by Clément Aglietta Imagine how difficult it was for an empire to keep track of the birth rate, … Continue reading “Venture Capitalists: change your life with Kushim”

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Connie Loizos from Techcrunch yesterday. Unsurprisingly the conversation rapidly veered … Continue reading “Some thoughts on Trump’s surprising win”

By Ale Resnik, Chief Executive Officer of Beepi Imagine it’s the year 2035. Gasoline engines are a thing … Continue reading “Ride-sharing is not killing car ownership”

In October 2014, at the end of my Update on the Very Big Downgrade, I explained that the … Continue reading “My Rematerialized Life”

I was recently interviewed by Alliancy to discuss the world in 2030. I am transcribing it below for … Continue reading “Life in 2030”

Dazeinfo wrote a really nice article for my birthday full of surprisingly accurate information. I recreated the blog … Continue reading “Great birthday wishes from Dazeinfo: Happy Birthday Fabrice Grinda: The Extraordinary Tech Entrepreneur”

This goes to show there is no such thing as bad press. I made the cover of the … Continue reading “Some Thoughts on the New York Times Styles Section Article”

La Tribune just published an interview where we discuss the nature of entrepreneurship, the necessity of failing in … Continue reading “Great Interview with La Tribune”

I have had the pleasure of meeting professor Tyler Cowen a few times and always left my meetings … Continue reading “How Technology Could Help Fight Income Inequality”

Always look at correlations in a critical light! US spending on science, space, and technology correlates with Suicides … Continue reading “Correlation is not causation!”

Techcrunch recently covered the venture investments of various investors in the fashion space. It’s funny that it’s basically … Continue reading “Not a bad list to be part of :)”

Nicholas Carlson just published a fascinating in depth article about Larry Page. It covers his evolution over the … Continue reading “Larry Page’s story is fascinating”

Anand Iyer, the Chief Product Officer of Threadflip, just wrote a thoughtful blog post on how to build … Continue reading “Fantastic article on how to build trust in modern marketplaces to achieve liquidity”

Bitcoin confuses people. They don’t grasp what it is and how it works. The two presentations below are … Continue reading “Great presentations on Bitcoin”

In The Case for Optimism I outlined both why we are better off than we have ever been … Continue reading “50 reasons why this is the greatest time ever”

I have had the privilege to see Henry do his “Mary Meeker” impersonation as he effectively flies through … Continue reading “Henry Blodget’s Slides on the Future of Digital: 2013 are a must read”

As a species and as individuals we are often shockingly arrogant. We believe, or want to believe, that … Continue reading “The cure for hubris”

As I have repeatedly observed both as an entrepreneur and angel investor if you believe in something strongly … Continue reading “Delusional optimism can go a long way!”

Over the course of the last few years I resolved the cognitive dissonance between my short term pessimism … Continue reading “No Limits to Growth”

James Altucher just published on Techcrunch a 100 point FAQ on starting an Internet business. It’s straight to … Continue reading “Absolute must read for all entrepreneurs!”

PC World just exited the print market, marking the exit of the last general-interest PC magazine. I am … Continue reading “The end of an era!”

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Benoit Hopquin from Le Monde last June while I was … Continue reading “Fun interview in Le Monde”

Paul Graham just published yet another must read blog post. This one is entitled Do Things that Don’t … Continue reading “How to launch your startup”

I had the pleasure of chatting with David while at Martin Varsavsky’s Tech Talk Menorca and was fascinated … Continue reading “David Rowan’s experience at Singularity University is a must read for everyone interested in thinking and learning about the future!”

As you can probably imagine given my recent blog post, Thoughts on building successful vertical marketplaces, marketplaces have … Continue reading “Bill Gurley’s thoughts on marketplaces are a must read!”

Check out this interesting Harvard Business Review article: http://blogs.hbr.org/bregman/2013/05/the-unexpected-antidote-to-pro.html

Bill Gurley is a partner at Benchmark and an investor and on the board of Uber, OpenTable and … Continue reading “Great article on optimal take rates in Internet businesses”

Paul Miller, a technology writer for The Verge, decided to spend 365 days offline. No email, Google, Facebook, … Continue reading “Don’t blame the Internet for your failings!”

I just finished reading through all of them and found them very insightful. Some sections are useful to … Continue reading “The class notes from Peter Thiel’s Stanford class are a must read for all entrepreneurs”

I just came across his engrossing story in a recent copy of Wired. In many ways entrepreneurs, myself … Continue reading “The John McAfee story is fascinating!”

Fred Wilson just wrote an article, What Has Changed, in which he confirms the observation I made in … Continue reading “Further evidence suggesting consumer Internet series A financings are more difficult to come by”

I had the pleasure of meeting both Ron Dennis and Frank Stephenson at the McLaren factory outside of … Continue reading “Fantastic interview about what may very well be my next car!”

