Food for Thought #5: Funding Unicorns, Bubble, Success & Discomfort

Jason Calacanis (via This Week In Startups): Investing legend Ann Winblad on funding software unicorns, finding talent & auditioning the future

Hummer Winblad Venture Partners was founded in 1989 as the first VC fund to invest exclusively in software companies. Today Jason sits down Ann Winblad, technology investing legend and the firm’s Co-founder and Managing Director. Jason and Ann discuss Ann’s journey as an entrepreneur and a wide range of riveting topics.

Yilun Zhang: A hitchhiker’s guide to product management

This resource is meant as an introductory guide for people who are either new or aspiring to break into the product management field. It’s focused on PM work at tech startups, but many of the points can be applied across industries. The guide includes some of the best resources from across the internet that I found over the years.

Nick Bilton (via Vanity Fair): Is Silicon Valley in Another Bubble… and What Could Burst It?

Nick Bilton reports on an industry full of cash and unicorns.

Leo Polovets: The Road to Success is Paved with Discomfort

TL;DR: If you're a founder and you want your company to succeed, you have to put what's best for the company ahead of what feels most comfortable for you.

Paul Graham: Why It's Safe for Founders to Be Nice

So if you’re a founder, here’s a deal you can make with yourself that will both make you happy and make your company successful. Tell yourself you can be as nice as you want, so long as you work hard on your growth rate to compensate. Most successful startups make that tradeoff unconsciously. Maybe if you do it consciously you’ll do it even better.

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