The hardest thing about pivots (major shifts in company/product direction) isn’t just the actual pivot. It’s the courage to make the decision… and being honest with yourself as a CEO. Especially since, no matter how great the team or board or even customers may be, it’s lonely: You’re the only one in the position to synthesize the knowledge; nobody else has the data and the insight put together in the same way. And sigh, “pivot” has also become such an overused word, it’s certainly lost nuance, and perhaps even meaning. So what does “pivoting” a startup really mean? For decision making? Timing (or time left until you run out of cash)? Culture? Are things different for so-called “hard tech” or deep research-based startups? Italian incubator H-Farm announces $105 million deal to build startup campusItaly may soon have a much bigger field of startup dreams, thanks to a new deal struck by one of the country’s most ambitious incubator programs. H-Farm, an incubator based on a farm outside of Venice, said it has raised $105 million to expand its concept by creating the “H-Campus.” When completed in 2018, H-Campus will have 3,000 students, teachers, and entrepreneurs, according to a press release. The core incubator program of H-Farm was founded in 2005 and has since hosted 86 startups in its seven buildings. The current H-Farm property is 14,000 square meters of built space and 12 hectares of park. That will be expanded by another 31 hectares of land and an additional 26,000 square meters of new buildings. [ Venture Beat ] Jay Z is planning a VC fund. Here’s how his investments are doingJay Z invested in Uber in 2011 and today it’s worth 200X more. Now he’s getting serious about investing in startups with plans to create his own venture capital firm, according to respected tech journalist Dan Primack’s publication Axios. Here’s a look at Jay Z and Roc Nation’s past investments and how they’ve fared since:
How Mark Cuban Hangs Onto His MoneyIf there is a wild, out-there script to becoming a billionaire, Mark Cubancould lay claim to following it. Mr. Cuban, worth $3.4 billion, now owns the Dallas Mavericks, which won the N.B.A. championship in 2011, and is a star of “Shark Tank,” a reality television show where successful entrepreneurs vote to support or reject a new entrepreneur’s business. His path to success demonstrates the kind of risk-taking, almost inadvertently savvy behavior that has become almost commonplace among entrepreneurs who make staggering fortunes. And like many of them, his early years provided no hints about his ultimate success. [ NY Times ] Announcing Firstrock CapitalI’m happy to announce the official launch of Firstrock Capital LP I, the natural evolution of the investment activity our team started back in 2013. Firstrock has already invested in eight companies over the last couple of months. In addition to funding, we partner with entrepreneurs to help them recruit elite engineering talent while also removing obstacles to growth along the way. Airbnb’s Surprising Path to Y CombinatorIn 2008, the company was failing and its founding team was crumbling. Then Paul Graham called. n2008, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia had run out of money; they were going into debt; and Airbnb had no traffic. Nate Blecharczyk had followed his now-wife to Boston. The founders were nearly out of options. Out of sheer desperation, Chesky and Gebbia resurrected an idea that had come to them before the Democratic National Convention: shipping Airbnb hosts free boxes of cereal—Obama O’s and Cap’n McCain’s—that they could then serve to guests. By this point, Chesky and Gebbia had racked up $20,000 in credit card debt each. Blecharzyk thought the idea was crazy; he said he wanted nothing to do with it, and that they’d best not spend any money on it. Here’s what happened next.Uber CEO Apologizes for Company Culture After Harassment ClaimsEmployees asked tough questions about a former colleague’s blog post saying she was harassed at the company. [ Bloomberg ] How to Reach Angel Investors and Build Your Company in BostonOffice Hours with Jennifer Lum, RDV Mentor and Adelphic Co-Founder [ Natalie Bartlett ]What 100 Trump supporters told the president of Y-Combinator |