Rock star VC Bijan Sabet explains why he remains bullish on consumer Internet deals, what he learned from serving on Twitter’s board, and the secret to success for young VC firms such as Spark, First Round Capital and Union Square Ventures.

Tired of all the “nattering nabobs of negativism” who can’t find a kind word to say about the U.S. economy? Take a listen to this interview of Carlyle Group co-Chief Executive David Rubenstein.

SolarCity launches an IPO last week as CEO Lyndon Rive sits down with VCJ for an exclusive video chat.

For those who weren’t able to attend our PartnerConnect 2012 conference in the spring, we have a real treat for you: an interview with buyouts legend Henry Kravis. This is the only conference Kravis has spoken at this year.

Warren Buffett is “in favor” of increasing the tax rate on capital gains. “I’ve operated under all kinds of tax rates, including 39.6% on capital gains,” the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. told Carlyle Group CEO David Rubenstein.

Life science funds that invest in both private companies and PIPE (private investment in public equity) deals seem to be gaining traction. Merlin Nexus, a New York firm with a mixed public and private portfolio, is the latest to file plans for a follow-on fund.

Zynga priced its IPO tonight and starts trading tomorrow. But maybe it should be called Pincus, given the control that founder Mark Pincus exerts over the company. Reuters’ Tech Editor Peter Lauria, Social Media Editor Anthony De Rosa and Reporter Liana Baker discuss  Pincus and the outlook for Zynga.

Kirk Dizon has left Hall Capital Partners.

Dizon left the LP two weeks ago and will be starting his own venture, persons say. Dizon joined Hall Capital in 2006 where he was a managing director and co-head of the private equity group. Before that, he was a partner at Cooley Godward.

“He is a bright guy,” one PE exec says of Dizon.

Hall Capital has $22.7 billion under management, with about $10 billion in alternatives, according to the firm’s web site. The firm has offices in San Francisco and New York. Hall Capital is a “huge multifamily office in many hedge and PE funds, the PE exec says.

(Reuters) – Struggling to wean herself off soft drinks, Kara Goldin inadvertently discovered her own bottled water business.

“I was drinking a ton of Diet Coke, vitamin waters, a lot of things that I thought were actually hydrating me, but were not,” said Goldin, the 43-year-old founder and CEO of Hint, whose business started innocently with her adding fruits such as lemons, limes and raspberries to “boring” bottled water.

What began at her kitchen table six years ago as a way to get healthier has morphed into a serious business with 26 employees and millions in revenues.

(See video interview below.)

Hint, which was initially bootstrapped with $50,000 of Kara Goldin’s personal savings, has raised more than $10 million in outside capital

On the wings of LinkedIn’s IPO, a panel of three top venture capitalists discussed the fast-improving IPO environment, grooming top tech entrepreneurs, and finding companies that could be the next Google.

After a long dry spell, IPOs are recovering along with an improving economy, according to Saad Khan of CMEA Capital, Axel Bichara of Atlas Venture, and Bill Maris of Google Ventures, all of whom tell Jen Rogers of Reuters Insider that now is a good time to be a venture capitalist.

Still, the quest for top talent is extremely competitive, with the best entrepreneurs having multiple options. The panelists say finding the great founders of companies is what makes venture capital a difficult business.