In Silicon Valley, a Voice of Caution Scolds a High-Flying UberTravis Kalanick, the famously combative chief executive of Uber, took the stage at a Vanity Fair conference in San Francisco last October and quickly faced a prickly question. Why all the blunders at the company, Vanity Fair’s editor, Graydon Carter, asked. And had Mr. Kalanick learned anything? Off in the wings of the auditorium, Bill Gurley appeared to tense. Mr. Gurley has a lot riding on Uber. His venture capital firm, Benchmark, bought into Uber six years ago, when the ride-hailing company was a mere pipsqueak. Today, what was a 20 percent stake in Uber is worth billions. Mr. Gurley is a rare figure, a Silicon Valley habitué who chides some of the biggest start-up stars to show some discipline and drop their arrogant behavior. That day in October, Mr. Kalanick passed Mr. Gurley’s test. He answered calmly, saying that he could learn from leaders who had failed in the past. “We’ve made mistakes,” Mr. Kalanick said. “We always find a way to learn and to get better.” [ NY Times ] Millennial tech workers are paying an exorbitant amount to live in cramped, dorm-like conditions in San FranciscoMillennials will go to great lengths to live in San Francisco to pursue their careers. Some have even gone so far as to live in boats, tiny homes, or even inside homemade wooden crates. With the second-highest median rent in the US, the city has some new graduates spending up to 79% of their salary solely on rent. It's no surprise that residents are coming up with unique living situations in order to stay. One such place is The Negev, a communal living space aimed towards those working in tech. One of The Negev's San Francisco homes houses 40 residents, many of whom sleep in bunk beds and pay $1,900 a month to stay there. Ahead, take a look inside that particular outpost of The Negev. [ Business Insider ] Arianna Huffington: ‘The work culture in Silicon Valley needs to change’ The media entrepreneur, 66, on turning an idea into a global news company, sexism in Silicon Valley and being in love. [ The Guardian ] The Secrets of Startup Guru Gil Penchina. Learnings from the ‘Unicorn’ ManGil Penchina likes to invest in startup founders that are slightly delusional.That kind of contrarian hunch has propelled Penchina into the super angel bracket, with five $1 billion exits to his name — a high water mark for early stage investing. Penchina single-handedly built the largest syndicated angel fund with over 500 backers and nearly $5 million per investment. His fund experienced an exit frenzy that includes LinkedIn, Paypal, Wealthfront, Cruise Automation, Dollar Shave Club, and Evite. His own tech and consulting career ranges from bulge bracket startup academies like GE and eBay, running his own shop as CEO of Wikia and co-founder of Fastly. I caught up with Gil recently (in full disclosure, I invest with Gil) and had the chance to talk to him about the state of the startup ecosystem and his secret formula for knowing if and when a founder has what it takes to go all the way. [ Startup Grind ] Early Uber and Pinterest investor reveals the 1 question everyone should ask before they join a startupIf you're interviewing for a job at a startup, you might be offered stock options. Sometimes, startups offer stock options instead of a higher salary. It's not always easy to tell the true value of what you're being offered. And sometimes, what can sound like a lot of stock in a company can actually amount to very little. "First, you should realize that when you're joining a startup, the likely outcome is nothing," Scott Belsky, a startup investor and entrepreneur, tells Business Insider. "But if you are sacrificing salary, you have a right to upside. And you also have a right to understand what your upside might be." [ Business Insider ] VC JOBS : Partner Success Manager at WePay, Redwood City, US.Senior Data Scientist at WePay Redwood City, US.Consumer Product Manager at Checkr, San Francisco, US.Investigations Associate at Checkr, San Francisco,US.Data Scientist/Machine Learning Engineer at Casetext, San Francisco, US.Growth Hacker at Casetext, San Francisco, US.Director, Head of Platform and Community - New York Life Insurance Co, NY, US. |