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# Fabrice Grinda

## Sitemaps
- [XML Sitemap](https://fabricegrinda.com/sitemap_index.xml): Includes all crawlable and indexable pages.

## Posts
- [A Week in China: Pragmatism, Scale and the Robotics Craze](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-week-in-china-pragmatism-scale-and-the-robotics-craze/): A hyper-competitive ecosystem with massive manufacturing scale, relentlessly pragmatic, ahead of the US in hardware but behind in software, and more intertwined with the US than the headlines suggest.
- [Population Decline Is Real. So Is the Reversal.](https://fabricegrinda.com/population-decline-is-real-so-is-the-reversal/): Every week I come across another alarmist post on fertility and population decline. It has become consensus: birth rates are collapsing everywhere, South Korea is at 0.7, Europe and East Asia are aging into irrelevance, and civilization is quietly winding down.
- [My Health and Longevity Protocol](https://fabricegrinda.com/my-health-and-longevity-protocol/): For most of my twenties and thirties I treated my body as an afterthought. I prided myself on thriving on very little sleep, ate whatever was in front of me, and considered exercise something I did when I had time. Reading Why We Sleep was the wake-up call. Since then I have gone deep down the rabbit hole and built a system that I have now followed for years.
- [Marketplaces in the Age of AI: Threat or Opportunity?](https://fabricegrinda.com/marketplaces-in-the-age-of-ai-threat-or-opportunity/): I had a fun fireside chat with Platform Leaders on the impact of AI on marketplaces. You can find the summary below.
- [FJ Labs Q2 2026 Update](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-q2-2026-update/): FJ Labs Portco MEXT Acquired by Advanced Micro DevicesEarning ~6X return in 6 months
- [The Keys to Off-Grid Living](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-keys-to-off-grid-living/): When I bought my house in Turks & Caicos, it was connected to the grid like any normal home. Today, it produces its own power, stores its own energy, and makes its own fresh water from the sea. It is now effectively self-sufficient.
- [From Sheldon Cooper to Tony Stark with a touch of Alan Watts](https://fabricegrinda.com/from-sheldon-cooper-to-tony-stark-with-a-touch-of-alan-watts/): A frank conversation with Jodie Cook about ambition, failure, money, love, and the game of life
- [How to Build Wealth 101 (Without Becoming a Finance Bro)](https://fabricegrinda.com/how-to-build-wealth-101-without-becoming-a-finance-bro/): Most people don’t have a spending problem. They have a system problem:
- [FJ Labs Q1 2026 Update](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-q1-2026-update/): Vinted Completes Secondary Transaction at €8B Valuation Reflecting Consistent, Profitable Growth.
- [A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: A Return to Storytelling That Actually Works](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-a-return-to-storytelling-that-actually-works/): I didn’t expect to love A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms as much as I did. It’s not because the world isn’t compelling, it obviously is, but because prequels, especially in massive franchises, tend to fall into one of two traps: either they try too hard to be epic, or they drown in lore.
- [Masterclass on Marketplaces in the Age of AI with Everything Marketplaces](https://fabricegrinda.com/masterclass-on-marketplaces-in-the-age-of-ai-with-everything-marketplaces/): I had the pleasure to chat with Mike Williams of Everything Marketplaces about the state of marketplaces in the age of AI.
- [Project Hail Mary: A Rare, Intelligent, Optimistic Blockbuster](https://fabricegrinda.com/project-hail-mary-a-rare-intelligent-optimistic-blockbuster/): I don’t say this lightly: Project Hail Mary is the best movie of 2026, and one of the best films of the last few years.
- [A Conversation with Amir Fischer](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-conversation-with-amir-fischer/): I had the pleasure of speaking with Amir Fischer, a Greenwich High Schooler who invests in teenagers.
- [Midas Raises $50M Series A to Launch Instant Liquidity Layer for Onchain Investment Products](https://fabricegrinda.com/midas-raises-50m-series-a-to-launch-instant-liquidity-layer-for-onchain-investment-products/): We started Midas with a simple but ambitious vision: investing should work like the internet – open, transparent, composable… and accessible to everyone. Today, we are announcing a $50M Series A led by RRE and Creandum, with participation from Framework Ventures, HV Capital, Ledger Cathay, North Island Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Franklin Templeton, GSR and others across crypto-native, institutional, and venture capital.
- [Episode 53: Ask Me Anything](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-53-ask-me-anything/): It’s been a year since my last Ask Me Anything session. A lot has happened since then across AI, marketplaces, macro, and the broader tech ecosystem.
- [Episode 52: Marketplaces in the Age of AI](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-52-marketplaces-in-the-age-of-ai/): Over the past few weeks, a growing narrative has emerged arguing that AI could destabilize the economy and disrupt entire business models. Last week, I published my view that AI is far more likely to be a productivity revolution than an economic collapse.
- [AI Is a Productivity Revolution, Not a Collapse](https://fabricegrinda.com/ai-is-a-productivity-revolution-not-a-collapse/): Every generation believes it has discovered the technology that will finally break capitalism:
- [FJ Labs 2025 Year in Review](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-2025-year-in-review/)
- [Fireside with a VC with Andrew Romans](https://fabricegrinda.com/fireside-with-a-vc-with-andrew-romans/): I had a great chat with Andrew Romans about the state of VC.
- [Episode 51: Zach Resnick, Founder & CEO of Ascend](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-51-zach-resnick-founder-ceo-of-ascend/): I had the pleasure of chatting with Zach Resnick, the founder and CEO of Ascend (formerly FlyFlat), a membership program for frequent travelers that eliminates 90% of travel decisions and saves 35% off biz/first class flights.
- [FJ Labs Q4 2025 Update](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-q4-2025-update/): Friends of FJ Labs,
- [2025: Transitions](https://fabricegrinda.com/2025-transitions/): 2025 was a year of transition. Many things were set in motion that will bear fruit in the years to come.
- [A Joyful Return to Jeffrey Archer: The Detective Warwick Series](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-joyful-return-to-jeffrey-archer-the-detective-warwick-series/): I have had a funny sort of full-circle moment lately. As a teenager, I devoured every Jeffrey Archer novel written up until the mid-1990s. I loved the politics, the twists, the unapologetically larger than life characters, all of it. And then, for no real reason I drifted away. Life moved on. Startups happened. Kids happened. Actual responsibilities happened. Only recently did I wander back into Archer’s world through the Detective Warwick series.
- [The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown: A Return to Form](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-secret-of-secrets-by-dan-brown-a-return-to-form/): Every so often, an author circles back to the spirit that made you fall in love with their work in the first place. With The Secret of Secrets, Dan Brown feels like he’s doing exactly that, not just returning to form, but clearly having fun doing it.
- [Startupable Podcast with Enzo Cavalie](https://fabricegrinda.com/startupable-podcast-with-enzo-cavalie/): I had a wide-ranging conversation with Enzo Cavalie about the best opportunities in tech today.
- [2025 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide](https://fabricegrinda.com/2025-holiday-gadget-gift-guide/): As the holiday season is approaching fast, I wanted to share my recommendations for the year. While I kept most of the gadgets from my prior guides, I made a number of upgrades and started introducing kid-centric gadgets.
- [VC10X Conversation with Prashant Choubey](https://fabricegrinda.com/vc10x-conversation-with-prashant-choubey/): I had a fantastic conversation with Prashant. We dive deep into my journey, from leaving McKinsey at 23 to chasing my entrepreneurial dream, to the "spaghetti on the wall" strategy of launching OLX in 100+ countries simultaneously.
- [Featured in Forbes: Playing Life Like a Video Game](https://fabricegrinda.com/featured-in-forbes-playing-life-like-a-video-game/): A few days ago, Forbes published an article by Jodie Cook titled “Meet the Multi-Millionaire Who Made His Life a Video Game (Then Played It)”.
- [The Universe is Whispering to You](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-universe-is-whispering-to-you/): When you are driven, you can bend the world to your will. You can make things happen, whether they should happen or not. It took me many years to realize the difference.
- [FJ Labs Q3 2025 Update](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-q3-2025-update/): Friends of FJ Labs,
- [In Praise of Being Yourself](https://fabricegrinda.com/in-praise-of-being-yourself/): We spend so much of life trying to be other people’s idea of who we should be. We bend ourselves into shapes that fit expectation, comparison, judgment. Yet the deeper truth is that freedom comes not from meeting those demands, but from finally stepping fully into the shape of ourselves.
- [The Meaning of Life](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-meaning-of-life/): I was not contemplating writing a post on the meaning of life, but repeated recent interactions and the depressing take of a few dystopian post-scarcity novels compelled me to articulate my thoughts.
- [FJ Labs Q2 2025 Update](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-q2-2025-update/): Friends of FJ Labs,
- [World of DaaS Conversation with Auren Hoffman: Diversified Portfolios, Secondary Sales & Dinner Parties](https://fabricegrinda.com/world-of-daas-conversation-with-auren-hoffman-diversified-portfolios-secondary-sales-dinner-parties/): In this episode of World of DaaS, Auren and I discuss:
- [Episode 50: Venture Market Trends](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-50-venture-market-trends/): The venture market is in flux. AI is booming while the rest of venture is in the dumps. Venture capital as an asset class is evolving and retrenching. Fewer deals are happening at higher prices. New marketplace types are emerging. AI is impacting marketplaces in unexpected ways. New technologies are coming of age. In this episode, I cover it all!
- [Decoding the Future: AI, Venture Market & Marketplaces](https://fabricegrinda.com/decoding-the-future-ai-venture-market-marketplaces/): I had an engaging fireside chat with Dhruv Sharma, CEO of AngeList India, for Offline. Offline is a private members' community for leading entrepreneurs in South Asia. It was a blast to chat with Utsav and his community of extraordinary unicorn founders. India's tech future is very bright!
- [Episode 49: Dan Park and the Incredible Comeback Story of Clutch](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-49-dan-park-and-the-incredible-comeback-story-of-clutch/): Clutch has had an incredible ride. As the “Carvana of Canada” it was a highflier in 2021. It had a brush with death in 2023 and effected an incredible turnaround. They are now once again on a tear. Dan Park, Clutch’s Founder & CEO, joined us to share all the lessons learned along the way.
- [Dungeon Crawler Carl: A Surprisingly Brilliant Blend of Mayhem, Metrics, and Meta-Humor](https://fabricegrinda.com/dungeon-crawler-carl-a-surprisingly-brilliant-blend-of-mayhem-metrics-and-meta-humor/): I didn’t expect to love this book. I picked up Dungeon Crawler Carl during a weekend wind-down thinking it’d be another throwaway LitRPG romp. What I got instead was a savage, smart, and strangely heartwarming odyssey that punched far above its weight class.
- [The Impact of AI on Marketplaces](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-impact-of-ai-on-marketplaces/): As I was having conversations with marketplace founders about AI over the last few months, I felt that most founders were focusing on the wrong aspects of AI.
- [20VC Podcast with Rory O’Driscoll, Jason Lemkin & Harry Stebbings](https://fabricegrinda.com/20vc-podcast-with-rory-odriscoll-jason-lemkin-harry-stebbings/): 💰 Why IRR is being gamed & secondaries are the new exits📉 The LP crisis: what happens if liquidity do not return?🛑 Why AI investing is worse than 2021🌎 Should U.S. funds back Chinese AI startups?🇪🇺 The Europe vs SF debate (Jason Lemkin: Europe has a “baguette and red wine culture”)
- [Episode 48: Ask Me Anything](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-48-ask-me-anything/): I had not done an Ask Me Anything session in over a year which led to many questions on a wide variety of topics: macro, marketplaces, AI, fundraising, wealth management, education, island shopping, India, how to lose your accent, adventure travel, climate tech, the state of VC, and much more.
- [FJ Labs Q1 2025 Update](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-q1-2025/): Friends of FJ Labs,
- [Decoding the Founder Mindset: Founder DNA](https://fabricegrinda.com/decoding-the-founder-mindset-founder-dna/): What drives the world’s top founders to succeed—against all odds?
- [Please buy my apartment :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/please-buy-my-apartment/): As I mentioned a decade ago, I bought an apartment in New York, when the city made high-end Airbnbs illegal, to serve as my urban base. I always loved New York and could not imagine living anywhere else. It's the best and most dynamic city in the world. It can cater to any niche interest you have. It’s the haven for my intellectual, social, artistic and professional endeavors.
- [Meet FJ Labs’ New Partner: Matias Barbero](https://fabricegrinda.com/meet-fj-labs-new-partner-matias-barbero/): Here at FJ Labs, we have always sought to build a dynamic and intellectually diverse team that is passionate about startups, founders, finance, and new ideas that could shape the future. Spend just a couple of minutes with Matias and you'll immediately feel his obsession for venture capital and the tech ecosystem, and for markets and investing writ large.
- [Winner Takes Most with LionTree’s Antal Runnebom](https://fabricegrinda.com/winner-takes-most-with-liontrees-antal-runnebom/): I sat down with LionTree’s Antal Runnebom. I gave my perspective into the opportunities around vertical-specific marketplaces; the process by which FJ Labs selects the hundreds of start-ups we invested in; why humanoid robots and AI-powered investors are coming faster than any of us realize; and a vision for how future energy abundance will enable us to “waste energy” inventing the next cool thing.
- [OpenVC: My most in depth video interview ever!](https://fabricegrinda.com/openvc-my-most-in-depth-video-interview-ever/): Most interviews I have focus on my recent history and FJ Labs’ current thesis and selection criteria. I was beyond impressed when Harrison Faull sent me the following list of questions to prepare for the interview.
- [Midas Liquid Yield Tokens (LYT): A New Era of Tokenized Yield Strategies](https://fabricegrinda.com/midas-liquid-yield-tokens-lyt-a-new-era-of-tokenized-yield-strategies/): Stablecoins are hailed as the cornerstone of the crypto ecosystem, offering stability in a volatile market and promising to overhaul payment rails. However, underneath the surface, stablecoin supply is fundamentally driven by on-chain yield.
- [Unicorn Bakery Conversation: 2025 Trends for B2B and B2C Marketplaces](https://fabricegrinda.com/unicorn-bakery-conversation-2025-trends-for-b2b-and-b2c-marketplaces/): I had the pleasure of chatting with Fabian Tausch of Unicorn Bakery. We covered the state of venture markets, the rise of B2B marketplaces, the impact of AI on startups, and why IPOs remain elusive for many companies.
