Rise of the operators (Part 2: the investors)

While it warms the cockles of my heart to see VC investors talking about selling companies, assessing them on the basis of their last 3-5yrs investing is currently near impossible. But the flip-side of this crash is that by the end of ~2025 we’ll have some useful datapoints on who the best new tech investors are…More

Rise of the operators (Part 1: the builders)

The palaeontologist Stephen Jay Gould was a well-known proponent of a slightly modified theory of evolution called punctuated equilibrium. Briefly, his view was that ‘normal’ incremental evolution was occasionally interrupted by radical change (meteor, volcano or another cataclysm) which in turn re-set the environment for the next period of incrementality. The end of bull markets…More

Deluxe Paint 2 and new creator creation

Deluxe Paint 2 probably won’t mean anything to the majority of people reading this. It was a graphics and (very) basic animation program published by EA (yes the same EA!) which was bundled with my Amiga 500. Wowing* friends with my 10-frame animations, it was my gateway to almost everything I did professionally after. But,…More

The Fermi Paradox of Venture Capital

Once again another capital cycle rotates. As with the passing of every civilisation, certain durable (or lucky) relics and memories survive into the new age. This is why we have giant myths, pyramids, 20% management carry structures and limits on bank CEO salaries. And I guess this is why crypto will hang around as an asset…More

The power of ambition compounding in Irish startups

There has been a flurry of media attention about Wayflyer, whose recent investment valuation (led by DST) made them Ireland’s sixth startup unicorn. Congrats guys! But also, congrats Ireland! It’s pretty remarkable what a decade of compounded startup experience can do.More

UK rapper upsides

I’m a huge fan of UK rap, which continues to flourish. Central Cee is a young rapper who has blown up over the last eighteen months with an impressive trajectory.More