Not only do games allow you to live longer, healthier life, recent scientific research suggests that intense game … Continue reading “I knew it all along: video games are great for you and allow you to live longer :)”

The May issue of Fast Company has a great article on Steve Jobs’ “wilderness years”. This 1985-1996 period … Continue reading “Great Article on Steve Jobs’ “Wilderness Years””

I loved the examples given in the article: http://www.inc.com/harvey-mackay/how-to-accomplish-the-impossible.html

I really enjoyed this New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/10/health/elderly-experts-share-life-advice-in-cornell-project.html?_r=2&smid=fb-nytimes I loved this quote: “I chose to live each … Continue reading “Great common sense advice from our elders”

I highly recommend this amazing New York Times article on how to instill “performance character” (as opposed to … Continue reading “What if the Secret to Success is Failure?”

I just came across this very well thought through article on everything that could go wrong for the … Continue reading “Must read article on America’s 21st century collapse!”

Great interview of Nouriel Roubini and Ian Bremmer in Foreign Policy. Read it at: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/08/05/just_how_bad_is_bad

I was shocked that the statistics I came across in a recent article in The Economist which presented … Continue reading “Globalization is more fragile and less entrenched than you think!”

My good friend Auren Hoffman just wrote a great article on the difference between entrepreneurs and McKinsey-type strategy … Continue reading “The Entrepreneur vs. The Strategy Consultant”

There was a great article in this week’s Wall Street Journal on the 1 to 3 percent of … Continue reading “The Sleepless Elite”

Read this amazing article by my good friend Xenios Thrasyvoulou, the Founder & CEO of Peopleperhour, one of … Continue reading “Lessons of a super tenacious first time entrepreneur”

If you share my quirky sense of humor, you will love this article from the Economist on how … Continue reading “How to buy respectability :)”

If you live in a city like New York with everyone is seemingly richer than you, you imagine … Continue reading “There are fewer millionaires than you might think!”

Ever since I saw Matthieu’s great speeches on the habits of happiness, I was intrigued and interested in … Continue reading “Matthieu Ricard: The World’s Happiest Man”

I just came across this amazing post by Christoph Niemann on the NY Times site at: http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/25/unpopular-science/ I … Continue reading “Unpopular Science”

It’s not really a double blind controlled study and many of the benefits might come from just resting … Continue reading “I knew massages were good for you! :)”

I had written about how America’s success might be because America’s entrepreneurs are hypomanics (Hypomanics to the rescue … Continue reading “Just Manic Enough: Seeking Perfect Entrepreneurs”

One of the wonders of entrepreneurship is that sometimes we can get lucky and make millions. Paul Buchheit … Continue reading “What to do with your millions”

Paul Graham wrote another great article on the future of startup funding. Read it at: www.paulgraham.com/future.html

Paul Graham just wrote another fantastic article, this time covering what happened to Yahoo. Read it at: www.paulgraham.com/yahoo.html

The December issue had an interesting section on falling in love. My favorite article was actually “The Happy … Continue reading “Great article on love in Scientific American”

This article tells a fascinating story of a journey of survival through entrepreneurship. The persistence and trial and … Continue reading “College Will Kill Your Entrepreneurial Spirit While Simultaneously Turning You into a Worker Bee”

I just came across this great article by Malcolm Gladwell in the New Yorker. He explains why underdogs … Continue reading “How David beats Goliath”

This is an old article by Paul Graham (October 2006), but a must read for all entrepreneurs. Read … Continue reading “The 18 Mistakes that Kill Startups”

You would think CNN started writing on my behalf. Right after they wrote an article explaining why girls … Continue reading “New Year's resolution: Have more sex”

Just when I thought I would have to come up with creative ideas, Simcha Whitehill comes up with … Continue reading “Why girls in their early 20s should date me :)”

It deftly addresses why our modern view of progress is so dismal. Read it at: http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15108593

I argued in a prior post that the best way to deal with a deflating bubble was not … Continue reading “Mortgage modifications have done more harm than good”

Read: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/opinion/14trillin.html?_r=3

I have always been a fan of Ben Stein’s articles. I find this one both intriguing and amusing: … Continue reading “Why is the US birth rate falling? Children offer a decreasing return on investment :)”

The article is 9 months old, but extremely interesting and worth a read: http://www.portfolio.com/executives/features/2009/01/07/John-Paulson-Profits-in-Downturn/

http://venturebeat.com/2009/10/02/mark-zuckerberg-the-evolution-of-a-remarkable-ceo/

A must read: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/GuerrillaInterviewing3.html

I just came across this great article which has me written all over it: Why The Smartest People … Continue reading “This explains everything! :)”

New scientific research that shows we can alter the emotional landscape of our brains from anxiety to happiness … Continue reading “Happiness is a skill!”

