Venture Kills – The Preview Episode

My unofficial bio indicates that one of the goals of my blog is to “help others learn from my mistakes which means I have a near-infinite amount of material to use for inspiration”. This is very true of course, but there is one problem: I don’t love blogging. I find the process a bit tedious because I tend to overthink every word. The interesting thing is that I love to share my experiences via public speaking and my approach to that format is the exact opposite. When it comes to giving talks or speaking on panels, I like to be as spontaneous as possible. Unfortunately, with COVID19 upon us for the foreseeable future, the opportunity to share my experiences in front of an audience are much fewer. Therefore, I’ve decided to try something new.

At age 53, I’m becoming a vlogger. Yes, it is as dumb as it sounds. However, my hope is that this format will allow the more spontaneous side of my personality to come through as I share all my thoughts and experiences on startups and the world of venture capital. The goal is to share opinions and knowledge in a goofy, self-deprecating, and hopefully entertaining format. I’m sure I’ll crush the goofy part. We’ll have to wait and see if any of the other pieces come together.

The name of my new YouTube channel is Venture Kills which is a reference to how hard it is to start and build a successful business venture. The name is also a playful hat-tip to the best-selling book, Venture Deals, written by my partner, Brad Feld, and my now-retired partner, Jason Mendelson. To be clear, Venture Deals is the must-have bible for any entrepreneur trying to understand the opaque world of venture capital. The book, which is now in its fourth edition, is the result of decades of experience and years of thorough research. Venture Kills, on the other hand, is a YouTube channel that currently has zero subscribers and will be comprised mostly of content that I pull out of my butt. 

I’d like to thank my partners in advance for allowing me to do something that is almost certainly going to prove to be an embarrassment to our once prestigious firm. I’d also like to thank any future viewers for your patience while I try to figure this thing out because I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. If you can find it in your heart to subscribe to the channel, I would greatly appreciate it.