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Month: May 2020

Investor Stories 142: Lessons Learned (Vrionis, Yin, Franklin, Neilson)

by Nick Moran

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

  • John Vrionis
  • Elizabeth Yin
  • Bobby Franklin
  • Jeremy Neilson

Each investor illustrates a critical lesson learned about startup investing and how it's changed their approach.

To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes.

Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Investor Stories 142: Lessons Learned (Vrionis, Yin, Franklin, Neilson)

by Nick Moran

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

  • John Vrionis
  • Elizabeth Yin
  • Bobby Franklin
  • Jeremy Neilson

Each investor illustrates a critical lesson learned about startup investing and how it's changed their approach.

To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes.

Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Why Self Driving Cars Shouldn’t Be Too Autonomous – Stanford Engineering News – May 2020

by Alsop Louie Partners

Two researchers explain why designers should focus on developing systems that make it easy and natural for passengers to take control in an emergency.

By Ernestine Fu and David Hyde | May 28, 2020

Not so long ago, science fiction imagined passengers relaxing while automated cars whisked them, carefree, to their destinations.

Now, as tech and industrial giants like Google, Toyota, Ford, Tesla and Uber pour billions into self-driving car technology, this once-distant future seems right around the corner.

But maybe not so fast. The self-driving cars of 2020 have a limited ability to sense, interpret and anticipate the whirlwind environment of the road. They find it more difficult to detect, classify and act upon information gleaned from the environment than their human counterparts, including how to accurately detect and react to unexpected challenges like a large obstacle in the road or a child darting out between parked cars.

Designers, engineers and regulators must operate under the assumption that autonomous technology is not, and may never be, perfect, and that some interaction between system and driver will always be necessary, raising an important question: How should an autonomous vehicle’s collision avoidance systems be designed? Given that the technology cannot be perfect, should it be biased toward a higher likelihood of reporting false alarms — alerts when no threat exists? Or should it err instead on the side of missing a true signal — in other words, occasionally not warning the driver when potential threats are present?

As researchers spanning the (Read more...)

Why Self Driving Cars Shouldn’t Be Too Autonomous – Stanford Engineering News – May 2020

by Meredith MacNeill

Two researchers explain why designers should focus on developing systems that make it easy and natural for passengers to take control in an emergency.

By Ernestine Fu and David Hyde | May 28, 2020

Not so long ago, science fiction imagined passengers relaxing while automated cars whisked them, carefree, to their destinations.

Now, as tech and industrial giants like Google, Toyota, Ford, Tesla and Uber pour billions into self-driving car technology, this once-distant future seems right around the corner.

But maybe not so fast. The self-driving cars of 2020 have a limited ability to sense, interpret and anticipate the whirlwind environment of the road. They find it more difficult to detect, classify and act upon information gleaned from the environment than their human counterparts, including how to accurately detect and react to unexpected challenges like a large obstacle in the road or a child darting out between parked cars.

Designers, engineers and regulators must operate under the assumption that autonomous technology is not, and may never be, perfect, and that some interaction between system and driver will always be necessary, raising an important question: How should an autonomous vehicle’s collision avoidance systems be designed? Given that the technology cannot be perfect, should it be biased toward a higher likelihood of reporting false alarms — alerts when no threat exists? Or should it err instead on the side of missing a true signal — in other words, occasionally not warning the driver when potential threats are present?

As researchers spanning the (Read more...)

6 Leading Mobility VCs Discuss the Road Ahead

by Alsop Louie Partners

6 Leading Mobility VCs Discuss the Road Ahead

Millions of consumers sheltering in place to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus sent shockwaves through the global economy. Transportation-related companies were not spared in the upheaval. Mobility startups consolidated, pulled back from some markets and reduced headcount. And yet, the industry — and the VCs who invest in it — is still rolling forward.

Founders are huddled with their teams, picking over spreadsheets and go-to-market strategies in search of ways to accelerate as their runways grow ever shorter. And while the pace of investments might have slowed, venture capitalists are still seeking out innovative tech and overlooked ideas.