- [FJ Labs 2024 Year in Review](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-2024-year-in-review/)
- [Lessons from 1,100+ startup investments](https://fabricegrinda.com/lessons-from-1100-startup-investments/): I had the pleasure of chatting with the VNTR Podcast. I shared my journey from launching startups to becoming one of the world’s most active angel investors. We discussed my approach to early-stage investing, the importance of pattern recognition, and my philosophy when evaluating opportunities. I also offer insights into the evolution of global tech ecosystems, emerging trends in marketplaces and AI, and actionable advice for entrepreneurs navigating today’s challenges.
- [FJ Labs Q4 2024 Update](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-q4-2024/): Friends of FJ Labs,
- [2024: Amélie](https://fabricegrinda.com/2024-amelie/): In the same Ayahuasca ceremony during which my grandmother Françoise convinced me to have kids, my grandmother told me to have at least one boy and one girl because the relationship between a father and a son is different than the relationship between a father and a daughter, and both are amazing and worth having. I was blessed with the birth of my daughter Amélie Victoire Grinda on February 21, 2024.
- [Episode 47: Marketplace Trends](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-47-marketplace-trends/): We're still at the very beginning. And so I want to share some of the things that have been happening and why we're still excited by the things that are happening in marketplaces and what is to come. So without any further ado, let's get started. Welcome to episode 47, Marketplace Trends.
- [Conversation with Comptoir IA](https://fabricegrinda.com/conversation-with-comptoir-ia/): This one is exclusively for the French speakers amongst you. I had the pleasure of chatting with Nicolas Guyon of Comptoir IA. The conversation was far ranging.
- [2024 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide](https://fabricegrinda.com/2024-holiday-gadget-gift-guide/): As the holiday season is approaching fast, I wanted to share my recommendations for the year. I am still using the monitor, TV, sound bar, notebook computer, chair, streaming setup, and drone from my 2022 and 2023 guides. I also rarely upgrade my iPhone, not more than once every 3-4 years. I wait until I break it after one too many drops to switch to the new one. As such, this year will be more gadget oriented than day-to-day gear.
- [Episode 46: FJ Labs’ AI Thesis](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-46-fj-labs-ai-thesis/): So my podcast, my speeches. My blog posts, my interviews, all the things I've published, the PowerPoints that I put on, on my blog, transcribing all of it, uploading it, such that you can go and ask Fabrice AI, what is the FJ Labs current thesis? What is the median evaluation at seed or series A of the traction people were expecting?
- [Transatlantic Leadership Forum Keynote: Climate Optimism: Harnessing Innovation and Technology for a Sustainable Future](https://fabricegrinda.com/transatlantic-leadership-forum-keynote-climate-optimism-harnessing-innovation-and-technology-for-a-sustainable-future/): I had the pleasure to be invited by Frenchfounders to speak at this year’s Transatlantic Leadership Forum hosted by Goldman Sachs. The event brought together over 500 leaders to explore themes of sustainable futures, technological advancements, and transatlantic economic collaboration.
- [Forever Young!](https://fabricegrinda.com/forever-young/): And now please join me. Raise your glasses and repeat after me: Forever Young!”
- [Building Tomorrow: Fabrice Grinda’s Journey in Tech and AI](https://fabricegrinda.com/building-tomorrow-fabrice-grindas-journey-in-tech-and-ai/): I had a fun and wide ranging conversation with my cousin Minter Dial who is an amazing author, speaker, conversationalist, and fellow padel aficionado. We covered many topics including my unique approach to life, challenging societal norms, psychedelics, AI, being your authentic self, and much more.
- [FJ Labs Q3 2024 Update](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-q3-2024/): Friends of FJ Labs,
- [Fabrice AI: Current Technical Implementation](https://fabricegrinda.com/fabrice-ai-current-technical-implementation/): In the last post, Fabrice AI: The Technical Journey I explained the journey we went through to building Fabrice AI doing a full circle. I started by using Chat GPT 3 and 3.5. Disappointed with the results, I tried to use the Langchain Framework to build my own AI model on top of it, before coming back to Chat GPT once they started using vector databases and massively improving results with 4o.
- [Fabrice AI: The Technical Journey](https://fabricegrinda.com/fabrice-ai-the-technical-journey/): As I mentioned in the previous post, developing Fabrice AI proved way more complex than expected, forcing me to explore many different approaches.
- [Introducing Fabrice AI](https://fabricegrinda.com/introducing-fabrice-ai/): Fabrice AI is a digital representation of my thoughts based on all the content of my blog. It is meant to be an interactive, intelligent assistant capable of understanding and responding to complex queries with nuance and accuracy.
- [FJ Labs Q2 2024 Update](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-q2-2024-update/): Friends of FJ Labs,
- [How to host an intellectual dialoging dinner](https://fabricegrinda.com/how-to-host-an-intellectual-dialoging-dinner/): One of my defining traits is my intellectual curiosity. It expressed itself in college through taking a plethora of classes: molecular biology, computer science, the Roman Empire, the Peloponnesian War, Russian literature, multivariable calculus and countless more. However, professional specialization is the defining trait of the modern economy. We have an extraordinary quality of life because of hyper specialization. Thousands of people play a part in every product we consume. While this has allowed us to dramatically lower costs for food and consumer goods, it also makes it harder to encounter fellow generalist polymaths.
- [“Starter Villain” by John Scalzi: A Guilty Pleasure](https://fabricegrinda.com/starter-villain-by-john-scalzi-a-guilty-pleasure/): As someone who deeply appreciates the intricate world-building and profound themes in John Scalzi's "Old Man's War" series, I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer enjoyment I found in his latest offering, "Starter Villain." This book stands out as a guilty pleasure, a testament to Scalzi's versatility and creative flair.
- [Amazing conversation with Jack Farley covering macro, crypto, venture capital, and much more!](https://fabricegrinda.com/amazing-conversation-with-jack-farley-covering-macro-crypto-venture-capital-and-much-more/): But I understand that you also are very interested in macroeconomics and what impacts asset prices and with central banks. So on your website, you've got articles such as Welcome to the Everything Bubble, which you wrote in February of 2021, as well as in February 2020, you wrote COVID-19, maybe the black swan that pushes the global economy into recession. So my first question for you is, how does macroeconomics affect your world of investing in venture companies as well as being an entrepreneur?
- [Midas Launches mBASIS: A Tokenized Basis Trading Strategy](https://fabricegrinda.com/midas-launches-mbasis-a-tokenized-basis-trading-strategy/): When Dennis and I conceived of Midas, crypto was in the middle of its bear market. Our first product, mTBILL, a yield bearing stablecoin backed by US Treasuries, was the perfect product for that environment. With mTBILL you earn near the US Feds Fund rate of over 5% completely safely without needing to off-ramp. In addition, in bear markets you can borrow USDC for less than you earn in treasuries, creating a safe opportunity to earn high yield by borrowing USDC against mTBILL on our Morpho Vault and doing a looping trade. Depending on the spread between the USDC and Treasuries you can safely earn upwards of 20%.
- [Shogun on Hulu is amazing!](https://fabricegrinda.com/shogun-on-hulu-is-amazing/): Not being familiar with the James Clavell novels that it’s based on or the 1980 adaptation I did not really know what to expect going into it, but I enjoyed “Blue Eye Samurai” and everyone I knew was singing its praises, so I decided to check it out. "Shogun" on Hulu emerges as a triumphant revival of the epic historical drama, masterfully capturing the intricate tapestry of feudal Japan. I appreciate storytelling that dives deep into character development, intricate plot lines, and rich historical context, something that seems to have become a lost art in the past decade, but those are elements that "Shogun" delivers with exceptional finesse.
- [Climate Optimism](https://fabricegrinda.com/climate-optimism/): For most of human history, the human condition was a struggle to survive. Quality of life barely improved for thousands of years. As recently as two hundred years ago most people were farmers. They worked over 60 hours a week to barely make ends meet, went hungry multiple times per year, and had a life expectancy of 29.
- [My blog is now multilingual!](https://fabricegrinda.com/my-blog-is-now-multilingual/): It’s been a while since I posted. I have been working on several new features. First and foremost, the blog is now multilingual. I used WPML to translate my top posts in the most spoken 25 languages.
- [“The Gentlemen” Series on Netflix is fantastic!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-gentlemen-series-on-netflix-is-fantastic/): As a long-standing admirer of Guy Ritchie's distinctive filmmaking style, I approached the Netflix adaptation of "The Gentlemen" with a mix of high expectations and cautious optimism. It’s not as though recent Netflix TV shows have been good apart from “Blue Eye Samurai” and “3 Body Problem” which I highly recommend. I'm thrilled to report that the series not only meets but surpasses these expectations, embodying all the quintessential Ritchie trademarks—snappy dialogue, intricate plotting, and a charismatic ensemble cast.
- [Zero to One: How to Create a Global Leader in a Constantly Evolving World](https://fabricegrinda.com/zero-to-one-how-to-create-a-global-leader-in-a-constantly-evolving-world/): Non-French speakers can skip this interview. I am not particularly visible in France but given that I am French and a lot of my friends and family are not native English speakers, I thought it would be nice to create content they could understand fully. As such I agreed to join Jonathan Yana, Matteo David, Gary Rouch on their Zero to One podcast to discuss my entrepreneurial path and everything I learned along the way.
- [Dune 2 is a masterpiece!](https://fabricegrinda.com/dune-2-is-a-masterpiece/): "Dune 2" is not just a film; it's a cinematic marvel. You owe it to yourself to see it on an IMAX screen, preferably in 70 mm, to fully appreciate the magnitude of its visual spectacle. As it was endlessly sold out in New York, I took advantage of a brief trip to Miami to see it.
- [Introducing Triton Liquid, a spinoff of FJ Labs’ liquid crypto strategy](https://fabricegrinda.com/introducing-triton-liquid-a-spinoff-of-fj-labs-liquid-crypto-strategy/): As discussed in a previous post, I have been an active investor in crypto since 2016 and had been looking for ways to incorporate liquid crypto into FJ Labs’ most recent fund. After all, crypto is the ultimate network effects business. In 2022, we hired Chris Keshian to establish a more formal process around our liquid crypto investment activities. Since then, I have written about the research and data due diligence processes we developed to make portfolio allocation and rebalancing decisions. 
- [Helldivers 2 is the best co-op game on the market!](https://fabricegrinda.com/helldivers-2-is-the-best-co-op-game-on-the-market/): While I love the single player stories in "God of War" and the Rockstar games, there is something special about playing games co-op with friends. During the last few years, I had a blast playing "Gears of War" with my brother Olivier and best friend William. We also played and finished "Elden Ring" as a team. However, very few games are built with co-op as the expected gameplay style. Helldivers 2 changes that.
- [FJ Labs Q1 2024 Update](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-q1-2024-update/): Friends of FJ Labs,
- [Episode 45: Ask Me Anything](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-45-ask-me-anything/): I had not done an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session in over a year which led to many questions on a wide variety of topics: AI, augmented reality, crypto, macro and much more.
- [Introducing the latest FJ Labs incubation: Midas](https://fabricegrinda.com/introducing-the-latest-fj-labs-incubation-midas/): As some of you may know FJ Labs has a startup studio program where we help build companies. The model used to work as follows: we hired entrepreneurs in residence (EIRs), typically former P&L or product managers at large marketplaces (e.g., Uber, Instacart or Airbnb) who were ready to strike out on their own but wanted our support to come up with the idea, get off the ground, and with fundraising. The model was particularly appealing to first time founders. While we were co-founders, we invested $750k for 35% and gave most of the equity to the founding team. We did this model for several companies including Rebag and Mundi which have come into their own.
- [FJ Labs’ B2B Marketplace Thesis](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-b2b-marketplace-thesis/): The timing is ripe for B2B marketplaces to come of age. The technology is now available to weave the various parts of supply chains together online cost effectively. Baby boomers are retiring, leading to a shift in preferred purchasing behavior. Baby boomers preferred picking suppliers through RFPs (requests for proposals). Millennials, however, are digital natives and prefer ordering on online marketplaces.
- [A Thrilling Journey Beyond the Screen: “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-thrilling-journey-beyond-the-screen-tomorrow-and-tomorrow-and-tomorrow-by-gabrielle-zevin/): As an entrepreneur deeply immersed in the tech world, I am always on the lookout for stories that resonate with the heartbeat of our digital age. Gabrielle Zevin's "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" is a rare gem that achieves this with stunning eloquence and emotional depth.
- [The Grindas: A Family Affair](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-grindas-a-family-affair/): All our lives are the result of an extremely improbable set of events. Despite all the efforts it takes for us to succeed, we would not be where we are if it was not for all the hardships and adventures our ancestors and parents went through. We stand on the shoulders of giants.
- [A Testament to Timeless Genius: “Nightfall and Other Stories” by Isaac Asimov](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-testament-to-timeless-genius-nightfall-and-other-stories-by-isaac-asimov/): As someone who has always been fascinated by the intersection of technology, futurism, and human ingenuity, discovering Isaac Asimov's "Nightfall and Other Stories" was a revelation. Having long admired Asimov's renowned Foundation series, I was surprised to find myself unacquainted with his short stories. This collection, however, quickly proved itself a treasure trove of prescient insights and timeless narratives which I found even more impressive as the stories were written between 1941 and 1967!
- [Zero to Billions Techstars Alumni conversation with Alejandro Garcia-Amaya](https://fabricegrinda.com/zero-to-billions-techstars-alumni-conversation-with-alejandro-garcia-amaya/): I was invited to share my journey with the Techstars alumni community. Here are the questions that we covered.
- [3i Member Spotlight Interview](https://fabricegrinda.com/3i-member-spotlight-interview/): I was recently featured on the 3i Members Founder Spotlight podcast, where I spoke with Eric Rosen and shared my philosophy on angel investing, offering tips for future founders, and discussing my insights on cryptocurrency, marketplaces, and more.
- [FJ Labs 2023 Year in Review](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-2023-year-in-review/)
- [Optimizing Life Post Exit](https://fabricegrinda.com/optimizing-life-post-exit/): I recently joined a Post Exit Founders Group with over 1,200 members. They asked me to share lessons learned on my post exit experience. I shared my reflections on how to identify what’s next in your journey and find what truly gives you joy in life. I realize this is a 0.01% problem and that my lifestyle is unconventional and reflects my personal preferences. However, many of the approaches I cover from iterating in your personal life and outsourcing things you dislike are applicable to most.
- [FJ Labs Q4 2023 Update](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-q4-update/): Friends of FJ Labs,
- [Episode 44: Unlocking Productivity: Streamlining Your Days for Passion and Purpose](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-44-unlocking-productivity-streamlining-your-days-for-passion-and-purpose/): People often ask me how I manage to accomplish so much while leading such a rich, passionate life as illustrated by my 2023 year in review. In this episode I share all my secrets. I will cover everything from general productivity tips to how and what you can outsource in your professional and personal life.
