Welcome to the Flywheel Ventures blog.

In the Long Run, We Are All Dead

Jim Anderson of Silicon Valley Bank publishes a must-read weekly investment newsletter which includes commentary on venture capital, currency markets, and his usually witty observations about current economic happenings.

Beside an introductory paragraph that cites one of my favorite quotes from economics - “In the long-term, we are all dead” - this week features an excellent discussion of the issues surrounding globalization of human capital flow, the savings glut and its strange effect on long term interest rates, etc.  I discussed some of this in a previous post (”The SuperSizing of VC Funds”) a few weeks ago, but Jim’s treatment is (as usual) both more to the point and more entertaining to read.

Posted 04-18-2006, 08:19 pm, by Trevor Loy    Comments 0

Does an MBA vs. MS. vs. other degree matter for entrepreneurs?

I have a BSEE and MSEE from Stanford, and practiced for several years as an engineer and technical manager, primarily in the semiconductor industry.  When it came time to move toward the business side of the tech industry as an entrepreneur, and subsequently as a venture capitalist, I weighed the various options of MBA vs. MS degree vs. no degree at all.  Brad Feld’s blog post today on the same subject prompted me to reflect on the question.

For myself, I chose to get an MS in Engineering Management at Stanford (it’s now called the Management Science and Engineering department).  In part this was because it was more time-efficient (Stanford has a joint graduate program between Electrical Engineering and MS&E).  In large part it was the opportunity to work as a research assistant with Tom Byers in building the Stanford Technology Ventures Program.  In retrospect, though, the real reason I did it was that it was the path for which I had the most passion, and from which I could see myself being fulfilled for the rest of my career.  I just didn’t have the same passion for the MBA route.

Now, several of my colleagues at Flywheel have MBAs and while I rib them about its worth all the time, the truth is that they found it very helpful and fulfilling.... more »

Posted 04-02-2006, 07:52 pm, by Trevor Loy    Comments 0

Page 1 of 1 pages