There is a great series of articles on entrepreneurship in the latest Economist. Check them out: http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13216025

Over the last 25 years, the fight against HIV has seemed hopeless. Every attempt at a vaccine or … Continue reading “Interesting progress in the fight against HIV”

I love his optimism!

Last Spring, Mark Gimein, who is usually more known for his investigative journalism, wrote an interesting article using … Continue reading “The Eligible-Bachelor Paradox”

A new study suggests that your happiness is heavily influenced by the happiness of the people around you. … Continue reading “Happiness is contagious!”

As a gamer and fan of marketplaces, I have followed with amazement the rise and fall of IGE … Continue reading “The incredible rise and fall of IGE”

Auren Hoffman wrote a fantastic article on how homophily – our tendency to become friends with people who … Continue reading “Homophily changes the way you think”

I blogged a few times that, your level of natural talent notwithstanding, excellence is achieved through deliberate practice … Continue reading “Talent is overrated!”

Fareed Zakaria wrote a fantastic article for Newsweek entitled “There Is a Silver Lining” where he argues the … Continue reading “The Bright Side”

Paul Graham has a fantastic article on the perils of raising money and advice on how to best … Continue reading “A Fundraising Survival Guide”

My good friend Auren Hoffman just wrote an interesting article on why entrepreneurs end up investing mostly in … Continue reading “Why active entrepreneurs mostly invest in consumer Internet companies”

Vanity Fair has a fascinating article on Rupert Murdoch. Michael Wolff has been given unprecedented access to Murdoch … Continue reading “Tuesdays with Rupert”

There is a great series of interviews on the topic of happiness on Ted.com. Check them out at: … Continue reading “What Makes Us Happy?”

My friend Peter Thiel embarked on an interesting thought experiment to assess what must happen for an “optimistic” … Continue reading “The Optimistic Thought Experiment”

There is more and more evidence that random factors can influence our decisions. Read this fantastic post by … Continue reading “You are not as rational as you think you are!”

One of my readers mentioned that he was also reading Dick Costolo’s blog on entrepreneurship and found it … Continue reading “Check out Dick Costolo's blog on entrepreneurship”

Joshua Bell is an internationally acclaimed virtuoso. As part of a fantastic experiment in context, perception, public taste … Continue reading “What if the world’s best violinist played the world’s best violin at a subway stop?”

My friend Auren Hoffman just wrote a very interesting article on the growing cost consumer Internet companies face … Continue reading “The Black Hat Tax”

I read a lot of fascinating articles on Alex last September and never got around to writing about … Continue reading “Big bird brain :)”

Auren just wrote an interesting article analyzing the behavior pattern of men and women on social networks. Even … Continue reading “Men are from Video Games, Women are from Social Networks”

As an economist by formation and at heart if not by trade, I have always been fascinated by … Continue reading “The Art of Designing Markets”

Auren Hoffman wrote an interesting article a few weeks ago on how recessions can promote innovation. I can … Continue reading “Recessions promote breakthrough innovations”

If like me, the concept of our mortality bothers you, be sure to check out Stayin’ Alive, an … Continue reading “Stayin’ Alive”

Reading about astrophysics almost always makes me feel insignificant and oh so mortal. The article below proved no … Continue reading “The type of article that stirs my feelings of mortality”

“Is China democratizing? The country’s leaders do not think of democracy as people in the West generally do, … Continue reading “The Prospects for Democracy in China”

Funny and insightful! Sandberg leaves for Facebook. Let’s all recite Eric Schmidt’s Serenity Prayer Eric Schmidt’s Serenity Prayer

This article is hilarious: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/03/04/81-graduate-school/ Most of the posts are great as well! You can recognize yourself in … Continue reading “If you are white and in graduate school you are a cliche :)”

I just came across a great article in the New York Times. A few decades ago, economics mattered … Continue reading “Making economics relevant again”

With the growth of online advertising, many businesses are evolving from paid business models to free ad supported … Continue reading “Free Sex :)”

Paul Graham wrote these two interesting articles on the topic: How to Fund a Startup The Equity Equation

The road to hell is paved with good intentions! In public policy above all else, I have often … Continue reading “The power of unintended consequences”

While on the topic of hiring, my friend Auren just wrote a great article as to why great … Continue reading “The power of great people (why “good enough” won’t cut it)”

Virgil Griffith analyzed the top 10 books listed on Facebook by students in a college versus the average … Continue reading “Books that make you dumb :)”

I just came across a fascinating article in Scientific American on how one’s attitude towards intelligence dramatically impacts … Continue reading “The secret to raising smart kids (and overcoming challenges)”