- [2023: An Angel is Born](https://fabricegrinda.com/2023-an-angel-is-born/): After the passing of my beloved Rottweiler Bagheera, it took me a long time to be ready for another dog. In the same Ayahuasca ceremony during which my grandmother Françoise convinced me to have kids, I was visited by two white German shepherds. I had a fascination for John Snow’s white dire wolf, Ghost, but did not know the breed existed. From that moment on I knew I was meant to have one. My great friend Amanda helped research the best breeders.  After careful consideration, including interviewing many owners, I selected Breahead White Shepherds.
- [Marketplace Masterclass at Founders Network](https://fabricegrinda.com/marketplace-masterclass-at-founders-network/): I was invited by Founders Network to share what I learned over the years building and investing in marketplaces.
- [Transatlantic Leadership Forum Keynote: The State of Entrepreneurship](https://fabricegrinda.com/transatlantic-leadership-forum-keynote-the-state-of-entrepreneurship/): I had the pleasure to be invited by Frenchfounders to speak at this year’s Transatlantic Leadership Forum hosted by Goldman Sachs. The event brought together over 500 leaders to explore themes of sustainable futures, technological advancements, and economic transatlantic collaboration.
- [1947 Rise Interview: How we built FJ Labs](https://fabricegrinda.com/1947-rise-interview-how-we-built-fj-labs/): I had the pleasure of speaking with Shiva Singh Sangwan of 1947 Rise. We discussed the intricacies of building a fund. We covered why building a fund is akin to building a startup, why we are bullish on India, and why our diversified strategy is the most effective.
- [Super Fun Interview by Robin Haak](https://fabricegrinda.com/super-fun-interview-by-robin-haak/): Photo by Christopher Michel
- [2023 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide](https://fabricegrinda.com/2023-holiday-gadget-gift-guide/): As the holiday season is fast approaching, I wanted to share my recommendations for the year. Let me start by saying that I stand by all my recommendations from the 2022 Holiday Gift Guide. If you are looking for a monitor, TV, ultra-light travel laptop, laser projector, office chair and/or essentially anything you need for your home office setup, refer to that guide as I am only reviewing new gadgets for this year and have not updated my core setup.
- [Macroeconomic Update: I remain significantly more bearish than consensus!](https://fabricegrinda.com/macroeconomic-update-i-remain-significantly-more-bearish-than-consensus/): Of late recessionary talk has cooled off. Jerome Powell and the Fed are no longer expecting a recession. The consensus is for the US to have a soft-landing allowing core inflation to go back down to 2% by 2025 while avoiding a downturn. While I hope for this outcome to happen, I find it unlikely as this feat was technically only achieved once in the last 60 years in 1993-1994.
- [FJ Labs Q3 2023 Update](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-q3-update/): Friends of FJ Labs,
- [Picard Season 3 is fantastic and a must watch for Star Trek: The Next Generation fans (but skip seasons 1 and 2)!](https://fabricegrinda.com/picard-season-3-is-fantastic-and-a-must-watch-for-star-trek-the-next-generation-fans-but-skip-seasons-1-and-2/): I was in college for the final years of Star Trek: The Next Generation and awaited eagerly every new episode. I loved the show’s core themes of optimism and exploration by a highly competent crew making reasonable judgement calls under pressure.
- [Episode 43: Julio Vasconcellos and the state of Latin American tech](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-43-julio-vasconcellos-and-the-state-of-latin-american-tech/): I had the pleasure of receiving Julio Vasconcellos on the show. Julio is the Founder and Managing Partner of Atlantico, a leading early-stage venture fund in Latin America. It was Julio's role as the inaugural Facebook employee for Latin America that initiated his path in the startup world in the region after starting his career in Silicon Valley. He later co-founded Peixe Urbano, scaling it to over 1,200 employees and $100M+ in revenue. After a startup rollercoaster ride with multiple near-death experiences, Julio sold the company to Baidu, and went on to join Benchmark Capital as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence. There, he met Scott Belsky and the two went on to co-found Prefer in San Francisco which Benchmark backed, as they had with Peixe Urbano.
- [FJ Labs’ Liquid Crypto Data Due Diligence](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-liquid-crypto-data-due-diligence/): How FJ Labs uses data to make capital allocation decisions in the liquid crypto market.
- [Masterclass with Everything Marketplaces](https://fabricegrinda.com/masterclass-with-everything-marketplaces/): I had a fun group chat led by Mike Williams on Everything Marketplaces.
- [FJ Labs’ Liquid Crypto Evaluation Process](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-liquid-crypto-evaluation-process/): The Liquid Crypto Evaluation Process
- [The Value of Ignorance](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-value-of-ignorance/):  “They did not know it was impossible so they did it.” Mark Twain’s quote resonates with me. As much as we encourage founders to validate their startup idea in an extremely rigorous way, you do not need to validate everything ahead of time as long as you believe you will figure out how to deal with whatever challenge comes your way.
- [FJ Labs’ Liquid Crypto Strategy](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-liquid-crypto-strategy/): We believe now is the best time to pursue a liquid crypto strategy for a few reasons:
- [Timing is Everything](https://fabricegrinda.com/timing-is-everything/): “The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed.” As a tech enthusiast, entrepreneur, and investor, I live this temporal disjuncture every day. I am privileged to see technologies when they are in their infancy. It allows me to be able to make accurate predictions of how the world is going to play out. In other words, I live in your future. While my predictions have mostly come true, I have been spectacularly wrong about the speed of technological adoption and disruption. I have repeatedly overestimated how quickly we adopt technology.
- [Kaiju Preservation Society is a super fun quick read](https://fabricegrinda.com/kaiju-preservation-society-is-a-super-fun-quick-read/): I am huge fan of John Scalzi’s books, especially the Old Man’s War series so it was with delight and anticipation that I checked out his latest book Kaiju Preservation Society.
- [Team Extreme in Antarctica](https://fabricegrinda.com/team-extreme-in-antarctica/): My conclusion from the training was that the expedition would be very challenging, but doable. I decided to make sure I was in great shape before heading to Antarctica. I started doing strength training three times a week, did 2-3 hours of exercising per day, almost every day, mostly kiting and padel in November and December, and lost 25 pounds.
- [Fred The Vampire Accountant is a fantastic read](https://fabricegrinda.com/fred-the-vampire-accountant-is-a-fantastic-read/): I was first introduced to the genre of horror comedy with the Bill the Vampire series by Rick Gualtieri. Bill the Vampire is the story of a video game playing nerd turned vampire who ends up being a video game playing nerd vampire rather than the suave sexy vampire of lore. The first few books made me laugh more than any book I probably ever read and I definitely recommend that series. However, little by little as the stakes got higher I found that it lost its comedic touches and never reached the heights of the first 2 or 3 books.
- [Episode 42: Kevin Ryan, Unicorn Builder](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-42-kevin-ryan-unicorn-builder/): I had the pleasure of being joined by my good friend Kevin Ryan. He’s often been called the “Godfather of NYC tech.” Kevin is one of the leading internet entrepreneurs and investors in New York. He is a co-founder of MongoDB, Business Insider, Gilt Groupe, Zola, and Nomad Health, and founds new companies with AlleyCorp every year. Earlier in his career, Kevin helped to grow DoubleClick first as President and then as CEO, leading their growth from a 20-person startup to a publicly traded global leader with over 1,500 employees, through IPO in 1998 and acquisition by Google in 2007.
- [Episode 41: Ask Me Anything](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-41-ask-me-anything/): It had been over a year since we did the last Ask Me Anything (AMA) so the time had come. As requested by the audience, my son François joined us for the first part of the show. He was his usual epic self: calm, poised, and playing along cutely. His presence clearly played a part in the success of the episode which was one of the most watched ever across all the platforms and was by far the most interactive episode ever with 137 live comments in addition to dozens of questions submitted ahead of time!
- [FJ Labs 2022 Year in Review](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-2022-year-in-review/)
- [FJ Labs closes $260M third fund](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-closes-260m-third-fund/): Fast forward, and their outfit, FJ Labs, has evolved from a two-man outfit to a sprawling firm with 34 employees, including eight investors and four “full-blown partners.” It began to grow in earnest in 2018, when LPs committed to invest $175 million with the outfit. Now, Grinda is announcing that FJ Labs has garnered $260 million in capital commitments across a pre-seed fund and an opportunity-style “Series B and beyond” fund, with backing from family offices, institutional investors, and a wide array of founders, including of LinkedIn, PayPal, Supercell, Transferwise, MongoDB and Wayfair.
- [My conversation with Ludvig Sunström on 25 Minuter: Fabrice Grinda: Angel Investor Extraordinaire and Polymath](https://fabricegrinda.com/my-conversation-with-ludvig-sunstom-on-25-minuter-fabrice-grinda-angel-investor-extraordinaire-and-polymath/): By Ludvig Sunström reproduced from StartGainingMomentum
- [2022: The Importance of Family](https://fabricegrinda.com/2022-the-importance-of-family/): I am blessed with an amazing family which comprises of both the family I have and the family I chose (amazing friends who might as well be family). We are the Grindaverse and I am privileged to be one of its members. We spend our time supporting each other and co-creating amazing memories and experiences full of laughter, joy and unconditional love. 
- [Episode 40: Oskar Hartmann, Unicorn Accumulator](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-40-oskar-hartmann-unicorn-accumulator/): This week, I had the pleasure of chatting with my good friend Oskar Hartmann. He’s had the most incredible unicorn experience:
- [Episode 39: Simpl and the Indian Fintech Ecosystem](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-39-simpl-and-the-indian-fintech-ecosystem/): On this week’s episode I had the pleasure of welcoming Nitya Sharma, co-founder and CEO of Simpl, to conclude our mini-series on the Indian tech scene. We had a fascinating conversation on the state of Indian Fintech, which in many ways is more advanced than the US. I am beyond impressed by the free C2C / B2B / B2C instantaneous real time payments allowed by UPI and the business models that emerge when you can do free microtransactions. I wish the West had the equivalent of India’s UPI (or Brazil’s Pix). I am also beyond impressed by what Nitya has built with Simpl, which I hope will be a Unicorn soon!
- [TechCrunch Interview: Deal terms, fatality rates and the drawbacks of credit lines; a view from today’s most active VC firm](https://fabricegrinda.com/deal-terms-fatality-rates-and-the-drawbacks-of-credit-lines-a-view-from-todays-most-active-vc-firm/): By Connie Loizos, reproduced from TechCrunch
- [2022 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide](https://fabricegrinda.com/2022-holiday-gadget-gift-guide/): It is that time of the year again, so I am sharing my recommendations for all gadget lovers of the world to be happy this holiday season. Note that the cover picture above is my Turks setup which includes the ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG48UQ, the Apple Watch Ultra, Ledger Nano X, HyperX Cloud Flight S, Herman Miller Embody Gaming Chair, Blue Yeti X, and earHero.
- [Winter is coming!](https://fabricegrinda.com/winter-is-coming/): I have been putting a lot of thought into macro considerations of late. There are time periods when macro trumps micro. In those moments, all asset classes correlate to 1 on the way up in moments of exuberance. Due diligence goes out the window and markets do not differentiate amazing companies from clunkers. Likewise, all asset classes correlate to 1 on the way down in depressed times. The market throws out the baby with the bath water.
- [Investing in the things that build our world](https://fabricegrinda.com/investing-in-the-things-that-build-our-world/): Those of us building and investing in tech spend most of our time thinking about the future. We ponder the impossible, the cutting edge, even the esoteric: software, artificial intelligence, crypto, asset-light services delivered through digital apps. Mars and outer space might often represent a larger share of one’s daily musings than dull terrestrial matters. Yet here we are. We live on planet Earth. We inhabit the physical world, at least for now! Almost everything we do in our daily lives involves - directly or indirectly - tangible materials, machinery, chemicals, etc. We want to push the boundaries of how our world currently works by digitizing legacy industries and making them more efficient. All of this is deflationary, making goods cheaper for everybody, which in turn is inclusionary, aligning with our overarching purpose as investors.
- [Episode 38:  The Indian Tech Ecosystem & FJ Labs’ Thesis in the region](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-38-the-indian-tech-ecosystem-fjlabs-thesis/): This week we are covering the state of the Indian tech ecosystem. We are joined by Luke Skertich, senior associate at FJ Labs, who is leading the charge with our Indian investments.
- [Episode 37: Building India’s 76th Unicorn & the Indian car market at large](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-37-building-indias-76th-unicorn/): After a long hiatus to take care of my ailing dad, who is fortunately fully recovered, I am back! For this episode and the next two, I am focusing on the Indian tech scene which has really come into its own in the last few years. In this week’s episode, it’s my pleasure to chat with Niraj Singh, founder and CEO of Spinny, the leading used car retailing platform in India and a unicorn in its own right.
- [FJ Labs’ Purpose](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-purpose/): FJ Labs’ purpose is to improve the human condition through technology.
- [Episode 36: Building a Web3 Unicorn with Lorien Gabel (Figment)](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-36-building-a-web3-unicorn-with-lorien-gabel-figment/): Lorien Gabel is the Co-Founder of Figment Network. He holds an LLB from Toronto’s Osgoode Hall Law School.
- [Episode 35: Thoughts on the market](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-35-thoughts-on-the-market/): Last February, I decided to reflect on the turmoil that had started to affect the public, crypto and private markets. This is the first time I focused on the topic. As a result, while articulate, and thoughtful, this episode served as a precursor for the more detailed and nuanced perspective I shared in The Great Unknown and my conversation with Harry Stebbings of 20VC: WTF is going on?
- [Episode 34: Ask Me Anything](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-34-ask-me-anything/): My apologies for the delay in summarizing the episode, but it’s been a very busy 9 months. Last December, I hosted a Ask Me Anything on Playing with Unicorns.
- [Crypto-Enabled Marketplaces](https://fabricegrinda.com/crypto-enabled-marketplaces/): There are crypto-focused and crypto-enabled marketplaces, which may or may not overlap. The former is a marketplace for crypto assets, while the latter is usually a non-crypto marketplace (all offline marketplaces for instance) that uses crypto mechanics. Crypto-enabled marketplaces do not require users to buy tokens to use the platform. The crypto elements are typically abstracted from the use of the platform to maximize adoption.
