On behalf of Shasta Ventures, I am beyond thrilled to announce that we led the $20M Series A of Threekit, the future of product visualization in ecommerce, where I will be joining the Board of Directors. We are incredibly fortunate to team up with such an experienced team in Ben Houston, Godard Abel, Joachim Klein and many others who are bringing together their combined decades of experience from the 3D graphics industry and excellence in enterprise selling.
Investing in Layer1 — US Bitcoin mining
Today on behalf Shasta Ventures, I am excited to announce our investment in Layer1, a US-based commercial Bitcoin mining operation founded by Alexander Liegl and team. Today’s news from Fortune here.
From our first meeting it was clear Alex and team are bold entrepreneurs with long-term visions. They are industry veterans who came together around their conviction of proprietary mining, believing in a robust economy where digital currency is a core component of our technology platforms and financial ecosystem.
A strong supply of US-mined Bitcoin will further support the strength of decentralization and…
We are feeling the daily effects of a growing wealth divide caused by dramatically increasing costs of living and fewer wage increases. We are hearing shouts for socialism from the steps of the Capitol, and the largest philanthropists the world has ever known, Bill & Melinda Gates, are debating the future existence of billionaires. It is clear that we as a society are not doing a good job of helping people grow in financial stature, and the American Dream is on the precipice of being dead.
In situations like these my brain kicks into gear, how do we find solutions…
The Mirrorworld — as described by Kevin Kelly in this month’s Wired magazine cover story, which I highly recommend reading — is a detailed look into the next major paradigm shift that will unfold over the next two decades. This shift layers the digital world that exists today, like Internet of Things, 3D models, SLAM, and digital mapping, onto our physical world. …
Every day I talk with entrepreneurs raising a Series A. And as an entrepreneur, myself who has raised venture capital, I want to do my best in helping others understand how to be most successful in their raise, whether that’s with us at Shasta or with any other investor. This is a conversation I have daily, so I thought I would share in a broader form.
As venture investors we are on both sides of the fundraising coin, coaching and guiding our existing portfolio companies towards successfully raising their next round, while aggressively evaluating and pursuing new investment opportunities. …
It’s 2019. Issue #1. I’m starting an email newsletter (sign up here!), a snapshot weekly perspective on tech, startups, venture capital and it’s effects on daily life and our world. Plus some tidbits from Shasta, gadgets, articles, books or other things I find interesting.
Last week I was in Las Vegas for my annual pilgrimage to the international Consumer Electronics Show where companies ranging from young startups to industry leaders come to debut and showcase their newest products. Each year has its own unique measure of craziness for companies trying to gain attention.
This year, there was an 80 foot…
I am incredibly excited to share that Shasta Ventures has led a $5M round in BigBox VR, and I will be joining the Board of Directors.
Co-founders Chia Chin Lee and Gabe Brown are incredible entrepreneurs who are taking a true VR-native approach to social interaction and building long standing games. Their past experience building compelling game products for both social and mobile platforms over the past decade are enabling them to take advantage of the early market timing of VR to build what we believe can be a true franchise for the next decade.
I’m thrilled to announce Shasta Ventures investment in Unblockable, where I will be joining the Board of Directors. Unblockable is building the platform that empowers fans to buy, sell, and use blockchain based digital collectibles. It combines the collectability of traditional sports collectibles, the utility of virtual goods, and the game play of fantasy sports, strategy games and more.
As an investor in Emerging Platforms broadly, I look for product opportunities in new technology paradigms that have a chance to drive vast consumer adoption of the new technology. Looking at technology shifts of paradigms past, it’s apparent that consumer products…
Last Wednesday, I spent the day at the annual meeting for Multicoin Capital. Multicoin Capital is one of the more active and visible “crypto hedge funds,” whose hallmark is openly sharing their perspectives on the crypto / blockchain industry, evolution of blockchain technology underpinnings, and analyses on specific crypto assets (like EOS, IOTA, XRP, REP). In a market that is commonly described as frothy and overhyped, Multicoin Founders Kyle Samani and Tushar Jain offer an open, rational and objective approach to their analyses and investments, which they share on their very active blog. …
Just happened across this post by Lil Miquela, a digital representation of a woman on Instagram; she is not real. But read her posts (#PicOrDidntHappen), and some of the reaction, and realize that thousands believe she is.
Since seeing her for the first time, she (and the company that created and manages her, who just raised pile of VC) has been a fascination of social commentary to me. It’s not because of her team’s advertorial ability to identify and exploit social mores and the never ending brand dollar, but by our human response to her.
