jackaltman

9 ms·

31.
by jackaltman 13y ago
The answer to the question is supposed to be "because it's driving startup valuations sky high", which I assumed is understood as a bad thing, but I see your point. I have written about that before - it has all sorts of probl
32.
Why Twitter's IPO is Bad for Startups(jackealtman.com)
106 points by jackaltman 13y ago|101 comments
33.
by jackaltman 13y ago
I like the idea of this post, but have a few qualms. For example, flipping "unexited portfolio companies" into "shots on goal" seems a little strange.
34.
by jackaltman 13y ago
If the new word had been something better than "cracker" it would've had a better chance of catching on.
35.
Devils in Red Dress(thenewinquiry.com)
4 points by jackaltman 13y ago|0 comments
36.
by jackaltman 13y ago
Hard to disagree with the observation that people are putting more and more irons in the fire, but I disagree with the author's solution - asking people to disclose everything they are working on at all times is a bad idea. The nature
37.
Social-first: The new way to live(jackealtman.com)
7 points by jackaltman 13y ago|1 comments
38.
by jackaltman 13y ago
It's unhealthy and will make you fat - the dough is normally white bread which is awful for you, wheat bread has a slightly lower glycemic index but more calories and it is still bad for you. Cheese which is incredibly calorie dense an
39.
by jackaltman 13y ago
Right - the incentive needs to be consistent with the platform; this is why you bring a dinner host a bottle of wine instead of the equivalent amount of cash.
40.
by jackaltman 13y ago
I understand the different meanings of the word free, I'm just pointing out that there's a risk that incentive structures won't create the desired effect.
41.
by jackaltman 13y ago
That's a good point.
42.
Should we do more to incentivize open source?(jackealtman.com)
47 points by jackaltman 13y ago|37 comments
43.
Lost on our phones(jackealtman.com)
3 points by jackaltman 13y ago|0 comments
44.
US Healthcare is an Embarrassment(jackealtman.com)
3 points by jackaltman 13y ago|1 comments
45.
Your best option is to be the best(jackealtman.com)
2 points by jackaltman 13y ago|0 comments
46.
Know thyself and compete accordingly(jackealtman.com)
3 points by jackaltman 14y ago|0 comments
47.
The widening of the base(jackealtman.com)
1 points by jackaltman 14y ago|1 comments
48.
Creating technological revolutions(jackealtman.com)
5 points by jackaltman 14y ago|0 comments
49.
Beware of local maxima(jackealtman.com)
1 points by jackaltman 14y ago|0 comments
50.
The trouble with startup valuations(jackealtman.com)
2 points by jackaltman 14y ago|0 comments
51.
by jackaltman 14y ago
i think it's fair to call the current manifestation of 'startups' comparatively immature.
52.
by jackaltman 14y ago
the fact that I keep up to date on dinosaurs is my problem, not yours.
53.
by jackaltman 14y ago
this is exactly the point -- startup best-practices change much more rapidly than best-practices for something like bridge construction.
54.
Startup knowledge decays quickly(jackealtman.com)
45 points by jackaltman 14y ago|21 comments
55.
by jackaltman 14y ago
It's complicated to go through all the allegations of risk, which are almost all unsupported by serious studies. The birth defects are absolutely a huge risk, but the allegations of depression etc are unfounded. Most dermatologists agree th
56.
by jackaltman 14y ago
You're right, we shouldn't be surprised that VC returns looks like this, and it's well known that they do. The point I'm making in the post is that more mundane things our lives may look like this than we expect. Pareto power laws can't be
57.
by jackaltman 14y ago
Power law and the pareto principle are definitely very related, but I think one is an instance of the other. I'd argue that power law is one manifestation under the umbrella of pareto principle, as compared to a stepwise function where 80%
58.
by jackaltman 14y ago
I think Sequoia, YC, USV and some others have probably had statistically significant outsized returns. Always hard to know because if you let enough people try someone is going to flip a coin heads 10 times in a row, but I do think some fun
59.
by jackaltman 14y ago
that could definitely be right. There do seem to be a number of funds that consistently hit winners more often year after year (say, something like 15% winners vs. 10%) an alternative explanation to the best funds being good at finding winn
60.
by jackaltman 14y ago
right, that's the study that says you should buy new clothes one at a time because you get diminishing marginal happiness from each successive item. it's possible that the prevalence of power laws in normal life have been overstated by peop

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