation view" in Outlook as long as it has been around - can't imagine managing high volume e-mail any other way. However, the really indispensible tool was an unsupported utility called Thread Compressor, which eliminated interstitial messages which had been replied to in the conversation. Did a great job of managing forks, attachments, changes in recipients, etc., and I'm glad to see MSFT has FINALLY added a version of it in Lookout 2010 (Clean Up in Conversations).

Paul Kedrosky: Infectious Greed : Carried Interest, VCs, Tobacco, and Godwin's Law of Tax Policy

Tue, 18 May 2010 13:48:08 +0000

Where can I sign an anti-petition?

Paul Kedrosky: Infectious Greed : Readings: Glaciers, Orange Juice, Nukes, HFTs, Bilski, etc.

Mon, 17 May 2010 20:55:29 +0000

"Refrigerator-sized" is a bit of an overstatement for the Hyperion unit: more like a shipping container. Still, it is very innovative use of nuke power.

Feld Thoughts : The Bullshit of Government Statistics

Fri, 7 May 2010 15:26:54 +0000

I've always hated apples and oranges comparisons, especially when someone tries to make an "apples and apple-equivalent oranges" rationalization.

Feld Thoughts : The Proliferation of Standardized Seed Financing Documents

Tue, 2 Mar 2010 04:33:20 +0000

This is a good thing. A proliferation of standards is usually followed by the adoption of a single acceptable one - if some party is willing to drive and own it... Would be beneficial to find a neutral "clearinghouse" to host the docs, a la SourceForge.

Feld Thoughts : Water Equals Food Equals Income

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 02:05:15 +0000

Hey Brad - You should put Driptech in touch with Denver's own International Development Enterprises (www.ideorg.org). They've been delivering similar systems in regions dominated by subsistance farming since 1995. Their product lines have expanded significantly beyond just drip irrigation, and they are always sourcing new advances in technology. IDE operates as a highly sustainable NGO by selling the products but investing time in the local markets to educate and develop farming skills. Several of their programs are supported by large grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Happy to make introductions.

Paul Kedrosky: Infectious Greed : Davos, So You Don't Have To

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:07:42 +0000

I see "dinner" and "climate" have roughly the same frequency. This is encouraging.

Paul Kedrosky: Infectious Greed : The End of Poverty

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 01:20:01 +0000

Don't think we can declare victory quite yet. First, the $1/day metric is an arbitrary ceiling for "extreme poverty". As other WB studies show, the *distribution* of poverty is more disturbing: http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-fa... (NB: different PPP baseline and techniques). Secondly, in an environment where most of the world's poor were rural farmers, $1/day was a threshold for transition away from simple subsistence. Currently, many more of the world's poor have migrated to urban environments, and the same threshold may actually represent a deeper level of poverty than suffered by those rural farmers. See http://www.paulpolak.com/ for a view from someone who has spent 30+ years in the field, facilitating change.

Feld Thoughts : Why You Should Start A Company In Boulder, New York, or Somewhere Else

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:18:07 +0000

Good stuff. I think a key point that you both touch on is the role of each previous generation of successes: they become repeat founders, advisors and -- most importantly -- investors. It's a numbers game, though, and takes time to build the ecosystem. In a demographically dispersed region like CO, the acceleration provided by incubation programs like TechStars is huge.

Feld Thoughts : Proposal: An Independent Inventor Defense Against Software Patents

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:44:36 +0000

I'm in. I've been on both sides of this issue: lawsuits from trolls, and filing a defensive patent or two. In the end I've concluded the current system is broken, though I still have a concern that we give inventors enough protection from pretators.

Paul Kedrosky: Infectious Greed : One Economist to Rule Them All

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 01:22:44 +0000

As an economics undergrad, and later in graduate finance classes, I tended to tune out after hearing "assume a perfect world" or "assume a perfect information marketplace" (which never helped my grades). The lesson learned later is that there is something to be gleaned from understanding a variety of models, and adjusting viewpoint while considering the impact of chaotic systems.

Feld Thoughts : You Donât Mean Average, You Mean Median

Sat, 2 Jan 2010 22:20:57 +0000

Looking at this in some more detail (based on what is available to the unwashed masses), the classification of stage seems to be the most bogus part of the reporting. The definitions at https://www.pwcmoneytree.com/MTPublic/ns/nav.jsp?... not only leave room for interpretation, but also fall prey to a common survey error: if it's too hard to think about, pick a random response. Perhaps as a result, you see small investments made in all stages, and they don't map well to the amount raised. For example, BrightKite, which you know well, got a $40K infusion from DFJ in 3Q09 that was listed as "Later Stage". I'm guessing interns are populating their submissions to PWC... Anyone from PWC want to open up the dataset for some analysis?

Feld Thoughts : You Donât Mean Average, You Mean Median

Sat, 2 Jan 2010 18:54:14 +0000

Thanks for doing this - I was too lazy to dig into the data when we were trading mail (and rest assured I'm well versed in mean, median, mode, skewness and kurtosis). But now you've got me interested...

Feld Thoughts : What Is The Definition of An Angel Investor?

