Yesterday we publicly announced our 2016 fund and with it an evolution that has taken place behind the scenes at USV. Andy and I are now the managing partners with Fred, Brad and John continuing to invest and participate fully in the firm. John’s post and Fred’s post explain this in more detail. So instead of also writing about this change, I want to reflect on what I have learned from the past and share what I am excited about for the future. I have now spent over two decades in and around s...

Yesterday we publicly announced our 2016 fund and with it an evolution that has taken place behind the scenes at USV. Andy and I are now the managing partners with Fred, Brad and John continuing to invest and participate fully in the firm. John’s post and Fred’s post explain this in more detail. So instead of also writing about this change, I want to reflect on what I have learned from the past and share what I am excited about for the future. I have now spent over two decades in and around s...

I went to bed last night at a time when some of the early results started to indicate that Brexit might happen and woke up to that reality. Here are some thoughts that are kicking around my head: 1. The results are another example of how easy it is to underestimate the level of frustration that has accumulated in parts of the population. The better the system is working for you the easier it is to make this mistake. The US presidential election is another clear example. 2. The easiest and mos...

I went to bed last night at a time when some of the early results started to indicate that Brexit might happen and woke up to that reality. Here are some thoughts that are kicking around my head: 1. The results are another example of how easy it is to underestimate the level of frustration that has accumulated in parts of the population. The better the system is working for you the easier it is to make this mistake. The US presidential election is another clear example. 2. The easiest and mos...

The topic of climate change combines many of my scientific and philosophical interests. In my draft book World After Capital I describe how knowledge is central to human affairs in that it allows us to solve problems. Many of the problems that we have had to solve over the years were of our own making. For instance, a lot of human diseases arose because we started living in proximity to animals and it was only the progress in medical knowledge that let us overcome those. The latest and bigges...

The topic of climate change combines many of my scientific and philosophical interests. In my draft book World After Capital I describe how knowledge is central to human affairs in that it allows us to solve problems. Many of the problems that we have had to solve over the years were of our own making. For instance, a lot of human diseases arose because we started living in proximity to animals and it was only the progress in medical knowledge that let us overcome those. The latest and bigges...

As an immigrant to America, I have enjoyed many 4th of July celebrations over the years. Given the Brexit vote, I woke up today wondering though what it means for a nation to be independent in the world we live in. All the big problems we face as humanity such as climate change, infectious diseases, taxation of multinational corporations are global problems. America can’t solve any of these problems by itself. Neither can any other nation. What we really need is a declaration of In-TER-depend...

As an immigrant to America, I have enjoyed many 4th of July celebrations over the years. Given the Brexit vote, I woke up today wondering though what it means for a nation to be independent in the world we live in. All the big problems we face as humanity such as climate change, infectious diseases, taxation of multinational corporations are global problems. America can’t solve any of these problems by itself. Neither can any other nation. What we really need is a declaration of In-TER-depend...

You may have noticed that my posting here on Continuations has been sporadic at best these past few weeks. The reason is simple. I have felt downbeat by what’s been happening in the world and the United States. The rolling back of democracy across the globe in favor or populist authoritarians is depressing. I am asking myself how I will judge in the future what I did personally to try and stop it. And for now I am not happy with the answer. I grew up in Germany at a time when many young peopl...

You may have noticed that my posting here on Continuations has been sporadic at best these past few weeks. The reason is simple. I have felt downbeat by what’s been happening in the world and the United States. The rolling back of democracy across the globe in favor or populist authoritarians is depressing. I am asking myself how I will judge in the future what I did personally to try and stop it. And for now I am not happy with the answer. I grew up in Germany at a time when many young peopl...

Today our portfolio company Sift Science announced not only their $30 million Series C, led by Insight Venture Partners, but also several new product offerings. This is exciting because it reveals the team’s larger vision of “Powering Trust Online” and makes that concrete by going beyond payments fraud to address content, promo and account abuse. These products have been developed with customers and are available now (content abuse, promo abuse, account abuse). Sift’s execution is a great ill...

Today our portfolio company Sift Science announced not only their $30 million Series C, led by Insight Venture Partners, but also several new product offerings. This is exciting because it reveals the team’s larger vision of “Powering Trust Online” and makes that concrete by going beyond payments fraud to address content, promo and account abuse. These products have been developed with customers and are available now (content abuse, promo abuse, account abuse). Sift’s execution is a great ill...

I have been writing here on Continuations and in my book World After Capital that we need to be vigilant and defend democracy. Many people are taking the Brexit vote as evidence that direct democracy is a bad idea. While I am not necessarily a strong advocate for direct democracy I do think this conclusion is flawed. The UK does not have a direct democracy culture. In fact this is only the third referendum ever held in the UK! Why does this matter? Because if you want any shot at direct democ...

I have been writing here on Continuations and in my book World After Capital that we need to be vigilant and defend democracy. Many people are taking the Brexit vote as evidence that direct democracy is a bad idea. While I am not necessarily a strong advocate for direct democracy I do think this conclusion is flawed. The UK does not have a direct democracy culture. In fact this is only the third referendum ever held in the UK! Why does this matter? Because if you want any shot at direct democ...

I have been meaning to write about my recent experience with Google App Engine and also about the Pokemon Go phenomenon. And I will eventually do so, but given the events in the US this past week these topics seem trivial to me at the moment. The statistics make it abundantly clear that deadly force is used by police against Black Americans at a much higher rate than against whites. When you add that to statistics about incarceration, poverty, disease and more the weight of evidence on the lo...

I have been meaning to write about my recent experience with Google App Engine and also about the Pokemon Go phenomenon. And I will eventually do so, but given the events in the US this past week these topics seem trivial to me at the moment. The statistics make it abundantly clear that deadly force is used by police against Black Americans at a much higher rate than against whites. When you add that to statistics about incarceration, poverty, disease and more the weight of evidence on the lo...

Yesterday I attended MongoDB World here in Manhattan. There was a huge turnout and excellent sessions but the most exciting part of the day for me was the announcement of MongoDB Atlas. Atlas is MongoDB as a service (part of the DBaaS, data base as a service, category). This means you no longer have to worry about configuring servers, you get backup with point-in-time recovery, and your cost is usage based. The reason I am especially excited about this is because we are beginning to come back...

Yesterday I attended MongoDB World here in Manhattan. There was a huge turnout and excellent sessions but the most exciting part of the day for me was the announcement of MongoDB Atlas. Atlas is MongoDB as a service (part of the DBaaS, data base as a service, category). This means you no longer have to worry about configuring servers, you get backup with point-in-time recovery, and your cost is usage based. The reason I am especially excited about this is because we are beginning to come back...