Last week’s column got more reaction than any since our On The Left newsletter began publication two and half years ago. Who knew everyone has a meatloaf story? The best was from a friend of the firm who told us he couldn't believe any mother would foist a faux loaf on her children. "My mother would never have done that!" He was so upset that he called his own mother in Miami to relate his outrage. "You're right, dear," she told him, "my meatloaf was always the real thing." Brief pause. "But you never asked about my tuna casserole."
“Security Analysis” is cited by Warren Buffett as one of his top four favorite and most influential books. Written by Columbia University Professors Benjamin Graham and David Dodd, it was first published in 1934. The book is a thick tome that articulates the thesis of value investing—the analytical techniques for valuing securities and seeking to […]
On Aug. 9, 1995, a 16-month old “Web browser” company named Netscape, founded by a 23-year old Illinois programmer, went public. In much the same way that Netscape’s IPO became regarded as the starter pistol for the tech boom years that followed, some now reference Facebook’s 2005 institutional round as the unofficial start of the […]
There’s been much discussion of late about health care, including the worsening state of Americans’ health on an individual level, and the effects of recent health care reform. I think these changes create great opportunities for entrepreneurs and their investors in two areas: working to make our medical institutions better, and working outside of them […]
The recent pronouncements from Basel III are the latest regulatory attempt to play the role of Atlas beneath the world economy. Certainly, increases in primary capital ratios, specifically common stock paying no dividends, provide an increase in the margin for error. However, a ten year period to actually achieve those ratios eliminates the hope these regulations will mitigate systemic risk for the next decade. The regulations will also have the effect of reducing the amount of credit available to the world economy, and therefore to the financing of leveraged buyout transactions. More central to the question of regulation is not ratio management, but the taking of risk by the banks. Critical problems at the banks were inventory levels of and exposure to securitization products, proprietary trading operations and the banks’ counterparty risks.
Is venture capital broken? Worse, is it dead? Unfortunately, there’s no getting around the fact the overall venture returns for the past decade are uninspiring. But when have overall venture returns not been dismal? The median vintage year return over the past 29 years averages a mere 8%, which is hardly worth the effort. In […]
I’ve asked many general partners this question over the course of my 20-year career. It seems to be a reasonable question, especially for venture funds that are nearing their five-year anniversary. What I’m looking for is the fund manager’s view of which companies look like winners and which companies aren’t quite cutting it, so that they […]
I love Jackson Hole, Wyo. It is one of the most extraordinarily beautiful settings in the world. One cannot help being in a good mood when observing the breathtaking wildlife, open sky and the awe-inspiring Grand Tetons. Thus, reading the reports from last weekend’s annual economist confab in Jackson Hole could not have been more […]
The advent of the Internet and such things as private equity blogs and newsletters have proved advantageous in many ways. Wider and faster dissemination of information allowing investors and entrepreneurs to benchmark and measure their operations, terms and attitudes against those of other players in this realm all seems quite positive, and interesting, to me. […]
The venture capital community has been getting slammed recently for moving too slowly. And these accusations, no matter how well-founded, are beginning to stick. Entrepreneurs loathe the idea of fundraising for protracted periods of time, and therefore they are particularly susceptible to this form of VC bashing. But I don’t think that the accusations are […]