As Malcolm Gladwell expressed in a New Yorker article, when it comes to art, most people fall in … Continue reading “The power of regression analysis by Malcolm Gladwell”

I have always been a huge fan of Malcolm Gladwell’s New Yorker articles. He is the quintessential eclectic … Continue reading “Criminal Profiling is bogus by Malcolm Gladwell”

A recent article in the Financial Times showed that French and German schoolbooks demonize enterprise. As the article … Continue reading “Shocking research on continental European economics teaching”

Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures just wrote a great article on why early stage ventures fail. Check … Continue reading “Why Early Stage Venture Investments Fail”

Fortune just covered Peter and his former Paypal crew. Read the article at: http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/13/magazines/fortune/paypal_mafia.fortune/index.htm?source=yahoo_quote

The Financial Times just ran a very interesting article on the pitfalls of marrying an entrepreneur. As they … Continue reading “The pitfalls of marrying an entrepreneur”

My friend Auren Hoffman just posted an article arguing that wine is a big scam. Check it out, … Continue reading “Wine is a big scam!”

Most business books cover what it takes for large businesses to get even larger. Very few have covered … Continue reading “Zero to $1 billion”

The BBC recently reported that people fluent in two languages rather than one were both sharper mentally and … Continue reading “Learn to speak another language: it’s good for you!”

In a recent article I wrote how most successful entrepreneurs were not innate geniuses but got their success … Continue reading “What Kind of Genius are You?”

Reposted from New Scientist: http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/mg19426094.400?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=mg19426094.400 IMAGINE having a spare copy of your immune system on ice, ready to … Continue reading “Create a back-up copy of your immune system”

There is ever more evidence that we humans are extremely primitive. Psychologists are demonstrating time and time again … Continue reading “Who’s Minding the Mind?”

Psychology Today has a great article on human nature. I am not sure I buy all the arguments … Continue reading “Ten Politically Incorrect Truths about Human Nature”

Tony Blair is probably the most gifted politician of his generation. He is smart, open minded and a … Continue reading “Read Tony Blair’s essay in The Economist”

George Meyer just wrote an amazing satirical essay in the New Yorker on the addiction to conferences. Check … Continue reading “For the love of conferences :)”

As much as we think of ourselves as extremely rational and intelligent beings, there is a growing body … Continue reading “Top 10 ways to make better decisions”

The New York Times had a very interesting article on morality in primates. As many primates display empathy, … Continue reading “Morality in Primates”

The NY Times just published a great article called “Darwin’s God” discussing why people believe in God. It’s … Continue reading “Why people believe in God”

While true polymaths like Leonardo da Vinci are rare, there is an increasing body of evidence to suggest … Continue reading “The benefits of intellectual curiosity”

I count The Thomas Crown Affair with Pierce Brosnan as one of my favorite movies and was amused … Continue reading “The Real Thomas Crown Affair!”

The predictions for the next 50 years by dozens of world class scientists are wide ranging and intriguing. … Continue reading “Read New Scientist’s 50th Anniversary Special Edition”

As a dog owner and lover, I am very moved by stories like this one: An 81-year old … Continue reading “Amazing dog story”

Einat Wilf, a young up and coming Israeli politician and intellectual, wrote an interesting article a few years … Continue reading “The Red Carpet Syndrome”

After the recent article in the New York Times by the Freakonomics authors arguing that high performance is … Continue reading “A Star is Made – Part 2”

I just read Gary Smith’s amazing mini-biography of Andre Agassi in Sports Illustrated. The story of his rise … Continue reading “Lessons in life: the humbling transformation of Andre Agassi”

My last posting showed how deliberate practice overwhelms differences in natural ability to explain the success of top … Continue reading “Live long? Die young? The answer is not in your genes”

If like me you loved the inquisitive mindset in Freakonomics where the authors ask numerous unrelated questions of … Continue reading “A Star is Made”

Recent developments in sleep research are extremely interesting. The two most interesting findings are on the importance of … Continue reading “The state of sleep research”

The recent Slate article on the deathstyles of the rich and famous is hilarious. I suppose, I found … Continue reading “Deathstyles of the Rich and Famous”

People are notoriously bad at predicting the future further than a few years down the line. We think … Continue reading “Window to the future”

It sounds crazy, but there is significant evidence that passing a weak current through your brain can significantly … Continue reading “Electrify your brain”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/23/magazine/23wwln_idealab.html?pagewanted=all In a widely-discussed 2003 article, he found that, as anticipated, virtually all the variation in I.Q. scores … Continue reading “A more sophisticated take on nature vs. nurture”

I thought many of you would enjoy the irony of my posting this 🙂 Freud has been proven … Continue reading “Narcissistic Leaders: The Incredible Pros, The Inevitable Cons”