Location: Pine Street, San Francisco The headlines say San Francisco is a ghost town. They say the dream is over, the Valley is dead, and everyone who is smart has already moved to Miami or Austin. The wind is definitely blowing in our faces this year. But standing here on Pine Street, looking up at […]
The Price of Admission Read Post »
Location: 555 California Street, San Francisco I’m standing in front of the “Wall Street of the West.”555 California. Dark granite. Serious money. This fortress was built for bankers in pinstripe suits who trade stocks and bonds. But looking around the Financial District today, the suits are disappearing.The guys walking out of these elevators aren’t wearing
Old Walls, New Rules. Read Post »
They say Silicon Valley is a geography, but really, it’s an ecosystem built on two massive pillars: Stanford and Berkeley. Today, standing here at the Alumni House, I feel like I am standing at the very source of the river that feeds the entire tech world. To be here is to be inside the engine
At the Source of the River Read Post »
Gravity is Just a Suggestion They say realists survive, but only optimists change the world. You cannot build anything great with a sour face or a hedge-fund mentality. In the startup game, you have to generate your own lift. This jump isn’t just for the camera; it is a physical manifestation of the founder’s mindset.
1 Hacker Way: The Gravity of Optimism Read Post »
In the startup ecosystem (increasingly in the high-pressure world of private equity) there is a dangerous glorification of the “Grind.” Founders wear sleep deprivation like a badge of honor. We treat our bodies as an afterthought, a mere vehicle that carries our brain from one meeting to the next. Looking back at this photo from
The Hardware of Leadership: Why I Trade Screen Time for Saddle Time Read Post »
I am standing in the middle of Draper University, and the writing is literally on the wall. Behind me, a massive mural of Superman and Wonder Woman screams a command to the crowded room: “UNLEASH THE HEROES!” In any other year, this might look like a comic book convention. But in late 2017, this is the
Unleash The Heroes: Why The New Bankers Wear Sneakers Read Post »
In San Francisco, you sit on a beanbag in a warehouse, drinking a lukewarm beer, while that same VP stands two meters away in jeans and a t-shirt, drawing his entire strategy on a whiteboard. I am sitting here listening to a guy who manages a product with 100 million active users. He isn’t hiding
The Open Source Playbook: Why Secrets Don’t Exist in 2016 Read Post »
From Google Images to Reality It is surreal how small the world becomes when you buy a plane ticket, and how massive it feels when you are finally standing at the foot of the empire. America teaches you quickly: if you are going to dream, you might as well dream at scale. The New Oil
The Emerald City of Data: Sunday at Oracle Read Post »
Los Angeles, California They say Los Angeles is a city of fake facades. People tell you it’s shallow, traffic-choked, and obsessed with appearances. Coming from the engineering-heavy, hoodie-wearing culture of San Francisco, I expected to hate it. But standing here, I realized something important. Silicon Valley builds the engine, but Hollywood sells the ride. And
The Mechanics of Dreaming: My First Week in Los Angeles Read Post »
