Private property has become so prevalent in the world that we rarely think about the commons. Most people consider the subway as a public good, it is part of “public transport” after all. But they are unlikely to recognize the space on the subway as a common, the way a community would previously have thought about a shared pasture. The COVID19 crisis is a stark reminder that commons are all around us: A single infected subway rider not wearing a mask could infect dozens of people. How is that...

Private property has become so prevalent in the world that we rarely think about the commons. Most people consider the subway as a public good, it is part of “public transport” after all. But they are unlikely to recognize the space on the subway as a common, the way a community would previously have thought about a shared pasture. The COVID19 crisis is a stark reminder that commons are all around us: A single infected subway rider not wearing a mask could infect dozens of people. How is that...

The lockdown measures put in place have started to flatten the curve, but they are hugely disruptive and even if we were better about freezing the economy than we are, we cannot possibly maintain them until we have a vaccine (which is many months off at a minimum). So how do we get back from here? There are three essential ingredients that need to be in place: masks, tests and tracing for all. How do we get these at the time of a dysfunctional federal government? Well here are some possibilit...

The lockdown measures put in place have started to flatten the curve, but they are hugely disruptive and even if we were better about freezing the economy than we are, we cannot possibly maintain them until we have a vaccine (which is many months off at a minimum). So how do we get back from here? There are three essential ingredients that need to be in place: masks, tests and tracing for all. How do we get these at the time of a dysfunctional federal government? Well here are some possibilit...

Something that consistently surprises me is how many people have a fundamentally static worldview. Their motto appears to be: Things are as they are and nothing will change. Never mind that history is full of massive change. And even more surprising: once a huge change has occurred the new situation becomes the new accepted normal. The COVID19 crisis is case in point. The force of change, in the form of a virus that can be spread asymptomatically, was already clearly visible in January. The m...

Something that consistently surprises me is how many people have a fundamentally static worldview. Their motto appears to be: Things are as they are and nothing will change. Never mind that history is full of massive change. And even more surprising: once a huge change has occurred the new situation becomes the new accepted normal. The COVID19 crisis is case in point. The force of change, in the form of a virus that can be spread asymptomatically, was already clearly visible in January. The m...

There has been a lot of discussion of whether or not startups qualify for forgivable loans under the Paycheck Protection Program administered by the SBA (part of the CARES Act). I don’t want to rehash the arcana of affiliation rules here but make a totally different point instead: there is a money grab going on right now by some venture backed startups that this program absolutely should exclude. Let me start by writing about the kind of business that I believe this is spot on for: the local ...

There has been a lot of discussion of whether or not startups qualify for forgivable loans under the Paycheck Protection Program administered by the SBA (part of the CARES Act). I don’t want to rehash the arcana of affiliation rules here but make a totally different point instead: there is a money grab going on right now by some venture backed startups that this program absolutely should exclude. Let me start by writing about the kind of business that I believe this is spot on for: the local ...

We are continuing to see the COVID19 coronavirus spread around the world with a big flare up in Italy. Johns Hopkins maintains a good global map of the outbreak. There are now quite a few experts who believe that the virus may be impossible to contain and could result in a global pandemic. This is something the world is woefully ill prepared for. The danger we are now finding ourselves in can be directly traced to our reliance on the market mechanism for allocating attention. A global pandemi...

We are continuing to see the COVID19 coronavirus spread around the world with a big flare up in Italy. Johns Hopkins maintains a good global map of the outbreak. There are now quite a few experts who believe that the virus may be impossible to contain and could result in a global pandemic. This is something the world is woefully ill prepared for. The danger we are now finding ourselves in can be directly traced to our reliance on the market mechanism for allocating attention. A global pandemi...

Now that we are finally going on lockdown here in the US in order to flatten the curve of the COVID19 crisis, we also need to take drastic measures to put the economy on suspended animation. In particular, I propose the following for the duration of the lockdown:Suspend all interest, mortgage, rent and similar payments Permit companies in non-essential industries to suspend wage payments. Pay everyone a Universal Basic Income of $600/month Federally back all health insurers and in return forc...

Now that we are finally going on lockdown here in the US in order to flatten the curve of the COVID19 crisis, we also need to take drastic measures to put the economy on suspended animation. In particular, I propose the following for the duration of the lockdown:Suspend all interest, mortgage, rent and similar payments Permit companies in non-essential industries to suspend wage payments. Pay everyone a Universal Basic Income of $600/month Federally back all health insurers and in return forc...

I wrote a post about flattening the curve last week. I believe this week we will see some kind of government enforced lockdown in the US similar to the one in place in Italy, Spain and France. It is really the only way left at this point to have even a chance of not completely overwhelming the healthcare system (and even that’s questionable). So what’s next after that? The key of course as always will be innovation. The single most urgent piece here is testing. Ideally we can get this to the ...

I wrote a post about flattening the curve last week. I believe this week we will see some kind of government enforced lockdown in the US similar to the one in place in Italy, Spain and France. It is really the only way left at this point to have even a chance of not completely overwhelming the healthcare system (and even that’s questionable). So what’s next after that? The key of course as always will be innovation. The single most urgent piece here is testing. Ideally we can get this to the ...

On February 25th we sent a Coronavirus Preparedness email to all of USV’s portfolio company CEOs. Since then it has become clear that many countries, including the US, have far underestimated the severity and spread of COVID19. As of March 10th any company that can have employees work from home should do so. Of course that is not possible if you are operating a production facility, or distribution center, or other labor that has to be carried out in person. For those companies, they should of...

On February 25th we sent a Coronavirus Preparedness email to all of USV’s portfolio company CEOs. Since then it has become clear that many countries, including the US, have far underestimated the severity and spread of COVID19. As of March 10th any company that can have employees work from home should do so. Of course that is not possible if you are operating a production facility, or distribution center, or other labor that has to be carried out in person. For those companies, they should of...

At the moment it appears as if Bernie Sanders might become the Democratic nominee. Bloomberg having entered the race means that the centrist vote is split four ways between Bloomberg, Biden, Buttigieg and Klobuchar. On the left there are only two candidates with Sanders and Warren. A lot can still change of course, especially with Super Tuesday coming up and there could be a brokered convention. But for the sake of this post, let’s assume it is Sanders. I would still vote for Sanders in the g...

At the moment it appears as if Bernie Sanders might become the Democratic nominee. Bloomberg having entered the race means that the centrist vote is split four ways between Bloomberg, Biden, Buttigieg and Klobuchar. On the left there are only two candidates with Sanders and Warren. A lot can still change of course, especially with Super Tuesday coming up and there could be a brokered convention. But for the sake of this post, let’s assume it is Sanders. I would still vote for Sanders in the g...

I have written a few general posts about the COVID19 crisis already. Today I want to address all of those running a company or making management decisions with a simple message: avoid generic business advice! By generic advice I mean anything of the form “do x,” such as “cut 20% of cost now.” Why? Because it may or may not apply to your specific situation. Across the USV portfolio, the COVID19 crisis has had wildly different impact on companies. Some companies are experiencing dramatic accele...

I have written a few general posts about the COVID19 crisis already. Today I want to address all of those running a company or making management decisions with a simple message: avoid generic business advice! By generic advice I mean anything of the form “do x,” such as “cut 20% of cost now.” Why? Because it may or may not apply to your specific situation. Across the USV portfolio, the COVID19 crisis has had wildly different impact on companies. Some companies are experiencing dramatic accele...