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:44:57 +0000

This is a resonable total dollar bar for an typical angel, though I'd recommend looking for an average over three years of $25K annually so you don't exclude the more targeted/cyclic/casual investors. Ultimately you need both volume and frequency, and it is a mischaracterization to require an angel to be actively seeking investment all the time. As for the Super Angel definition, you could probably up the requirements both in volume and frequency, but don't. A Super Angel is focused on this activity and will likely make 2-3 investments per year. While in my experience the SAs invest more than $50K at a time as well, I don't think that volume is necessarily the characteristic you're looking for - it's activity level: a gauge of seriousness, knowledge, capacity. Recognize, too, that angels (super and mere mortal) aren't always individuals: some are representatives of family offices or small PEGs that invest mostly their own money. So not institutional VC, but a step up in seriousness, knowledge and capacity from the typical individual.

Colorado Startups : An offer to Funding Universe

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:53:53 +0000

Don't want to duplicate what they are doing for sure. Will coordinate with them for sure. Here's a virtual bottle of mouthwash - we can all improve!

Colorado Startups : An offer to Funding Universe

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:41:48 +0000

I'm totally with you: I've been on the other side of the table, paying to APPLY to pitch and getting zip. So I am very sensitive about finding the right kind of companies for our investors and building good relationships with the entrepreneurs. Interestingly enough, the companies most willing to pay presentation fees are those that are doing well in their fund-raising, as it becomes a more efficient cost of capital. If they can get in front of a qualified group of investors and hit them all at once, it is much faster than chasing down a bunch of individuals. Plus groups typically work from a single term sheet (versus n X number of individuals), so the closing process is less onerous. But I keep coming back to the concern that we aren't getting enough promising young business out in front of investors, and I might have a solution. What would you think of a "Pitch-a-palooza" where we get 5-10 early, early stage businesses to deliver 5-7 min quick-pitches to our members at no charge? We could do this as part of a regular Forum meeting, maybe quarterly? Let's keep the dialog going - I hate to be cast in among the vomit-inducers.

Colorado Startups : An offer to Funding Universe

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:55:34 +0000

David - OK, I'm the one that needed to do more research :) However, I think their model even further underscores the presentation fees issue: how does a small angel group survive without charging presenters? I can tell you that increasing my member dues to offset the loss of those fees would likely result in a near 100% drop in membership. Given that we are probably the largest and most active angel group in CO, that says a lot about the sensitivity of investors to their own fees, and to the sustainability of these groups. Do you really want us gone?

Colorado Startups : An offer to Funding Universe

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:55:02 +0000

Alex - Just replied back to you on LinkedIn. Again, I appreciate the clarification and apologize for the mis-characterization. My understanding was that the CrowdPitch events were the "graduation" ceremonies for your clients; instead these events are independent and help market your services. Makes a lot of sense. Mea culpa. As I mentioned on LI, I also welcome your entry into the CO market and look forward to collaborating. I believe Brett Child is coming to our Forum meeting tomorrow, and I hope he will announce details about the Wednesday event to our attendees. I unfortunately have a conflicting meeting on Wednesday, but look forward to joining you at the next CrowdPitch event. Steve

Colorado Startups : An offer to Funding Universe

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:16:04 +0000

So I have nothing against the guys at Funding Universe, but their model is based on charging entrepreneurs $3-5K to "prepare" them to present at one of these pitch sessions. Waiving the pitch fees is like giving up the "dealer prep" on a new car purchase. David, I respect your opinion, but you need to do more research. Steve

Feld Thoughts : Why Did Microsoft License Exchange ActiveSync to Apple?

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:52:08 +0000

Or this maybe? http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobilize/apple-betrays... Don't have an opinion myself - not following the story, but found the InfoWorld article interesting.

Steve Murchie's Comments

Feld Thoughts : The Magic of Email Conversations

Paul Kedrosky: Infectious Greed : Carried Interest, VCs, Tobacco, and Godwin's Law of Tax Policy

Paul Kedrosky: Infectious Greed : Readings: Glaciers, Orange Juice, Nukes, HFTs, Bilski, etc.

Feld Thoughts : The Bullshit of Government Statistics

Feld Thoughts : The Proliferation of Standardized Seed Financing Documents

Feld Thoughts : Water Equals Food Equals Income

Paul Kedrosky: Infectious Greed : Davos, So You Don't Have To

Paul Kedrosky: Infectious Greed : The End of Poverty

Feld Thoughts : Why You Should Start A Company In Boulder, New York, or Somewhere Else

Feld Thoughts : Proposal: An Independent Inventor Defense Against Software Patents

Paul Kedrosky: Infectious Greed : One Economist to Rule Them All

Feld Thoughts : You Donât Mean Average, You Mean Median

Feld Thoughts : You Donât Mean Average, You Mean Median

Feld Thoughts : What Is The Definition of An Angel Investor?

Colorado Startups : An offer to Funding Universe

Colorado Startups : An offer to Funding Universe

Colorado Startups : An offer to Funding Universe

Colorado Startups : An offer to Funding Universe

Colorado Startups : An offer to Funding Universe

Feld Thoughts : Why Did Microsoft License Exchange ActiveSync to Apple?

Feld Thoughts : You Donât Mean Average, You Mean Median

Feld Thoughts : You Donât Mean Average, You Mean Median