On July 14th, I was in a group chat with some friends shooting the shit as usual. Our conversations range from sports to investing to what we’re currently learning about. For the past 11 months, I have been really trying to understand what this whole NFT (non-fungible token) thing was…
The last 18 or so months have been tough on A LOT of people. Even as we return to some sense of normalcy, the impact of being at home — many of us alone — can’t be understated. As a big fan of live events and social gatherings, I can…
As I sit here today writing this piece, the country burns as thousands of Black Americans (and our allies) are expressing their pain and mourning the loss of countless citizens — most recently George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. While citizens of all backgrounds are marching in almost every…
When it comes to startup fundraising, the deck is meant to be a universal language. Whether you’re raising your first round from Family & Friends (“and fools”) or getting ready for your Series B, having a well-done deck — often called a pitch deck — is the starting point to…
Of all of the hats I wear, “Dad” is my favorite.
I’m writing this essay as my son watches Toy Story 4. My workday productivity is down to probably 40% of normal, so I’m mixing in more evening and naptime hours to get my work done. …
As a Black kid growing up in Columbia, South Carolina, Black History Month was always kind of dicey. On one hand, I’d have teachers — who mostly didn’t look like me — doing their best to try to find new and innovative ways help me connect with material about George…
2 years ago today, I was blindsided — I was fired by a company that solicited and hired me just 6 months before. I had never been fired before and going into Friday, January 15th, 2016, I had no reason to expect I would be. …
“We’re having a baby!” — a metaphor that entrepreneurs often use when describing the imminent moments as each of our Launch Days draw near. After months (in some cases, years) of research, testing, and development, our “labor of love” meets the public. We remove those private-beta training wheels from our…
I was recently asked this question and surprisingly, the answer came to me immediately. “Be conscious of the collateral damage of disruption.” This token came from one of my MIT Venture Mentoring Service mentors (sponsored by NEXT), Prashant Prabhu. This advice was both surprising and contrarian to what I was…