TechCrunch spoke with six investors about the state of mobility, which trends they’re most excited about and what they’re looking for in their next investments:

  • Ernestine Fu, Alsop Louie Partners
  • Stonly Baptiste & Shaun Abrahamson, Urban Us
  • Shahin Farshchi, Lux Capital
  • Kate Schox, Trucks VC
  • Jeff Peters, Autotech Ventures

Ernestine Fu, Alsop Louie Partners

What trends are you most excited about in mobility hardware from an investing perspective?

In-car cybersecurity. Today’s vehicles are highly sophisticated smart devices, and cybersecurity is becoming an integral part of automakers’ development efforts. We’re already seeing infotainment connectivity systems and over-the-air software updates in cars being vulnerable to cyberattacks. Vehicles will serve as the nodes of vast information networks, especially as personal mobility, autonomous driving and car connectivity drive our future. In-car cybersecurity threats will remain an ongoing concern — and a rich investment opportunity.

6 Leading Mobility VCs Discuss the Road Ahead

by Meredith MacNeill

6 Leading Mobility VCs Discuss the Road Ahead

Millions of consumers sheltering in place to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus sent shockwaves through the global economy. Transportation-related companies were not spared in the upheaval. Mobility startups consolidated, pulled back from some markets and reduced headcount. And yet, the industry — and the VCs who invest in it — is still rolling forward.

Founders are huddled with their teams, picking over spreadsheets and go-to-market strategies in search of ways to accelerate as their runways grow ever shorter. And while the pace of investments might have slowed, venture capitalists are still seeking out innovative tech and overlooked ideas.

TechCrunch spoke with six investors about the state of mobility, which trends they’re most excited about and what they’re looking for in their next investments:

  • Ernestine Fu, Alsop Louie Partners
  • Stonly Baptiste & Shaun Abrahamson, Urban Us
  • Shahin Farshchi, Lux Capital
  • Kate Schox, Trucks VC
  • Jeff Peters, Autotech Ventures

Ernestine Fu, Alsop Louie Partners

What trends are you most excited about in mobility hardware from an investing perspective?

In-car cybersecurity. Today’s vehicles are highly sophisticated smart devices, and cybersecurity is becoming an integral part of automakers’ development efforts. We’re already seeing infotainment connectivity systems and over-the-air software updates in cars being vulnerable to cyberattacks. Vehicles will serve as the nodes of vast information networks, especially as personal mobility, autonomous driving and car connectivity drive our future. In-car cybersecurity threats will remain an ongoing concern — and a rich investment opportunity.

Idea Generation

by Sam Altman
This post is by Sam Altman from Sam Altman

The most common question prospective startup founders ask is how to get ideas for startups. The second most common question is if you have any ideas for their startup.

But giving founders an idea almost always doesn’t work. Having ideas is among the most important qualities for a startup founder to have—you will need to generate lots of new ideas in the course of running a startup.

YC once tried an experiment of funding seemingly good founders with no ideas. I think every company in this no-idea track failed. It turns out that good founders have lots of ideas about everything, so if you want to be a founder and can’t get an idea for a company, you should probably work on getting good at idea generation first.

How do you do that?

It’s important to be in the right kind of environment, and around the right kind of people. You want to be around people who have a good feel for the future, will entertain improbable plans, are optimistic, are smart in a creative way, and have a very high idea flux. These sorts of people tend to think without the constraints most people have, not have a lot of filters, and not care too much what other people think. 

The best ideas are fragile; most people don’t even start talking about them at all because they sound silly. Perhaps most of all, you want to be around people who don’t make you feel stupid for mentioning a bad (Read more...)

Idea Generation

by Sam Altman
This post is by Sam Altman from Sam Altman

The most common question prospective startup founders ask is how to get ideas for startups. The second most common question is if you have any ideas for their startup.

But giving founders an idea almost always doesn’t work. Having ideas is among the most important qualities for a startup founder to have—you will need to generate lots of new ideas in the course of running a startup.