- [The benefits of flexibility and reading the macro tea leaves in venture](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-benefits-of-flexibility-and-reading-the-macro-tea-leaves-in-venture/): As I highlighted in FJ Labs’ Investment Strategy, FJ Labs is stage agnostic, geography agnostic, and industry agnostic. In other words, we invest in any geography, in any industry, at any stage. That’s not to say there is no area of focus. We specialize in marketplace and network effect business models which represent over 70% of the investments we make. Moreover, most of our investments in terms of number of deals are at the Seed and Series A stage and in the US. In a way that is not surprising as there are more Seed deals than A deals, more A deals than B deals and so on and so forth. Also, we are a New York based fund and there are more startups created in the US than anywhere else.
- [FJ Labs’ Crypto Credentials](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-crypto-credentials/): People do not realize how active FJ Labs is in the crypto/Web3 space. We are investors in 47 companies and are investing in both equity and tokens in up-and-coming crypto projects. In this post, I want to present how we became involved in crypto. In upcoming posts, we will cover our crypto strategy and our thoughts on crypto marketplaces.
- [Stealing Fire: how to harness flow states for performance](https://fabricegrinda.com/stealing-fire-stealing-fire-how-to-harness-flow-states-for-performance/): The consensus has been that extreme performance requires the vaunted 10,000 hours of deliberate practice which require tremendous grit and determination. Authors Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal take us on a globe spanning adventure meeting with tech founders, Seal Team Six, Red Bull athletes and many more in search of a short cut for peak performance.
- [WTF Is Going On? 3 Outcomes for What Could Happen From Here; What Needs to Happen To Avoid Recession? Why Stagnation is Most Likely and What This Means for Startups and Venture](https://fabricegrinda.com/wtf-is-going-on-3-outcomes-for-what-could-happen-from-here/): I had the pleasure of chatting with Harry Stebbings of 20VC about the current macro environment. In this far ranging conversation we discuss why a recession is the most likely outcome and what startups should do about it. I also explain how FJ Labs is investing through these market conditions, how we think about our rate of deployment, what segment of the market we’re most excited about, and how LPs should respond to these unusual times.
- [Episode 33: From VC to Web2 to Crypto with Mark Lurie](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-33-from-vc-to-web2-to-crypto-with-mark-lurie/): Mark Lurie is the CEO and co-founder of Shipyard Software. Shipyard Software builds decentralized exchanges (DEX) for specific types of trades, traders, and instruments, starting with Clipper, a DEX with the best prices anywhere on retail trades
- [Episode 32: Building a shipping unicorn with Laura Behrens Wu, Co-Founder & CEO of Shippo](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-32-building-a-shipping-unicorn-with-laura-behrens-wu/): Laura Behrens Wu (@LauraBehrensWu) is the co-founder and CEO of Shippo. Shippo is an API-first company focused on building shipping for 21st-century e-commerce.
- [My conversation with Mark Peter Davis of Interplay](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-king-of-marketplaces-with-fabrice-grinda-of-fj-labs/): I had a fun conversation with Mark Peter Davis of Interplay about my love of marketplaces and all things FJ Labs. The discussion was peppered with lots of entrepreneurial advice and thoughts on impact.
- [Do not worry, I have got this parenting thing figured out :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/do-not-worry-i-have-got-this-parenting-thing-figured-out/)
- [Why?](https://fabricegrinda.com/why/): I have often pondered why many entrepreneurs like myself love adventure travel and extreme sports. It’s seemingly ironic because we have everything we could ever hope for. This is doubly ironic as I am built grateful and optimistic. Not a day goes by that I am not thankful for everything life has given me: an amazing family, lots of close friends, health, the opportunity to pursue my purpose, the freedom to explore, and an aptitude for happiness.
- [The Great Unknown](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-great-unknown/): A year ago, in Welcome to the Everything Bubble, I argued that an unprecedented combination of loose monetary and fiscal policies was fueling a bubble in every asset class. We were seeing frothiness in equities, crypto, real estate, land, commodities, and bonds with a full-on speculative bubble in SPACs. Unusual behavior like retail driven short squeezes and extraordinary volatility all suggested we were at or near the top of the market.
- [Episode 31: From Start-up to Grown-up with Alisa Cohn](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-31-from-start-up-to-grown-up-with-alisa-cohn/): Alisa Cohn (@AlisaCohn) is a prominent startup coach who has advised founders and executives at Venmo, Etsy, DraftKings, The Wirecutter, Mack Weldon, and Bloomberg. She’s one-time startup CFO, strategy consultant, and current angel investor and advisor, she was named the number one “Global Guru”.
- [Episode 30: A Conversation with Thomas Plantenga](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-30-a-conversation-with-thomas-plantenga/): Thomas Plantenga is the CEO of Vinted. He was born and raised in the Netherlands. Thomas was previously a Venture Partner at FJ Labs and an early member of OLX.
- [Episode 29: The Latest Marketplace Trends](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-29-the-latest-marketplace-trends/): In episode 27, I took a stab at which categories investors and entrepreneurs should focus on for the coming 5 years. In today’s episode, I wanted to cover the themes and trends that emerged in the last 12 months.
- [My conversation with Ted Seides on Capital Allocators](https://fabricegrinda.com/my-interview-on-capital-allocators-with-ted-seides/): I had a fantastic and far ranging conversation with Ted Seides on Capital Allocators about my path to entrepreneurship and investing, my love of marketplaces and all things FJ Labs.
- [FJ Labs 2021 Year in Review](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-2021-year-in-review/)
- [2021: Best Year Ever!](https://fabricegrinda.com/2021-best-year-ever/): The world remained mired in the personal and economic cost of the continuing pandemic, but my life reached a new pinnacle with the birth of my son, François Olivier Jean-Paul Grinda, May 18, 2021. I am blessed that not only it was the easiest pregnancy and birth ever, but he is also the most amazing baby ever. He is extraordinarily agreeable. He is always happy and smiley. He is willing to be manhandled and taken on crazy adventures. He never cries and has an awaken intensity that my mother says reminds her of me when I was younger. On top of that we really look alike at the same age.
- [Episode 28: What’s the deal with crypto?](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-28-whats-the-deal-with-crypto/): 13 years later the world of crypto is starting to see wider adoption. In 2021 every major media outlet at one point was talking about the rise of crypto, especially NFTs.
- [Episode 27: The Tech of Tomorrow](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-27-the-tech-of-tomorrow/): In a way I live in your future. By virtue of receiving 150 startup pitches per week, I have a good sense of what founders are trying to build for the coming decade. At the same time, as a student of history, penetration and cost trends, I can make calculated guesses for when things go from being fringe to mainstream.
- [Greenlights is shockingly interesting and insightful!](https://fabricegrinda.com/greenlights-is-shockingly-interesting-and-insightful/): When several of my friends recommended Greenlights to me, I must admit that I was very skeptical. What could Matthew McConaughey, an actor best known for cheesy romantic comedies, possibly have to say that is interesting and compelling? It tuns that the answer is quite a lot!
- [Announcing FJ Labs’s Next Partner: Jeff Weinstein](https://fabricegrinda.com/announcing-fj-labs-next-partner-jeff-weinstein/): I am excited to announce that we are promoting Jeff Weinstein to Partner at FJ Labs!
- [Project Hail Mary is the most entertaining book of the year!](https://fabricegrinda.com/project-hail-mary-is-the-most-entertaining-book-of-the-year/): I almost wrote Project Hail Mary is the most entertaining sci-fi book of the year, but it’s such a good book that it transcends genres. I bought it the day it came out and read it cover to cover without break to the detriment of sleep. I cannot remember the last time I was so engrossed by a book that I could not put it down.
- [Episode 26: Jeff Wald & The End of Jobs](https://fabricegrinda.com/ep-26-jeff-wald-and-the-end-of-jobs/): Jeff Wald is a serial entrepreneur, board Member, bestselling author, keynote speaker, and investor. Jeff’s most recent company, Work Market, an enterprise software platform that enables companies to manage freelancers was acquired by ADP in 2018.
- [Episode 25: Clearco & The Future of Finance](https://fabricegrinda.com/ep-25-clearco-and-the-future-of-finance/): As most of you know, I want to empower people to work on the things they love. As a result, I am excited that FJ Labs invested early in Clearco (formerly Clearbanc), now valued at $2 billion, which is helping entrepreneurs all around the world to live out their dream.
- [Episode 24: How Slice is helping mom and pop pizzerias compete with Dominos](https://fabricegrinda.com/ep-24-how-slice-is-helping-mom-and-pop-pizzerias-compete-with-dominos/): One of our main theses at FJ Labs is to focus on vertical marketplaces. Slice is a great example of a company that has found product-market fit within a vertical.
- [Episode 23: Synthesis: The startup scaling up the most innovative ideas from Elon Musk’s school](https://fabricegrinda.com/ep-23-the-startup-scaling-up-the-most-innovative-ideas-from-elon-musk-school/): Kids then complete simulations which are situational based complex problems that have constraints. They must actively collaborate and compete with other cohorts doing Synthesis. It is similar to a startup in that every person must participate if the teams want to succeed. No one person can finish the task by themselves.
- [Ep 22: Why Startups Fail with Tom Eisenmann](https://fabricegrinda.com/ep-22-why-startups-fail-with-tom-eisenmann/): 9 out of 10 startups fail. This is a gloomy number. However, it has never stopped entrepreneurs from hedging their bets to create successful companies.
- [The Moaning 20s](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-moaning-20s/): But we all know how things ended almost 100 years ago. The roar suddenly morphed into a painful moan and in 1929 burst the bubble and marked the start of the Great Depression. So far, this century's 20s are by all means roaring (Figure 1), but are they also going to end up moaning like their predecessor?
- [Episode 21: How to Build the Perfect Pitch Deck?](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-21-how-to-build-the-perfect-pitch-deck/): This is one of the most requested questions I’ve received since starting Playing with Unicorns. People want to know “How do I build the perfect pitch deck to raise funds?”
- [How FJ Labs Evaluates Startups](https://fabricegrinda.com/how-fj-labs-evaluates-startups/): I covered FJ Labs’ investment strategy in the past which covers the type of companies we want to invest in. Today, I wanted to cover specifically how we evaluate startups.
- [The LG Gram 17 is the perfect laptop!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-lg-gram-17-is-the-perfect-laptop/): I love to travel light and love big screens and long battery life. Those things were largely incompatible until the LG Gram. It has a 17” screen with a 16:10 ratio, to see more vertical content, yet weighs only 2.98 pounds.
- [Meet FJ Labs’ New Partner: Arne Halleraker](https://fabricegrinda.com/meet-fj-labs-new-partner-arne-halleraker/): I am excited to announce that we are promoting Arne Halleraker to partner on our team at FJ Labs.
- [Episode 20: So you want to launch a SPAC ?](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-20-so-you-want-to-launch-a-spac/): Last week Alpha Capital, a SPAC company that FJ Labs co-sponsored, went public. We rang the bell and it was beautiful.
- [Kiting in Half Moon Bay is spectacular!](https://fabricegrinda.com/kiting-in-half-moon-bay-is-spectacular/): I have been in awe of the color of the water in Turks ever since I set eyes on it. And no place in Turks is more beautiful than the jaw dropping ridiculous beauty of Half Moon Bay. I had the pleasure of kiting there last Sunday morning, and it was majestic!
- [Episode 19: Reinvesting in the Latam Tech Ecosystem with Brian Requarth](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-19-reinvesting-in-the-latam-tech-ecosystem-with-brian-requarth/): Brian Requarth is the Co-Founder of Latitud and former CEO of Viva Real. Through Latitud, he now dedicates his time to providing mentorship and advice for entrepreneurs in Latin America (LATAM).
- [FJ Labs Valuation Matrix](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-valuation-matrix/): A while back I posted the matrix FJ Labs uses to evaluate marketplace startups. It has been our default internal framework for years but is limited to marketplaces with a 10-20% take rate, which used to be our bread and butter. However, now we mostly invest in B2B marketplaces, which typically have 3-5% take rates. The framework is also not applicable for SAAS businesses and ecommerce businesses.
- [Episode 18: Thirty-Six Lessons from Company Founders & CEOs with Tim Jackson](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-18-thirty-six-sessons-from-company-founders-ceos-with-tim-jackson/): His new book, Startup: Thirty-Six Lessons from Company Founders & CEOs, will teach you how to make better decisions and become a more competent CEO. Tim knows firsthand how frustrating it is to navigate the seas of heading a company with no guidance. He joined me this week to share some of his knowledge and insights with us.
- [Welcome to the Everything Bubble!](https://fabricegrinda.com/welcome-to-the-everything-bubble/): The warning signs of market mania are everywhere. P/E ratios are high and climbing. Bitcoin rose 300% in a year. There is a deluge of SPAC IPOs. Real estate prices are rapidly rising outside of dense major cities.
- [Episode 17: The State of Solar](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-17-the-state-of-solar/): This week Kerim Baran shares where we stand in the world of solar. He covers:
- [FJ Labs 2020 Year in Review](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-2020-year-in-review/)
- [Episode 16: Startup Talent & Trends](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-16-startup-talent-and-startup-trends/): I often pondered the makeup of successful founders and founding teams. At FJ Labs we spend a disproportionate amount of time screening for EIRs. We only build 1 or 2 companies per year, so we cannot afford to get it wrong.
- [Episode 15: Mistakes to Avoid as an Entrepreneur](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-15-mistakes-to-avoid-as-an-entrepreneur/): It is extremely hard to succeed as an entrepreneur. Even the most successful entrepreneurs have countless ups and downs. I would argue that I failed my way to success. My brother Olivier, a successful tech entrepreneur and investor in his own right, joins me this week to discuss all the mistakes entrepreneurs make. As we have seemingly made all the mistakes there are to make, we hope you can learn from our mistakes as you go down your entrepreneurial path.
- [VC Opportunity Fund Best Practices](https://fabricegrinda.com/vc-opportunity-fund-best-practices/): By Jeff Weinstein and Luke Skertich
- [Episode 14: A Conversation with Christian Angermayer](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-14-a-conversation-with-christian-angermayer/): Christian is the rare breed of polymath Renaissance Man operating in a world that rewards specialization. We had an extremely broad and far-ranging conversation covering:
- [2020: When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade!](https://fabricegrinda.com/2020-when-life-gives-you-lemons-make-lemonade/): The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. As you may recall, I ended 2019 intent on selling my New York apartment and renting an apartment March 2020 onwards. The idea was to live a hybrid life where I split my time between New York and Turks & Caicos.
- [Episode 13: What’s the deal with SPACs?](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-13-whats-the-deal-with-spacs/): SPACs have been one of the hot topics of 2020. Jeff Weinstein, who co-heads investing at FJ Labs, and our resident venture capital nerd, joins to talk about all things SPAC.
