5 ms·

I like KR, but I wish I knew the true story from the Digg days til now. He needs to write an autobiography or something. I feel like there's a lot of subtext th

I like KR, but I wish I knew the true story from the Digg days til now. He needs to write an autobiography or something. I feel like there's a lot of subtext that I'm missing. We get to see the news of him joining Google, going part time, leaving but still "an advisor". These are all what the public sees. But what's the real story? I know there must be more to it.

gkoberger 12y ago
What do you mean? He started a company (Milk) that was bought as an acquihire. He worked at Google Ventures while he vested (and it was probably a good job while he got married, etc), but after a few years wanted to get back out there and build. He spent a few months transitioning out of GV (he had invested in a lot of companies; he couldn't just walk away), and now he's working full time on North. I'm sure there's a lot we don't know, but it seems pretty straightforward.
- unreal37 12y ago
  What you've outlined is what's on his bio, which is interesting sure. But I am willing to bet that there is a much more interesting backstory to this. Nothing bad per se, but perhaps he will one day tell a story of how Silicon Valley burned him a couple of times and left him pessimistic about how much one can really disrupt entire industries. He is basically trying to find a little niche to mine for a small win, not change the world. That's so fascinating to me.
- k-mcgrady 12y ago
  There's a huge portion of that story missing if you leave out Digg.
  - nether 12y ago
    Not to mention Leah.
- jforman 12y ago
  Being a VC is a very attractive role to many people if you can make it work. You get to work with top-tier companies in a meaningful way and have the chance to make an incredible amount of money in the process (you participate both in fund upside and separately from additional upside in your portfolio companies), all for a much lower amount of stress than being an actual founder. It's entirely possible that he wanted his GV role to continue but he did not succeed there. It's also possible that the cover story is true. We will likely never know.
aaron-lebo 12y ago
His story is fascinating. Some of us grew up watching him on TechTV, then he catches magic in a bottle with Digg, has a chance to sell for hundreds of millions, tragically loses that chance as his company loses traction and the upstart competitor (Reddit) becomes the one hosting amas by actors and politicians. His story is almost Jobsian.
- justizin 12y ago
  almost, perhaps, but .. a company for high end watch aficionados? Maybe instead, he should consider a TV show where he interviews people on the streets of SF who think really bitter things about all tech people and all tech companies and use them as a filter for his next ideas. That is my honest, constructive criticism of a company aimed at high end watch aficionados.
  - rscott 12y ago
    It's not a watch aficionado company. It is, as I understand it, a company that just rapidly builds out app ideas. An app incubator, you could say.
    - imjk 12y ago
      One of his recently released apps is definitely for watch aficionados. High-end watches are a new interest/hobby that he picked up after he inherited a Rolex from his father. It's something that he enjoys and pursues with a passion.
      - justizin 12y ago
        And I totally respect that. I have nothing against well crafted timepieces, or even valuable things, maybe inherently. I'm just saying, of the two ideas his "incubator" has done so far, that stood out as being particularly out of touch. I think he's capable of more. I suspect he thinks so, I'm not saying he's limited to this sort of idea. Maybe he's leaving Google to focus on coming up with better ideas than a fancy watch thing. ;)
deleted 12y ago
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thinkalone 12y ago
Kevin was interviewed by his former TechTV co-worker Leo Laporte on Leo's podcast Triangulation, if you're interested in Kevin's story: http://twit.tv/show/triangulation/162 http://twit.tv/show/triangulation/162
- unreal37 12y ago
  Thanks for the link. Interesting full-length interview. Just wish Leo would stop interrupting his answers.

gkoberger 12y ago

What do you mean? He started a company (Milk) that was bought as an acquihire. He worked at Google Ventures while he vested (and it was probably a good job while he got married, etc), but after a few years wanted to get back out there and build. He spent a few months transitioning out of GV (he had invested in a lot of companies; he couldn't just walk away), and now he's working full time on North. I'm sure there's a lot we don't know, but it seems pretty straightforward.

unreal37 12y ago
What you've outlined is what's on his bio, which is interesting sure. But I am willing to bet that there is a much more interesting backstory to this. Nothing bad per se, but perhaps he will one day tell a story of how Silicon Valley burned him a couple of times and left him pessimistic about how much one can really disrupt entire industries. He is basically trying to find a little niche to mine for a small win, not change the world. That's so fascinating to me.
k-mcgrady 12y ago
There's a huge portion of that story missing if you leave out Digg.
- nether 12y ago
  Not to mention Leah.
jforman 12y ago
Being a VC is a very attractive role to many people if you can make it work. You get to work with top-tier companies in a meaningful way and have the chance to make an incredible amount of money in the process (you participate both in fund upside and separately from additional upside in your portfolio companies), all for a much lower amount of stress than being an actual founder. It's entirely possible that he wanted his GV role to continue but he did not succeed there. It's also possible that the cover story is true. We will likely never know.

aaron-lebo 12y ago

His story is fascinating. Some of us grew up watching him on TechTV, then he catches magic in a bottle with Digg, has a chance to sell for hundreds of millions, tragically loses that chance as his company loses traction and the upstart competitor (Reddit) becomes the one hosting amas by actors and politicians. His story is almost Jobsian.

justizin 12y ago
almost, perhaps, but .. a company for high end watch aficionados? Maybe instead, he should consider a TV show where he interviews people on the streets of SF who think really bitter things about all tech people and all tech companies and use them as a filter for his next ideas. That is my honest, constructive criticism of a company aimed at high end watch aficionados.
- rscott 12y ago
  It's not a watch aficionado company. It is, as I understand it, a company that just rapidly builds out app ideas. An app incubator, you could say.
  - imjk 12y ago
    One of his recently released apps is definitely for watch aficionados. High-end watches are a new interest/hobby that he picked up after he inherited a Rolex from his father. It's something that he enjoys and pursues with a passion.
    - justizin 12y ago
      And I totally respect that. I have nothing against well crafted timepieces, or even valuable things, maybe inherently. I'm just saying, of the two ideas his "incubator" has done so far, that stood out as being particularly out of touch. I think he's capable of more. I suspect he thinks so, I'm not saying he's limited to this sort of idea. Maybe he's leaving Google to focus on coming up with better ideas than a fancy watch thing. ;)

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

thinkalone 12y ago

Kevin was interviewed by his former TechTV co-worker Leo Laporte on Leo's podcast Triangulation, if you're interested in Kevin's story: http://twit.tv/show/triangulation/162 http://twit.tv/show/triangulation/162

unreal37 12y ago
Thanks for the link. Interesting full-length interview. Just wish Leo would stop interrupting his answers.