From the Investors
Jess Erickson of 500 Startups announces 500 Startups’ efforts to bolster the tech landscape of the Middle East and North Africa region with capital, mentors and more in “500 Global Startup Series: Enter the Middle East“
Brad Feld of Foundry Group recounts his decision-making criteria and process for making an investment, which led him and Foundry Group to invest in Mattermark’s Series A in “Mattermark – An Example of How We Decide to Invest“
Sonal Chokshi and Michael Copeland of Andreessen Horowitz feature podcasts about mobile, the government and Silicon Valley, tech trends, ‘apps that kids built’, the sharing economy and more in “Some of Our Top 12 Podcasts of 2014” (audio)
Bryan Johnson of The OS Fund visits Hampton Creek’s kitchen/office, a company he says, ‘is reinventing how food is sourced and made, as well as who has access to it’ in “Re-imagining the World’s Food Supply“
Kirsten Green of Forerunner Ventures shares her thoughts on ‘the biggest challenges and surprises of 2014’, along with her anticipation of more women in venture capital in 2015 in “VC in 2015: Kirsten Green of Forerunner Ventures on Risk in VC“
Angel Investor Gary Vaynerchuk wants to find out how to help people achieve their career goals as soon as possible in “This is the One Question I Always Ask in Interviews“
From the Operators
Leo Widrich of Buffer opens up about ‘something [he’s] been scared to put out there’ that has ‘been so much more freeing’ than keeping it private in “Personal Transparency“
Business Strategist Ellen Petry Leanse challenges herself and ‘people on the other end of this ageism article‘ to offer the leadership and perspective they have cultivated during their careers in “We Think Different. That Might Be Exactly Why We Benefit Each Other.“
Noah Kagan of OkDork encourages people to ‘take responsibility and create the solution’ to make things happen for themselves in “Are Things Happening to You or Are You Making Things Happen?“
John Sheehan of Runscope celebrates Runscope’s achievements and his favorite Runscope posts and announcements from the year in “2014 Year in Review: Thank You“