- [Episode 12: Pandemic, Populism and Policy Failure – The Surprising Case for Optimism in 2020](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-12-the-surprising-case-for-optimism-in-2020/): Given the omnipresent doom and gloom of 2020, I took the time to reflect objectively on where things stand and where the world is heading. My deep dive across so many industries and technologies left me inspired and awe struck by the opportunities open to us. We will address the two fundamental issues of our time: climate change and social injustice / inequality of opportunity.
- [Episode 11: Loonshots with Safi Bahcall](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-11-loonshots-with-sofi-bahcall/): In general, I do not read “business books” as I find them simplistic. Loonshots is the exception to that rule. It blew me away. It mixes compelling personal narratives of entrepreneurs like Edwin Land (Polaroid) and Juan Trippe (Pan Am) with observations from physics and history to weave a very compelling narrative.
- [Episode 10: Validating Your Startup Idea](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-10-validating-your-startup-idea/): Last week we covered how to come up with great startup ideas. This week I present how to evaluate if the idea is worth pursuing. I detail which hypothesis you need to validate and how to go about providing or disproving them.
- [2020 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide](https://fabricegrinda.com/2020-holiday-gadget-gift-guide/): It is that time of the year again, so I am sharing my recommendations for all gadget lovers of the world to be happy this holiday season.
- [Episode 9: Coming Up with a Startup Idea](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-9-coming-up-with-a-startup-idea/): Many aspiring entrepreneurs struggle to come with compelling startup ideas. I detail the four sources of startup ideas:
- [Episode 8: The Business of Venture Capital](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-8-the-business-of-venture-capital/): Most entrepreneurs merely see venture capitalists as a source of capital without understanding how venture capitalists operate. Jeff Weinstein, who co-heads investing at FJ Labs, and our resident venture capital nerd, joins to explain the history of venture capital. He details how VC firms operate, how they are funded, and shares his take on the future of the industry. The episode is a must watch for aspiring venture capitalists, prospective investors in venture funds, and entrepreneurs raising from VCs.
- [Episode 7: FJ Labs’ Startup Studio Model](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-7-fj-labs-startup-studio-model/): Last week we covered whether first time founders should build a company on their own or join an accelerator or a venture studio. As a follow-up, I wanted to present the specifics of the FJ Labs startup studio model. Anthony Valente, Andrea Xu, and Charles Gorra join to describe their experiences at the various stages of our program.
- [Episode 6: DIY vs Accelerator vs Studio](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-6-diy-vs-accelerator-vs-studio/): This week we cover whether first time founders should build a company on their own or join an accelerator or a venture studio. Nancy Dong, our first ever guest on Playing With Unicorns, joins to share the framework she used to decide whether she should join FJ Labs as an entrepreneur in residence (EIR) after stints at Uber and Harvard Business School (HBS).
- [Episode 5: Ask Me Anything](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-5-ask-me-anything/): Given that I was in Lake Placid looking at the foliage change without my multi-screen setup, I tried a “Ask Me Anything” session for the week. It was a resounding success with very varied questions.
- [Angel investing at scale](https://fabricegrinda.com/angel-investing-at-scale/): I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Pankaj Jain, the host of Invest Stream. We discussed how being an entrepreneur led me to becoming an angel investor then went in depth on how to be a good angel investor.
- [Episode 4: FJ Labs’ Investment Thesis](https://fabricegrinda.com/episode-4-fj-labs-investment-thesis/): In the third episode, I described how VCs evaluate startups by using a combination of the team, business, deal terms and whether the idea fits with their thesis to decide whether to invest or not. In this episode, I present FJ Labs’ Investment thesis.
- [Episode 3: How VCs evaluate startups](https://fabricegrinda.com/playing-with-unicorns-episode-3-how-vcs-evaluate-startups/): In the first episode I covered how and when to fundraise. In this episode, I describe how venture capitalists (VCs) evaluate you once you are in front of them to help you refine your approach and pitch.
- [Episode 2: Build a MVP for less than $20k](https://fabricegrinda.com/playing-with-unicorns-episode-2-build-a-mvp-for-less-than-20k/): I start by covering the theoretical do’s and don’ts of building a minimum viable product (MVP) before giving an in depth and specific example of how I would go about building a mobile golf application allowing golfers to find partners to play with at their handicap, in their region and/or club, with the same availability.
- [Episode 1: Fundraising](https://fabricegrinda.com/playing-with-unicorns-episode-1-fundraising/): Given that it's episode 1, I start by explaining why I am creating this show before covering everything there is to know in terms of fundraising for venture backed startups:
- [Announcing Playing With Unicorns](https://fabricegrinda.com/announcing-playing-with-unicorns/): Playing with unicorns is a new weekly live streaming show on startups, entrepreneurship, and venture capital. I will be streaming every Thursday at 12 pm EST on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Twitch. I will post the video to YouTube after each episode and the audio to the podcast section of Spotify and iTunes. I will also post every episode on my blog.
- [My friends and family are the best!](https://fabricegrinda.com/my-friends-and-family-are-the-best/): A few years ago, for my 40th birthday, they put this fantastic video together to celebrate our love and friendship. It was one of my favorite gifts ever.
- [How FJ Labs gets its deal flow](https://fabricegrinda.com/how-fj-labs-gets-its-deal-flow/): FJ Labs gets deal flow from 4 sources:
- [How to build and invest in marketplace startups with Grace Gong](https://fabricegrinda.com/how-to-build-and-invest-in-marketplace-startups-with-grace-gong/): Grace Gong invited me to her podcast. We discuss:  
- [FJ Labs’ Investment Strategy](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-investment-strategy/): In summary, while we do not have a set number of deals, stage or geography we intend to invest in every year, things play out such that we end up having an investment strategy that can be summarized as follows:
- [BOLD Series: The Future of Marketplaces](https://fabricegrinda.com/bold-series-the-future-of-marketplaces-2/): I was invited to share my vision on the future of marketplaces for the BOLD Awards.
- [20 Minutes from the Future](https://fabricegrinda.com/20-minutes-from-the-future/): I had an interesting conversation with Andrea Dusi. We discussed:• The role of startups during the pandemic.• Why don’t we invest much in Italy and in general in smaller markets?• What can governments do to foster a successful startup ecosystem?• Why now is an amazing time to start a startup?• What are the most promising sectors to create a startup now?• The future of food• Why FJ Labs’ IRR is so high?• Prospects for climate tech• How to reform education to foster entrepreneurship?
- [The Genesis of FJ Labs](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-genesis-of-fj-labs/): I was about to start a series of posts on marketplaces covering how FJ Labs gets its deal flow, how we evaluate startups and our current investment thesis when I realized I had to start with the genesis of FJ Labs and our investment philosophy as they are intricately related.
- [The Impact of COVID19 on startups and the economy](https://fabricegrinda.com/interview-with-startup-vision-the-impact-of-covid19-on-startups-and-the-economy/): https://youtu.be/V9KMYc8JoQk?t=2
- [Transcript of All Things Marketplaces](https://fabricegrinda.com/transcript-of-all-things-marketplaces/): My conversation with Erik Torenberg was so rich that I decided to transcribe it for those who did not want to listen to a 75 minute long podcast. I will use this transcription as the starting point on a series of posts on marketplaces covering:
- [COVID-19 – 11 Fabrice Grinda – Survivre : le seul KPI du moment](https://fabricegrinda.com/covid-19-11-fabrice-grinda-survivre-le-seul-kpi-du-moment/): Discussion sympa avec Matthieu de Generation Do It Yourself sur COVID, l'economie, les startups
- [FJ Labs Marketplace Matrix](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-marketplace-matrix/): In venture there is a reasonably clear set of expectations of where you need to be by when to raise your next round of financing. To help marketplace founders, we put together the following matrix. Like all such charts it’s reductionist in nature and is meant to represent 25-75% percentiles. It does not capture outliers.
- [The global economy and its impact on startups in the time of COVID-19](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-global-economy-and-its-impact-on-startups-in-the-time-of-covid-19/): In February I suggested that the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the COVID-19 disease it causes may be the black swan that push the global economy into recession. I suggested that uncertainty would be worse than definite bad news and that the second order impact of the virus on the economy due to individual, investor and corporate risk aversion would dwarf the first order impact. Unfortunately, this post has proven to be prescient and the economy is headed for recession.
- [The Entrepreneur Insight](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-entrepreneur-insight/): I had the pleasure of chatting with Thomas Reck on The Entrepreneur Insight.  We had a varied conversation and convered everything from the value of building the right relationships to the importance of leveraging technology and the internet to maximize productivity.
- [COVID-19 may be the black swan that pushes the global economy into recession](https://fabricegrinda.com/covid-19-may-be-the-black-swan-that-pushes-the-global-economy-into-recession/): If there is one thing that businesses and individuals hate even more than bad news, it’s uncertainty. Even if you scour the literature and CDC releases (such as this latest one from February 21 ) little is known about how contagious COVID-19 actually is, its ultimate level of mortality (viruses have a tendency to become less lethal over time), and its final impact on the global economy. As a result, it makes sense for companies to be more risk averse: to delay hiring more staff and making new investments. Likewise, individuals logically delay making big purchases of cars or houses and change their behavior to decrease exposure: they don’t travel, go to restaurants, stores or movies. If things get severe, they stop going to their jobs. If schools are closed, healthy workers may have to stay home with their children. Individually this makes sense, but collectively can lead to a huge decrease in corporate and consumer demand which can easily tip the economy into recession.
- [The Best Gadgets to Film your Ski Exploits](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-best-gadgets-to-film-your-ski-exploits/): We would occasionally stop and film each other with compact superzoom camera, but in general we did not like the time it would take to setup or freezing our hands to control the camera. At the same time, we lusted for the type of footage we would see in Warren Miller movies or in the films featured at the Banff Film Festival. However, those were usually taken by professional camera crews in helicopters flying over the terrain making it both impractical and unaffordable. Enter the Skydio 2.
- [All Things Marketplaces](https://fabricegrinda.com/all-things-marketplaces/): Listen to "All Things Marketplaces with Fabrice Grinda" on Spreaker.
- [FJ Labs 2019 Year in Review](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-2019-year-in-review/)
- [2019: Getting my Move On](https://fabricegrinda.com/getting-my-move-on/): In 2019 I moved to Turks & Caicos and decided to sell my apartment in New York. I love my hybrid life where I split my time between New York and the Caribbean. It allows me to spend a month in New York where I am intellectually, socially, professionally and artistically stimulated beyond my wildest dreams. I meet countless extraordinary people, host intellectual dialoging salons and enjoy all of New York’s entertainment options. But after a month, I admit I am exhausted, and the constant doing takes time away from thinking. That’s why I then love spending a month in the Caribbean where I can work during the day, kite, and play tennis and really take the time to read, be reflective and recharge my batteries. 
- [New York Entertainment Recommendations](https://fabricegrinda.com/new-york-entertainment-recommendations/): My friends all seemingly decided to descend upon New York for the holidays. As they already saw the prototypical New York attractions (Met, Museum of Natural History, MOMA, Liberty Tower, The Lion King), they asked for more unique recommendations.
- [2019 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide](https://fabricegrinda.com/2019-holiday-gadget-gift-guide/): Most of my recommendations from the 2017 & 2018 Holiday Gadget Gift Guides still hold. For 2019, I decided to focus on what changed from the past few years.
- [Web Summit Panel: The New Marketplaces](https://fabricegrinda.com/web-summit-panel-the-new-marketplaces/): Courtesy of Web Summit
- [Web Summit Panel : Ideas are easy, business is hard](https://fabricegrinda.com/web-summit-panel-ideas-are-easy-business-is-hard/): Courtesy of Web Summit
- [Interview in Les Echos (in French): Tech will make the World a Better Place](https://fabricegrinda.com/interview-in-les-echos-in-french-tech-will-make-the-world-a-better-place/): Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of hosting a salon dinner with members of French Founders prior to giving a keynote on the state and future of technology. It became quickly apparent that I was way more optimistic than most about the future of technology and humanity on every topic imaginable, especially climate change. I was seated next to Guillaume Bregeras of Les Echos who thought my perspective was interesting and interviewed me post my keynote. I am recreating the article.
- [Origins Podcast](https://fabricegrinda.com/origins-podcast/): We discuss coming to the U.S. for college, founding three companies (Aucland, Zingy, OLX), as well as starting and raising capital for FJ Labs, and how to live “asset-light.”
- [The latest trend in marketplaces](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-latest-trend-in-marketplaces/): I am attaching the slides I prepared as support for my Noah Keynote: Marketplaces: The Party is not Over! It presents our current evaluation criteria and investment thesis as well as the latest trends in food, real estate, cars, jobs, home services, and lending marketplaces.
- [Avoid Death in the Desert: 75 Packing List Essentials for Burning Man](https://fabricegrinda.com/avoid-death-in-the-desert-75-packing-list-essentials-for-burning-man/): As Burning Man is upon us, I wanted to share with all of you a packing list to make sure you don’t forget anything. A good friend of mine prepared this list for my first burn and I have been using it ever since.
- [Noah Keynote: Marketplaces: The Party is not Over!](https://fabricegrinda.com/noah-keynote-marketplaces-the-party-is-not-over/): It seems to come as a surprise to many, but we are only at the beginning of the marketplace revolution. This keynote presents our current thesis and the latest trends in food, real estate, cars, home services, labor and lending. The keynote is a bit rushed because they told me I had 15 minutes, but the timer only had 10 minutes and I had practiced for exactly a 15 minute delivery, but it presents our current thinking reasonably effectively.
- [Founder Storiez Podcast](https://fabricegrinda.com/founder-storiez-podcast/): I had the pleasure of having a far reaching conversation with Ephraim Yarmak whom I had the pleasure to meet at a YJP event.
- [Thanks for the perfect day!](https://fabricegrinda.com/thanks-for-the-perfect-day/): Birthdays are a great time for reflection and this one especially made me feel extremely grateful for the life I had. I had the perfect day: friends, family, kiting, foiling, massage, tennis and more!
- [Why we sleep is a must read and may be the scariest book I ever read](https://fabricegrinda.com/why-we-sleep-is-a-must-read-and-may-be-the-scariest-book-i-ever-read/): Over the years I prided myself in being able to thrive on very little sleep. As the evidence provided by Matthew Walker in Why We Sleep shows this was misguided. Not sleeping enough conclusively leads to and contributes to many ails including cancer, heart disease and dementia. It also dramatically shortens your life. In other words, the saying “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” could not be further from the truth as not sleeping enough will undoubtedly lead to an earlier death. 