YC once tried an experiment of funding seemingly good founders with no ideas. I think every company in this no-idea track failed. It turns out that good founders have lots of ideas about everything, so if you want to be a founder and can’t get an idea for a company, you should probably work on getting good at idea generation first.

How do you do that?

It’s important to be in the right kind of environment, and around the right kind of people. You want to be around people who have a good feel for the future, will entertain improbable plans, are optimistic, are smart in a creative way, and have a very high idea flux. These sorts of people tend to think without the constraints most people have, not have a lot of filters, and not care too much what other people think. 

The best ideas are fragile; most people don’t even start talking about them at all because they sound silly. Perhaps most of all, you want to be around people who don’t make you feel stupid for mentioning a bad (Read more...)

227. Crisis Coverage w/ Melody Koh – Super-Technologies; The Everyday Economy; The Overlooked Working Class; and Fear of Missing Out vs. Fear of Looking Dumb

by Nick Moran

Melody Koh of Nextview Ventures joins Nick on a special Crisis Coverage installment to discuss Super-Technologies; The Everyday Economy; The Overlooked Working Class; and Fear of Missing Out vs. Fear of Looking Dumb. In this episode, we cover:

  • Background and path to venture
  • Thesis and Focus at NextView
  • Hands-on approach (only 2-3 investments/yr)?
  • You wrote that when it comes to investing in the COVID era -- FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is replaced by FOLD (Fear Of Looking Dumb). What are you seeing from other investors?
  • How will this effect 'Seed' as a Stage of investing?
  • How has the crisis effected your approach?
  • Conviction without face to face?
  • Recently heard about NextView’s new virtual Accelerator... congrats on the launch. Can you give us a quick overview of the program?
  • Do you have any predictions on the long-term effects of this crisis on the ‘Everyday Economy’?
  • I saw your tweet about companies shifting the real estate burden to employees as everyone works from home... do you think companies should subsidize this?
  • Super-Technologies...  railroads, electricity, automobiles, and now internet connectivity.  Ideas about what may be some of the next infrastructure type super-technology?
  • Why do you think the working class has been overlooked as an opportunity for innovation?
  • You cite labor as an opportunity ready for innovation. Why is now the time for innovation here?
  • You point out a really interesting observation -- that this demographic is more likely to use smartphones as their daily driver and that they tend to skew towards (Read more...)

227. Crisis Coverage w/ Melody Koh – Super-Technologies; The Everyday Economy; The Overlooked Working Class; and Fear of Missing Out vs. Fear of Looking Dumb

by Nick Moran

Melody Koh of Nextview Ventures joins Nick on a special Crisis Coverage installment to discuss Super-Technologies; The Everyday Economy; The Overlooked Working Class; and Fear of Missing Out vs. Fear of Looking Dumb. In this episode, we cover:

  • Background and path to venture
  • Thesis and Focus at NextView
  • Hands-on approach (only 2-3 investments/yr)?
  • You wrote that when it comes to investing in the COVID era -- FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is replaced by FOLD (Fear Of Looking Dumb). What are you seeing from other investors?
  • How will this effect 'Seed' as a Stage of investing?
  • How has the crisis effected your approach?
  • Conviction without face to face?
  • Recently heard about NextView’s new virtual Accelerator... congrats on the launch. Can you give us a quick overview of the program?
  • Do you have any predictions on the long-term effects of this crisis on the ‘Everyday Economy’?
  • I saw your tweet about companies shifting the real estate burden to employees as everyone works from home... do you think companies should subsidize this?
  • Super-Technologies...  railroads, electricity, automobiles, and now internet connectivity.  Ideas about what may be some of the next infrastructure type super-technology?
  • Why do you think the working class has been overlooked as an opportunity for innovation?
  • You cite labor as an opportunity ready for innovation. Why is now the time for innovation here?
  • You point out a really interesting observation -- that this demographic is more likely to use smartphones as their daily driver and that they tend to skew towards (Read more...)