The Super Angel vs VC discussion is still making the rounds: Michael Arrington, Chris Dixon, Dave McClure, Fred Wilson et al. Must be a slow summer for financing news. You take the smartest money you can get that's right for your growth stage and capital needs. Continue reading

Bill Gates talked about latrines more than education, entrepreneuring or anything else in his Re-inventing Capitalism interview with Brent Schlender, which wound up a fanstatic, 3-day Techonomy conference at Lake Tahoe. ...I'm glad my better judgement held the line. I'd be ashamed now to be known for having decked the man who will likely do more to save the world than any other in my lifetime. Continue reading

Talia Leman is 15. At 10 she helped organize kids around the world to give $10 million for Hurricane Katrina/Rita relief. Now CEO of RandomKid (www.randomkid.org), who mission is to "take the goodness of a child and turn it into the goodness of world", she reports over $10 million going to RandomKid guided projects in 20 countries. Kids like Talia and the 10 ISEF winners here at Techonomy, are the ones who not only inherit our mess, but have the vision, intelligence and moxie to fix it. Continue reading

I loved sitting with several of the Intel ISEF winners over dinner. These kids are so great. Matt studied malaria and is excited about meeting Bill Gates tomorrow. He doesn't know where he wants to go to college but does know he wants to be a doctor. He really enjoyed... Continue reading

First day of Techonomy WAS a mind guerrilla. Some of my favorite moments: Eric Schmidt: A problem we'll have to deal with 10+ years out, is teenagers changing their names in order to deny their online past. aka known as how to defeat Google memory. Continue reading

With the swiftest of reflexes, Brook Byers, grabbed our lunch table umbrella and rescued us when a mountain wind threatened to dump it unceremoniously upon us. The table behind us was not so lucky. Otherwise, the Techonomy patio lunch buffet was delightful and the conversation most engaging. Continue reading

I often dread the many conferences I must attend, but not this time. I've really been looking forward to the Techonomy conference and 3 days of intensive talks from brilliant minds, and hanging out with a fabulous group a participants at this mini Tech Davos near Lake Tahoe. www.technonomy.com Continue reading

While I make much larger bets on early stage companies than I would ever place at a casino, I follow some of the same principles and patterns. Continue reading