- [I had the pleasure of being a guest on the #PopHealth show to discuss the importance of health and well-being](https://fabricegrinda.com/podcast-on-health-and-well-being/): I had the pleasure of being invited to the #PopHealth Show. While we started by discussing FJ’s investments in health and food tech, the conversation veered personal. I elaborated on my routine of following a strict ketogenic diet with intermittent fasting 3 or 4 times per week, while trying (though rarely succeeding) to sleep 8 hours per night. 
- [Fun podcast in French on French Morning](https://fabricegrinda.com/fun-podcast-in-french-on-french-morning/): In this 30 minute conversation, we covered my path from nerd to entrepreneur and investor with all the highs and lows of entrepreneurship along the way.
- [A framework for making important decisions: Step 4/4](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-framework-for-making-important-decisions-step-4-4/): This led me to buy a house in Turks & Caicos to serve as my replacement for Cabarete in my alternating life setup (see A framework for making important decisions: Step 3 of 4). I now spend one month in New York, then go to Turks for a month and alternate every month. It gives me enough consecutive time in both places to have the time to live the full New York life, and then to properly disconnect in Turks.
- [Fabrice Grinda, 400x angel (Alibaba, Knotel, OpenDoor, Flexport) and many X co-founder of Aucland, Zingy, OLX and company-builder FJ Labs](https://fabricegrinda.com/fabrice-grinda-400x-angel-alibaba-knotel-opendoor-flexport-and-many-x-co-founder-of-auclan-zingy-olx-and-company-builder-fj-labs/): Amol Sarva (Knotel cofounder) takes In the Know to talk with with the angel and founder Fabrice Grinda about his 100s of startup experiences and mainly about systems — the system for selecting the right businesses for Fabrice, originally his 9 Business Selection Criteria along with its brand new update, and about happiness. Fabrice is a world-recognized expert on happiness, and we talk about the happiness of groups, not just individuals.
- [Creator Lab Podcast: Fabrice Grinda, #1 Angel Investor In The World // Future Of Marketplaces](https://fabricegrinda.com/creator-lab-podcast-fabrice-grinda-1-angel-investor-in-the-world-future-of-marketplaces/): We also discuss the future of marketplaces, how he’d think of business ideas if starting today, the science of happiness, minimalism, and why we’re still at the very beginning of the tech revolution.
- [A framework for making important decisions: Step 3/4](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-framework-for-making-important-decisions-step-3-4/): That said it’s not the way my mind works. I like sharing about all my adventures, travails and random thoughts, whether it’s book or gadget reviews, thoughts on entrepreneurship, economics or how to make important decisions :)
- [Fireside Chat about building marketplaces with Jason Goldlist at TechToronto](https://fabricegrinda.com/fireside-chat-about-building-marketplaces-with-jason-goldlist-at-techtoronto/): The chat was fun, detailed and far ranging.
- [A Week in Paradise: Snow & 20 Below :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-week-in-paradise-snow-20-below/): I am very grateful my parents introduced me to skiing when I was young and that I was able to practice it extensively growing up. It’s a little-known fact that there are amazing ski resorts less than 90 minutes from my hometown in Nice (France), a town usually associated with beach vacations.
- [FJ LABS 2018 Year in Review](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-2018-year-in-review/)
- [2018: Giving Up and Moving On](https://fabricegrinda.com/2018-giving-up-and-moving-on/): The title reflects my most important life lesson of 2018: I gave up and moved from two personally important projects I pursued for the last 6 years. Back in 2012, while I was still CEO of OLX, I wrote myself a long email considering whether I should leave OLX, and if so, what I should do next. I shared this email in a blog post entitled A framework for making important decisions: Step 1 of 4. In the subsequent years, I pursued many of the ideas on the list as I will detail in Step 3 of 4 in an upcoming blog post.
- [A framework for making important decisions: Step 2/4](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-framework-for-making-important-decisions-step-2-4/): The process of putting your thoughts on paper is useful as it crystalizes your thinking and may allow your subconscious mind to come up with the right answer in the days, weeks and months following your email to yourself. Step 2 allows you to further refine your thoughts and accelerate the process of coming up with the right answer for you.
- [A framework for making important decisions: Step 1/4](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-framework-for-making-important-decisions-step-1-3/): In life there seems to be a pretty clear default path in terms of societal, parental and personal expectations: go to college, get a job, get married, have kids. In addition to the default general path, there is a default choice for each of these: continue doing whatever it is you are doing. The easiest thing to do is to stay in your current job, live in your current city, in your current apartment, with your current significant other. Time spent in a default position seems to create a momentum of its own on that position across all categories.
- [2018 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide](https://fabricegrinda.com/2018-holiday-gadget-gift-guide/): All my recommendations from last year’s 2017 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide still hold, so if you are in the market for a notebook, TV, headset or Webcam just refer to it and buy the latest version of each of these.
- [Great Interview & Podcast in Forbes with Alejandro Cremades](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-interview-podcast-in-forbes-with-alejandro-cremades/): I had the pleasure of running into Alejandro Cremades at the latest Founders Forum in New York. As luck would have it, he had prepared the angel investor ranking for Forbes where I was named #1. He wanted to talk to me about my entrepreneurship journey and what we are up to at FJ Labs.
- [Far ranging and fun podcast with Meb Faber](https://fabricegrinda.com/far-ranging-and-fun-podcast-with-meb-faber/): I had the pleasure of chatting with Meb Faber, co-founder and the Chief Investment Officer of Cambria Investment Management. He normally covers public market investing which led to a fun conversation about the differences between the two.
- [Summer Book Recommendations](https://fabricegrinda.com/summer-book-recommendations/): I received numerous requests for book recommendations in the last few weeks. The rise in the mercury clearly correlates with an increase in reading under umbrellas on the beach.
- [Ode to Bagheera](https://fabricegrinda.com/ode-to-bagheera/): To my great chagrin, my beloved Bagheera passed away a year ago. I wanted to share this tribute to all the love and happiness she brought to my life.
- [Forbes just named me the #1 angel investor in the world :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/forbes-just-named-me-the-1-angel-investor-in-the-world/): It’s good to be the king! Now if only my ego and I could still fit in the same room :)
- [Lessons Learned Building Online Marketplaces](https://fabricegrinda.com/lessons-learned-building-online-marketplaces/): I had the pleasure of being invited to be the closing keynote speaker at the Global Online Marketplaces Summit in Miami. I presented how FJ Labs evaluates marketplaces we invest in or build. I discussed best practices in building marketplaces and common pitfalls. I also presented the four marketplace thesis FJ Labs is currently pursuing.
- [Better lucky than good!](https://fabricegrinda.com/better-lucky-than-good/): FJ Labs just had its best exit ever with Zynga’s acquisition of Gram Games for $250 million, yielding a 75x multiple in cash upfront, not including escrow and earnout payments to be made over the next 3 years.
- [Fun podcast in French covering my nerdy youth and much more!](https://fabricegrinda.com/fun-podcast-in-french-covering-my-nerdy-youth-and-much-more/): I had the pleasure of chatting with Matthieu Stefani about my origin story as a young Sheldon Cooper :)
- [Fun “Ask Me Anything” conversation with Heidi Moore](https://fabricegrinda.com/fun-ask-me-anything-conversation-with-heidi-moore/): We covered everything and anything: autonomous cars, crypto, hot trends, failures and much more!
- [The Thesis Fabrice Grinda & FJ Labs Use To Invest in 1–2 Startups Per Week](https://fabricegrinda.com/thesis-fabrice-grinda-fj-labs-use-invest-1-2-startups-per-week/): Sean: We’re going to meet with Fabrice Grinda of FJ Labs, the famed angel investor, in an undisclosed location somewhere in the New York metropolitan area. Here we go.
- [42 Questions – Fabrice Grinda’s Path into VC](https://fabricegrinda.com/42-questions-fabrice-grindas-path-vc/): Quick and fun interview by Sean O’Sullivan about how I became a venture investor.
- [How I was hacked, and all my cryptocurrencies were stolen!](https://fabricegrinda.com/hacked-cryptocurrencies-stolen/): Because I started playing with cryptocurrencies as a hobby years ago, and for a long time they were not worth much of anything (read Some thoughts on cryptocurrencies), it did not occur to me to treat my crypto holdings more securely than other assets I owned. I assumed that by using very complex passwords, or a password manager like Dashlane, and requiring two-factor authentication with text messages sent to my cell phone, I would be safe.
- [42 Questions with Fabrice Grinda of FJ Labs](https://fabricegrinda.com/42-questions-fabrice-grinda-fj-labs/): I had the pleasure of being interviewed by the amazing Sean O'Sullivan about FJ Labs.
- [Some thoughts on Bitcoin energy consumption](https://fabricegrinda.com/thoughts-bitcoin-energy-consumption/): By Eric Denovitzer
- [FJ Labs 2017 Year in Review](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-2017-year-review/): FJ Labs continued to rock. In 2017, the team grew to 14 people. We deployed $35 million. We made 89 investments, 54 first time investments and 35 follow-on investments. We had 18 exits, 8 successful exits, including the IPOs of Delivery Hero and Eve, and 10 failures.
- [2017: One Big Adventure!](https://fabricegrinda.com/2017-one-big-adventure/): 2017 was amazing on a personal and professional level. I still have lingering effects from the severe concussion I suffered in 2015 and my knees are wobblier than I would like, but I was able to practice sports again and do tons of adventure travel.
- [Some thoughts on cryptocurrencies](https://fabricegrinda.com/some-thoughts-on-cryptocurrencies/): My interest in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies started because of my connection to Argentina. I helped co-found Deremate.com in 1999, which ultimately became Mercadolibre which is headquartered in Argentina. OLX also had most of its employees in Buenos Aires during the bulk of its history, especially the technical, product, QA, customer service and content moderation teams. As a result, I lived 2 to 3 months per year in Argentina between 2006 and 2013.
- [Some thoughts on philanthropy](https://fabricegrinda.com/some-thoughts-on-philanthropy/): As I mentioned in my latest keynote, Let’s Build a Better Future, the best way to improve humanity is by harnessing the deflationary power of technology. Technology makes things more affordable, thereby increasing people’s quality of life. As a result, the cost of food, water, communications, transportation, electricity and essentials, has collapsed over the last two centuries. And its effects have even visible during our lifetime - when I was a kid only the rich took planes, owned cars, or had cell phones. Today they are accessible to almost everyone.
- [2017 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide](https://fabricegrinda.com/2017-holiday-gadget-gift-guide/): It’s that time of the year again, so I am sharing my recommendations for all gadget lovers of the world to be happy this holiday season.
- [BPI Keynote: Let’s build a better future](https://fabricegrinda.com/bpi-keynote-lets-build-a-better-future/): We are extraordinarily privileged to reside in a developed country at the beginning of the 21st century. We are living in the most prosperous and peaceful time in the history of humanity. In 1800 no country had a life expectancy over 40. Today it’s over 80 in many developed countries. In 1820, 94% of the world’s population lived in extreme poverty. Today less than 10% of people do at a global level even though world population went from 1 billion to 7 billion! In 1800, we worked over 70 hours per week to survive. Today we work less than 40 hours per week with a quality of life that would be the envy of emperors 200 years ago.
- [Keynote BPI : Construisons un meilleur avenir](https://fabricegrinda.com/keynote-bpi-construisons-un-meilleur-avenir/): Nous sommes extraordinairement privilégiés d’habiter dans un pays développé au début du 21ème siècle. Nous vivons dans l’ère la plus prospère et paisible de l’histoire de l’humanité. En 1800 aucun pays avait une espérance de vie au-delà de 40 ans. Aujourd’hui elle est de plus de 80 ans dans beaucoup de pays développés. En 1820, 94% de la population vivait en extrême pauvreté. Aujourd’hui c’est moins de 10% à l’échelle mondiale alors que la population est passée de 1 milliard à 7 milliards ! En 1800, nous travaillions plus de 70 heures par semaine pour survivre. Aujourd’hui nous travaillons moins de 40 heures par semaine avec une qualité de vie qui serait prisée par les empereurs d’il y a 200 ans.
- [The Bobiverse book series is tons of fun!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-bobiverse-book-series-is-tons-of-fun/): After my strong recommendations for Ready Player One, Star Force and Old Man’s War, it’s probably obvious to most than I am a big fan of sci fi and of space operas in general.
- [It was Bagheera’s world, we just lived in it](https://fabricegrinda.com/it-was-bagheeras-world-we-just-lived-in-it/): My love for dogs is well documented (Farewell Harvard!), but I must admit that no dog meant more to me than Bagheera. In a way, it is odd that it would be the case. She was really my 2005 girlfriend’s dog.
- [Infinity Born is a timely thriller](https://fabricegrinda.com/infinity-born-is-a-timely-thriller/): I am partial to science fiction books set in the near future where the technological improvements are in a way understandable and expected in light of where we stand today. For anyone who has been following the recent spat between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg about the perils of AI, Douglas Richard’s Infinity Born is extraordinarily timely. It focuses on the quest for ASI (artificial super intelligence) in a fun thriller that covers a lot of the technologies I have been reading and thinking about: mind uploading and emulation, bioprinting, nanites in the brain, asteroid mining, kinetic bombardment, EmDrive technology and much more.
- [The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck is surprisingly thoughtful and well written](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-subtle-art-of-not-giving-a-fck-is-surprisingly-thoughtful-and-well-written/): I was told to check out Mark Manson’s book because it supposedly encapsulates a lot of my personal beliefs, philosophy and approach to life. I was very skeptical of the gimmicky title and the fact that it’s essentially a self-help book, but gave it the benefit of the doubt. I was very pleasantly surprised. Mark Manson combines academic research, personal anecdotes and jokes to make a very compelling argument about what to care about.
- [Nontraditional approach to wealth management](https://fabricegrinda.com/nontraditional-approach-to-wealth-management/): I realize this blog post might appear douchey as its content only applies to very few lucky entrepreneurs. However, given the amount of bad advice dished out by traditional investment advisors and that every entrepreneur I backed who successfully exited asked me how to manage their funds, I felt the post had to be written.
- [Eve: from launch to IPO in 31 months!](https://fabricegrinda.com/eve-from-launch-to-ipo-in-31-months/): Jas and the team executed really well. By the end of 2016, Eve had £12 million in sales operating in 12 countries. When the company first mentioned they were considering going public, I have to admit I was skeptical. It felt early and that liquidity might be limited. However, DN Capital had experience with Purplebricks. The online real estate agent, listed on AIM in 2015 after just 19 months of trading. That IPO raised £58.1 million at a £240 million valuation. The company now has a market capitalization of £929 million.
