While diving, drink water. I took him to the bakery. If there is room in the heart, there is room for the butt. To give one’s tongue to the cat. Break a leg. Call it a day. Cutting Corners. Go back to the drawing board. If you are a native…

In one of my first venture capital interviews, an exasperated partner mentioned a “cram down.” I had no idea what that meant, and to keep pace with the conversation, I guessed it wasn’t good. Lucky for me, I was right, and I eventually worked for that firm for 13 years…

I was a guest on the Private Equity Funcast discussing what makes a great board materials. I’ve assembled this advice having been in thousands of board meetings and untold number of slides in board packages. This appearance was a consequence of a tweet storm I did about board meetings, board members, and board materials.

I was a guest on the Private Equity Funcast discussing what makes a great board member. I’ve assembled this advice having been in thousands of board meetings and having witnessed some outstanding board directors. In addition, in my Chicago Booth VC Lab class, we do a board simulation that includes outside guests with board experience. At the conclusion of the class, the guests share their general advice about boards, both from the investor and founder perspectives. I’ve collected that feedback over the last decade, and it’s infused in my advice in this podcast.

In 2005, I decided to watch every best picture movie. I consumed the movies during my commute in 20–30 minute increments on a video iPod. It took about five years, but it was an great journey that I chronicled in a previous post. One trepidation I had at the start…

“How do you not know that movie?” my wife would routinely ask. Surely there are worse ways to emasculate a man. You see, my wife was the chief executive officer of the movie review site emoviecritic.com. While it did not become a dot com titan, it was an effective way…

Preamble In 2000, I went on a trip to Yosemite National Park to cleanse my mind before starting business school. It was a near-religious experience. It would take me 19 years to return. When I did, I spent four days hiking the park, and although it seemed impossible, it was an…

There are many things that bind us together at Origin. One of our values — and a daily refrain — is that we believe it’s a privilege to work with entrepreneurs. Working with startups is not all glory and fame. While we are not taking nearly the risk of entrepreneurs…

PE and VC resources — This list of resources that was originally composed for my students in Chicago Booth’s Private Equity and Venture Capital lab as an augmentation to the class. I’ve assembled it since 2001 when I started in venture and continue to add when I find interesting resources in my work at Origin…