From Mattermark
Andy Sparks of Mattermark explores the ambiguity of the role of Chief Operating Officer in a startup, and his journey to becoming one at Mattermark in “What Does a Startup COO Actually Do?”
From the Investors
Lenny Pruss of Redpoint Ventures introduces a mental model he uses to sort through Enterprise IT opportunities and analyzes three types of winners in “Market-Makers, Surfers and 10x’ers: A Model for Investing in Enterprise IT”
Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures congratulates an entrepreneur friend, whose company recently fell on hard times, for “getting back up and winning the round” in “Getting Knocked Down”
Leo Polovets of Susa Ventures covers the downsides of very high or very low seed valuations in “The Goldilocks Principle of Seed Stage Valuations”
Andrew Parker of Spark Capital sheds light on Sequioa’s consistent investment pace that led to the first angel round in Airbnb during a major market downturn in “Sequoia’s RIP Good Times and THeir Subsequent Investments”
Reid Hoffman of Greylock reaffirms his stance that Bitcoin “has a strong shot at becoming a market-dominating force that will create massive value” in “Reid Hoffman: Why the Block Chain Matters”
Angel Investor Sean Byrnes encourages founders to have conversations with prospective investors and employees about what they can offer, rather than what they need in “How to Get What You Need“
From the Operators
James Cohane of Axial argues that most companies should invest in Biz Dev after they’ve achieved early traction in “When (Almost) Every Company Should Invest in Business Development and Partnerships”
Arthur Attwell of Electric Book Works reflects on the five new rules he’s created for himself after shutting down his startup in “Why I Won’t Run Another Startup”
Michael Jones of Science analyzes the potential outcomes for Tinder if it monetizes like a subscription dating service and a freemium gaming company simultaneously in “If Tinder Pursues Multiple Monetization Strategies: analysis of Outcomes“
Sophia Elizabeth of All Things VR shares her belief that the Virtual Reality community will differentiate itself from less diverse technical communities in “VR Hackathons: Carving a Path Towards Gender Equality“