- [Venture Capitalists: change your life with Kushim](https://fabricegrinda.com/venture-capitalists-change-your-life-with-kushim/): by Clément Aglietta
- [Greenland is awe inspiring!](https://fabricegrinda.com/greenland-is-awe-inspiring/): I had the pleasure of heli skiing in Greenland with EA Heli. The setting was mind boggling. I kept almost crashing as I was ogling the majestic scenery and forgetting I was skiing! I was truly humbled by the jaw dropping beauty of nature.
- [Skiing is Divine!](https://fabricegrinda.com/skiing-is-divine/): There is something magical about floating on powder. I find that it’s an amazing way to hack my flow state. My current favorite go to operator is Eagle Pass near Revelstoke.
- [We are lucky to be alive right now!](https://fabricegrinda.com/we-are-lucky-to-be-alive-right-now/): In these fraught political times, it’s good to take a step back from the day to day minutia. In the grand scheme of things, global quality of life has dramatically improved. In 1820, 94% of the world’s population lived in extreme poverty. Even in 1910, 82% of the world’s population lived in extreme poverty. Until 1945, less than 10% of the world’s population lived in a democracy.
- [FJ Labs 2016 Year in Review](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-2016-year-review/): • 5 Succesful Exits • Capital deployed 123.5 M • 42 new investments • 14 different countries
- [2016: an amazing year (really)](https://fabricegrinda.com/2016-an-amazing-year-really/): I went 0 for 4 on election predictions (Brexit, Duterte, Colombian peace, Trump), and was wrong about the scale of the loss of the Italian referendum, but 2016 was amazing on a personal and professional level.
- [NOAH 2016 Keynote: Confessions of an Accidental Angel](https://fabricegrinda.com/noah-2016-keynote-confessions-of-an-accidental-angel/): NOAH 2016 Keynote: Confessions of an Accidental Angel from Fabrice Grinda
- [How to run a company with (almost) no rules by Ricardo Semler](https://fabricegrinda.com/how-to-run-a-company-with-almost-no-rules-by-ricardo-semler/): What if your job didn’t control your life? Brazilian CEO Ricardo Semler practices a radical form of corporate democracy, rethinking everything from board meetings to how workers report their vacation days (they don’t have to). It’s a vision that rewards the wisdom of workers, promotes work-life balance — and leads to some deep insight on what work, and life, is really all about. Bonus question: What if schools were like this too?
- [2016 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide](https://fabricegrinda.com/2016-holiday-gadget-gift-guide/): It’s that time of the year again, so I am sharing my recommendations for all gadget lovers of the world to be happy this holiday season. This year I made my most exhaustive list yet!
- [They’re Made Out of Meat by Terry Bisson](https://fabricegrinda.com/theyre-made-out-of-meat-by-terry-bisson/): "They're made out of meat."
"Meat?"
"Meat. They're made out of meat."
"Meat?"
"There's no doubt about it. We picked up several from different parts of the planet, took them aboard our recon vessels, and probed them all the way through. They're completely meat."
"That's impossible. What about the radio signals? The messages to the stars?"
"They use the radio waves to talk, but the signals don't come from them. The signals come from machines."
"So who made the machines? That's who we want to contact."
"They made the machines. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Meat made the machines."
"That's ridiculous. How can meat make a machine? You're asking me to believe in sentient meat."
"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. These creatures are the only sentient race in that sector and they're made out of meat."
"Maybe they're like the orfolei. You know, a carbon-based intelligence that goes through a meat stage."
"Nope. They're born meat and they die meat. We studied them for several of their life spans, which didn't take long. Do you have any idea what's the life span of meat?"
"Spare me. Okay, maybe they're only part meat. You know, like the weddilei. A meat head with an electron plasma brain inside."
"Nope. We thought of that, since they do have meat heads, like the weddilei. But I told you, we probed them. They're meat all the way through."
"No brain?"
"Oh, there's a brain all right. It's just that the brain is made out of meat! That's what I've been trying to tell you."
"So ... what does the thinking?"
"You're not understanding, are you? You're refusing to deal with what I'm telling you. The brain does the thinking. The meat."
"Thinking meat! You're asking me to believe in thinking meat!"
"Yes, thinking meat! Conscious meat! Loving meat. Dreaming meat. The meat is the whole deal! Are you beginning to get the picture or do I have to start all over?"
"Omigod. You're serious then. They're made out of meat."
"Thank you. Finally. Yes. They are indeed made out of meat. And they've been trying to get in touch with us for almost a hundred of their years."
"Omigod. So what does this meat have in mind?"
"First it wants to talk to us. Then I imagine it wants to explore the Universe, contact other sentiences, swap ideas and information. The usual."
"We're supposed to talk to meat."
"That's the idea. That's the message they're sending out by radio. 'Hello. Anyone out there. Anybody home.' That sort of thing."
"They actually do talk, then. They use words, ideas, concepts?" "Oh, yes. Except they do it with meat."
"I thought you just told me they used radio."
"They do, but what do you think is on the radio? Meat sounds. You know how when you slap or flap meat, it makes a noise? They talk by flapping their meat at each other. They can even sing by squirting air through their meat."
"Omigod. Singing meat. This is altogether too much. So what do you advise?"
"Officially or unofficially?"
"Both."
"Officially, we are required to contact, welcome and log in any and all sentient races or multibeings in this quadrant of the Universe, without prejudice, fear or favor. Unofficially, I advise that we erase the records and forget the whole thing."
"I was hoping you would say that."
"It seems harsh, but there is a limit. Do we really want to make contact with meat?"
"I agree one hundred percent. What's there to say? 'Hello, meat. How's it going?' But will this work? How many planets are we dealing with here?"
"Just one. They can travel to other planets in special meat containers, but they can't live on them. And being meat, they can only travel through C space. Which limits them to the speed of light and makes the possibility of their ever making contact pretty slim. Infinitesimal, in fact."
"So we just pretend there's no one home in the Universe."
"That's it."
"Cruel. But you said it yourself, who wants to meet meat? And the ones who have been aboard our vessels, the ones you probed? You're sure they won't remember?"
"They'll be considered crackpots if they do. We went into their heads and smoothed out their meat so that we're just a dream to them."
"A dream to meat! How strangely appropriate, that we should be meat's dream."
"And we marked the entire sector unoccupied."
"Good. Agreed, officially and unofficially. Case closed. Any others? Anyone interesting on that side of the galaxy?"
"Yes, a rather shy but sweet hydrogen core cluster intelligence in a class nine star in G445 zone. Was in contact two galactic rotations ago, wants to be friendly again."
"They always come around."
"And why not? Imagine how unbearably, how unutterably cold the Universe would be if one were all alone ..."
- [Some thoughts on Trump’s surprising win](https://fabricegrinda.com/some-thoughts-on-trumps-surprising-win/): I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Connie Loizos from Techcrunch yesterday. Unsurprisingly the conversation rapidly veered towards discussing Trump's surprising win. I am reproducing our discussion below for your reading pleasure.
- [Apparently I am the top French business angel of 2016!](https://fabricegrinda.com/apparently-i-am-the-top-french-business-angel-of-2016/):  
 
 
- [Bill The Vampire is hilarious!](https://fabricegrinda.com/bill-the-vampire-is-hilarious/): The Tome of Bill book series has made me laugh out loud so hard, so much, that I can’t keep track of how many times it happened. That is saying a lot given that I can’t remember the last book that made me laugh out loud!
- [The Feedback Loop is the new Ready Player One](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-feedback-loop-is-the-new-ready-player-one/): I loved Ready Player One. Sadly, Armada, Ernest Cline’s follow-up book proved disappointing. Harmon Cooper fills that void with The Feedback Loop. The book is essentially Groundhog Day meets Ready Player One meets The Matrix.
- [Ride-sharing is not killing car ownership](https://fabricegrinda.com/ride-sharing-is-not-killing-car-ownership/): By Ale Resnik, Chief Executive Officer of Beepi
- [Letters to a Young Contrarian is a must read!](https://fabricegrinda.com/letters-to-a-young-contrarian-is-a-must-read/): In a simple and elegant series of letters written to a hypothetical student, Christopher Hitchens makes an incredibly compelling argument for thinking independently. While showing how important it is, he also clearly highlights the perils of defying conventional wisdom and popular opinion. In making his case, Hitchens shows off his erudition in sharing a lifetime’s worth of insights and scholarship.
- [Technology and the Future of Work](https://fabricegrinda.com/technology-and-the-future-of-work/): Technological progress continues unabated. The astonishing rate of growth has fueled heated debates about implications on the future of labor and the nature of work. A decade ago, few would have predicted that job categories like iOS development, product management, and search engine marketing would exist today. A world of 3D printed food, virtually free electricity, and unlimited computing power is on the horizon.
- [Grit, Perseverance, and Happenstance: The Genesis of our Apprenticeship Program](https://fabricegrinda.com/grit-perseverance-and-happenstance-the-genesis-of-our-apprenticeship-program/): Most of you are not aware that FJ Labs has an apprenticeship program. The program has been fantastic. The apprentices have created extraordinary companies, including AdoreMe and Beepi. They have helped us invest in over 250 startups. It has been extraordinarily beneficial all around.
- [The Next Evolution: AI-Powered Marketplaces](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-next-evolution-ai-powered-marketplaces/): Every few years there are technological breakthroughs that allow entrepreneurs to adjust the dynamics of online marketplaces to make them more efficient. Native mobile apps, seamless payments and GPS tracking are just a few of the examples that have improved marketplaces substantially during the last two decades. Today, we are at the beginning of the next evolution: AI-powered marketplaces.
- [My Rematerialized  Life](https://fabricegrinda.com/my-rematerialized-life/): In October 2014, at the end of my Update on the Very Big Downgrade, I explained that the super high occupancy rates of high end hotels and Airbnbs in New York were forcing me to move location every few days. These high transaction costs defeated the very purpose of the downgrade and pushed me to partially rematerialize.
- [The Old Man’s War Series by John Scalzi is a fantastic space opera](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-old-mans-war-series-by-john-scalzi-is-a-fantastic-space-opera/): As you know, I am a huge fan of B.V. Larson’s Star Force and Undying Mercenaries series. While I really enjoy Ryk Brown’s The Frontiers Saga and to a slightly lesser extent Jay Allan’s Crimson Worlds series, they take themselves too seriously and don’t rival the joy created by Larson’s fun light hearted tone.
- [Donald Trump: The Startup Disrupting the GOP Establishment](https://fabricegrinda.com/donald-trump-the-startup-disrupting-the-gop-establishment/): Many people have been amazed at the support that Donald Trump has been able to amass since he threw his red “Make America Great Again” hat into the ring to be the next President of the United States of America. It’s been both an entertaining and cringe-worthy spectacle. As distasteful as we may find Donald Trump to be, as entrepreneurs and students of entrepreneurship, it’s insightful to think of the parallels between the ascent of The Donald and that of startups trying to disrupt entrenched incumbents.
- [Sapiens is the most important book you will read all year!](https://fabricegrinda.com/sapiens-is-the-most-important-book-you-will-read-all-year/): Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari is incredibly ambitious. It covers the history of humanity starting with modern cognition. It covers everything from why Sapiens ended up on top relative to other hominids, to gender roles, the agricultural revolution, the history of currency, empire and capitalism. It analyses recent developments and speculates as to where we might be heading.
- [Modern Romance is insightful and fun](https://fabricegrinda.com/modern-romance-is-insightful-and-fun/): I am a fan of Aziz Ansari’s standup comedy routine and his TV show Master of None. Having experienced the travails of dating in the digital age, I looked forward to Modern Romance. The book surprised me. I expected a collection of funny anecdotes with commentary in Aziz’s voice. It certainly contained those, but the book offers much more than that. It presents the results of a statistically significant in depth sociological survey covering the dating patterns and behavior of thousands of individuals around the world. I found it truly insightful.
- [FJ LABS 2015 Investment Year in Review](https://fabricegrinda.com/fj-labs-2015-investment-year-in-review/)
- [2015: Adulthood?](https://fabricegrinda.com/2015-adulthood/): I bought an apartment in the Lower East Side in the summer of 2015. The super high occupancy rates of high end hotels and Airbnbs in New York were forcing me to move location every few days, creating high transaction costs and defeating the purpose of my asset light living. It remains minimally decorated and sparse, but has become my New York home and allowed me to restart hosting intellectual salons and dinners again!
- [The Philips BMD4065UC is the computer monitor to get](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-philips-bmd4065uc-is-the-computer-monitor-to-get-2/): When it comes to computer monitors I have always been of the thought that bigger is better. Given that it’s not uncommon for high end 32” 4K monitors to cost upwards of $1,500, the Philips BDM4065UC is an absolute bargain at $699 on Amazon for a 4K 40” monitor.
- [Macro perspective: The startup party is far from over!](https://fabricegrinda.com/macro-perspective-the-startup-party-is-far-from-over/): Barring exogenous “black swan” shocks, the conditions are set for the startup party to continue.
- [2015 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide](https://fabricegrinda.com/2015-holiday-gadget-gift-guide-2/): It’s that time of the year again, so I am sharing my recommendations for all gadget lovers of the world to be happy this holiday season!
- [Life in 2030](https://fabricegrinda.com/life-in-2030/): I was recently interviewed by Alliancy to discuss the world in 2030. I am transcribing it below for your reading pleasure.
- [The problem with rental marketplaces](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-problem-with-rental-marketplaces/): By Guimar Vaca Sittic
- [Fun Interview on The Twenty Minute VC](https://fabricegrinda.com/fun-interview-on-the-twenty-minute-vc/): I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Harry Stebbings of The Twenty Minute VC.
- [Understanding Vertical Marketplace Innovation](https://fabricegrinda.com/understanding-vertical-marketplace-innovation/): By Guimar Vaca Sittic
- [Great birthday wishes from Dazeinfo: Happy Birthday Fabrice Grinda: The Extraordinary Tech Entrepreneur](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-birthday-wishes-from-dazeinfo-happy-birthday-fabrice-grinda-the-extraordinary-tech-entrepreneur/): Dazeinfo wrote a really nice article for my birthday full of surprisingly accurate information. I recreated the blog post below for your reading pleasure. You can find the original at: http://dazeinfo.com/2015/08/03/happy-birthday-fabrice-grinda-extraordinary-tech-entrepreneur/  
- [Why I chose Cabarete](https://fabricegrinda.com/why-i-chose-cabarete/): I then went to visit the top destinations in the model: Miami, the Bahamas, Anguilla, the BVI, Costa Rica, Cancun, Tulum, Belize, Bonaire, Playa Grande, Punta Cana and Cabarete.
- [The wonderful world of mobile apps!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-wonderful-world-of-mobile-apps/): I have to admit that my ability to live and travel light is greatly facilitated by the extraordinary mobile apps that are now available, especially for on-demand services.
- [Asset Light Living](https://fabricegrinda.com/asset-light-living/): After the NY Times article, a number of you have reached out asking for the full list of items I live and travel with. It boils down to 50 items including the suitcase and backpack.
- [Some Thoughts on the New York Times Styles Section Article](https://fabricegrinda.com/some-thoughts-on-the-new-york-times-styles-section-article/): This goes to show there is no such thing as bad press. I made the cover of the New York Times Styles section last Sunday.
- [Asset prices are more sensitive to very low interest rates than most suspect](https://fabricegrinda.com/asset-prices-are-more-sensitive-to-very-low-interest-rates-than-most-suspect/): Global interest rates are now at historical lows. Conversely we are seeing record prices for asset prices be they share prices of listed companies, privately held Internet startups, art, collectible cars or real estate.
- [I love skiing!](https://fabricegrinda.com/i-love-skiing/): Here is a personal ode to skiing while I eagerly await the next season and healed knees.
- [Fun Discussion with Dave McClure at PreMONEY Miami](https://fabricegrinda.com/fun-discussion-with-dave-mcclue-at-premoney-miami/)
- [I failed my way to success!](https://fabricegrinda.com/i-failed-my-way-to-success/): “As an entrepreneur you keep trying things, and I try everything. I try business ideas, on our website we test everything, iterate, iterate, iterate. Is the button white or orange or green or yellow? Does it say ‘sell’, or ‘sell now’, or ‘on sale’ or ‘for sale’? You test, you test, you test and most of the ideas you try fail and so I would argue I failed my way to success. It’s the sum total of all these little tests and if you do enough little 1% improvements, the sum total of them leads to disruptive product change.
- [2015 Venture Investing Update](https://fabricegrinda.com/venture-investing-update/): It’s been a while since I posted a missive on our venture investments and I felt it was long overdue given the fundamental changes we’ve made to our strategy.
- [Bigger is better! :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/bigger-is-better/): As I find myself on the sidelines for a few months because of an injury on both my knees, I felt compelled to invest in more static entertainment options. Given the dearth of intellectual and artistic venues in Cabarete, I just installed a 220” screen in my living room with a 4K projector to watch House of Cards and other amazing TV shows, movies, and PS4 and Xbox One games in all their glory.
- [Showing off my improved kiting skills :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/showing-off-my-improved-kiting-skills/): https://youtu.be/z-0VxEXP3wE
- [Outlook for iOS is the best iPhone email application on the market](https://fabricegrinda.com/outlook-for-ios-is-the-best-iphone-email-application-on-the-market/): I never imagined replacing Apple’s default mail software as my email app on the iPhone, but it just happened. Microsoft’s free Outlook app for iOS is awesome. It’s super-fast. It presents conversations in a clear and easy to understand way. It does a good job at separating conversations between important items and “other”. It also lets you see your entire mailbox if you prefer to do that. It manages attachments intelligently and allows you to connect to Dropbox. It also works effectively with multiple email accounts.
- [Marketplace Breakfast](https://fabricegrinda.com/marketplace-breakfast/): As we scaled up our operations, Jose and I more pro-actively assist our portfolio companies. We now help them fundraise, share best practices and do business development deals with each other.
- [Building Marketplaces](https://fabricegrinda.com/building-marketplaces/): I gave a few speeches last year on building marketplaces. I covered the evolution of marketplaces, what it takes to build successful vertical marketplaces, marketplace design, how to growth hack liquidity and manage your suppliers. Even it's missing the commentary, I felt some of you might appreciate the supporting slides.
- [2014: An Epic Year!](https://fabricegrinda.com/2014-an-epic-year/): Like in 2013, I spent most of 2014 living with the consequences of the life changing decisions I made in late 2012 (2012: A Transition to New Beginnings!) of leaving OLX (Why I am leaving OLX) and radically simplifying my life (The Very Big Downgrade). However, with the benefit of 2013’s experience and repeated iteration, I started tweaking my life choices (Update on the Very Big Downgrade) culminating with the decision to partially rematerialize in 2015.
- [FIAF Interview](https://fabricegrinda.com/fiaf-interview/): I was interviewed by Jean-Christian Agid for the FIAF event last December. We talked about everything and anything: the nature of entrepreneurship, life philosophy, the importance of culture in our lives and much more.
- [Great Interview with La Tribune](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-interview-with-la-tribune/): La Tribune just published an interview where we discuss the nature of entrepreneurship, the necessity of failing in order to succeed and my current thinking about marketplaces.
- [2014 Investment Year in Review](https://fabricegrinda.com/2014-investment-year-in-review/)
- [As usual the First Round Capital parody video is amazing!](https://fabricegrinda.com/as-usual-the-first-round-capital-parody-video-is-amazing/): Somehow, they keep getting better and better every year. I really would love to create something similar for our portfolio companies.
- [Fun interview on BFMTV](https://fabricegrinda.com/fun-interview-on-bfmtv/): I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Sabrina Quagliozzi on BFMTV. In this two part interview we covered both my year in review and discussed the latest trends in the Internet startup world.
- [How Technology Could Help Fight Income Inequality](https://fabricegrinda.com/how-technology-could-help-fight-income-inequality/): He just wrote a great article for the New York Times on how technology could help fight income inequality. He specifically focuses on the potential decrease in health care and education costs that automated diagnostic systems and online education could bring. He also speculates that general worker productivity could increase as computers become simpler allowing more people to work with them. China and India might also start generating new ideas particularly targeting their large number of low income individuals, thus providing new solutions for the West's low income individuals.
- [2014 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide](https://fabricegrinda.com/2014-holiday-gadget-gift-guide/): It’s that time of the year again, so I am sharing my recommendations for all gadget lovers of the world to be happy this holiday season!
- [Silicon Cabarete MVP](https://fabricegrinda.com/silicon-cabarete-mvp/): It is common knowledge that it’s unwise to fight Russia in the winter. As such, I have been trying to convince my programmers in Ukraine (and Romania) to move to Cabarete. The setting and quality of life are extraordinary in Cabarete. Besides, I would much rather fly to Cabarete for in person meetings and have everyone on New York’s time zone, rather than have to deal with a 7 hour time difference and flying 11 hours on Ukrainian Airlines several times a year.
- [Yahoo to acquire Brightroll for $640 million in cash!](https://fabricegrinda.com/yahoo-to-acquire-brightroll-for-640-million-in-cash/): Sometimes you just bet on people. I mostly invest in consumer facing startups, especially marketplaces. However, in July 2006, my good friend Auren Hoffman introduced me to Tod Sacerdoti who was CEO of POSTroller, a video ad company (which became Brighroll in November 2006).
- [Correlation is not causation!](https://fabricegrinda.com/correlation-is-not-causation/): Always look at correlations in a critical light!
- [Not a bad list to be part of :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/not-a-bad-list-to-be-part-of/): Techcrunch recently covered the venture investments of various investors in the fashion space. It's funny that it's basically a bunch of venture firms and me :)
- [What if is an absolute must read!](https://fabricegrinda.com/what-if-is-an-absolute-must-read/): I absolutely LOVED this book. Randall Munroe’s scientifically accurate answers to ludicrous questions are absurdly funny, well written and extraordinarily well researched. I laughed out loud throughout most of the answers. It’s funny how he destroys the world and/or humanity in half of the answers. I kept wondering who are those people who send these insane questions? I particularly loved the answer to the question of what happened if you put a hair dryer in a 1 square meter indestructible box, but frankly I laughed out loud so many times I lost count (and I can’t remember when is the last time that happened!).
- [Update on The Very Big Downgrade](https://fabricegrinda.com/update-on-the-very-big-downgrade/): When people successfully sell their company, they typically acquire stuff.  Instead I gave up my house, apartment and car and gave most of my material possessions (furniture, clothes, books, etc.) to charity in December 2012. It was my Very Big Downgrade.  Two years in, it’s time to take stock of what happened, especially since it has not gone entirely as expected.
- [Infrastructure for Marketplaces: The Shovels and Picks of the End-to-End Marketplace Gold Rush!](https://fabricegrinda.com/infrastructure-for-marketplaces-the-shovels-and-picks-of-the-end-to-end-marketplace-gold-rush/): by Guimar Vaca Sittic
- [One Step Closer To Streamlining the Car Buying and Selling Process](https://fabricegrinda.com/one-step-closer-to-streamlining-the-car-buying-and-selling-process/): As an entrepreneur and investor, I am fortunate enough to collaborate with startups on a regular basis, learning about their ambitions and plans to shake up their respective industries. In my previous blog post, The used car buying and selling process is broken and we are going to fix it!, I discussed how one of the startups I work with, Beepi, is streamlining the process of buying and selling cars by removing the labor and hassle for the consumer – with the click of a mouse.
- [Farewell Harvard!](https://fabricegrinda.com/farewell-harvard/): Even when I was little I knew I wanted a dog, preferably a Labrador. I remember begging my parents to get one. They finally saw the wisdom of my request and Ucla joined our family. For 16 years, he was a constant fixture in my life with his wonderful almond eyes and insatiable thirst for life. Despite lacking proper training, he always instinctively knew what to do. He always ran to the right of my bicycle on open roads going exactly at my speed. We played a game where I had to steal a ball from him through whatever means possible for us to play fetch. Should I fail in my attempts, he would start putting the ball on the side of his mouth to make it easier for me to steal it from him. We had a blast!
- [Think Like a Freak](https://fabricegrinda.com/think-like-a-freak/): Freakonomics and Superfreaknomics - the bestselling books of Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner are no longer news to the readers of this blog. However, their new work – Think Like a Freak is worth a shout-out. In Think Like a Freak, Levitt and Dubner use their famed unconventional analysis in explaining the hidden side of things. The readers of Freakonomics will recognize the authors’ thinking process and their unorthodox approach. But their compelling story telling and the new topics covered make this work a page-turner for anyone interested in behavioral economics, or in simply thinking outside of the box.
- [The used car buying and selling process is broken and we are going to fix it!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-used-car-buying-and-selling-process-is-broken-and-we-are-going-to-fix-it/): Given how massive the industry is, it’s shocking how awful the used car buying and selling process is. To sell a car online, owners have to endure the pain of taking pictures, describing their car and posting them on Craigslist, eBay Motors or Auto Trader. They have to receive people at their home with all the security risks this entails, especially for women. After showing the the car to buyers, sellers have to organize getting paid and deal with the paperwork to transfer possession. This is a huge pain especially if there is a lien on the car. Alternatively if they deal with dealers, sellers get 10 to 20% less than the KBB trade-in price (which is already very low) and have to spend hours in the process. Dealers rarely give offers on the phone forcing them to visit 3 or 4 dealers to get a reasonable price. Let’s be honest, no one ever said they looked forward to spending 5 hours with a car salesman!
- [My first interview in Spanish!](https://fabricegrinda.com/my-first-interview-in-spanish/): I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Emprendedor Universal … in Spanish! They asked me to relate my entrepreneurial journey, focusing on the challenges I faced along the way. I also shared what I have been up to since leaving OLX along with advice for budding entrepreneurs.
- [Why I bought a Samsung Galaxy S5 instead of a HTC One M8](https://fabricegrinda.com/why-i-bought-a-samsung-galaxy-s5-instead-of-a-htc-one-m8/): The Samsung Galaxy S5 has much better battery life, camera and is water resistant. Some might also point out that the battery on the S5 is swappable and that the screen is marginally better looking. However, I would never carry an extra battery in my pocket and both screens are gorgeous, so I felt those advantageous were de minimis.
- [Larry Page’s story is fascinating](https://fabricegrinda.com/larry-pages-story-is-fascinating/): Nicholas Carlson just published a fascinating in depth article about Larry Page. It covers his evolution over the last 15 years. When he started out at Google, he was an immature CEO who fostered conflict and micromanaged. He resisted the idea of giving up the CEO role to Eric Schmidt and over the years disengaged himself from the product role at Google.
- [The Grand Budapest Hotel is fantastic!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-grand-budapest-hotel-is-fantastic/): It’s amazing how Wes Anderson can create a good story out of any material! The way he films is so different from the way anyone else is making movies, it's refreshing. I loved everything: his use of color, the offbeat humor, the acting… I was also impressed by the number of famous actor he managed to rope into the movie: Ralph Fiennes, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Ed Norton, Owen Wilson...
- [Recommendations for Craigslist](https://fabricegrinda.com/recommendations-for-craigslist/): As you can see from my article on The Evolution of Marketplaces, Craigslist is facing a great unbundling. Startups are attacking Craigslist category by category by offering a better user experience in a safer environment. They are successfully taking share from Craigslist despite the fact that they charge and that Craigslist is free. Moreover, by not addressing a few fundamental issues, Craigslist is failing in its stated mission of providing a free public service to the community.
- [Fantastic article on how to build trust in modern marketplaces to achieve liquidity](https://fabricegrinda.com/fantastic-article-on-how-to-build-trust-in-modern-marketplaces-to-achieve-liquidity/): Anand Iyer, the Chief Product Officer of Threadflip, just wrote a thoughtful blog post on how to build liquidity in modern marketplaces.
- [The Evolution of Marketplaces](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-evolution-of-marketplaces/): In the early days of the web Craigslist’s horizontal listing based marketplace was all things to all people as speed, simplicity and liquidity were the key success factors in the market. A few vertical competitors emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s, illustrated by sites like Monster, 1stdibs and HomeAway. They typically retained a listing based business model, but offered better content quality and more sophisticated tools and search.
- [Great presentations on Bitcoin](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-presentations-on-bitcoin/): Bitcoin confuses people. They don't grasp what it is and how it works. The two presentations below are the best I have seen. They clearly present how Bitcoin works and analyze the opportunities in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
- [There is something magical about skiing in powder!](https://fabricegrinda.com/there-is-something-magical-about-skiing-in-powder/): It's hard to describe why, but somehow I find the sensation of gliding in untracked powder quasi-spiritual.
- [The Martian is Robinson Crusoe on Mars](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-martian-is-robinson-crusoe-on-mars/): Read The Martian, you won’t regret it!
- [Command Authority is Tom Clancy’s best book in years](https://fabricegrinda.com/command-authority-is-tom-clancys-best-book-in-years/): If you are an old school Clancy-fan, Command Authority is worth checking out.
- [50 reasons why this is the greatest time ever](https://fabricegrinda.com/50-reasons-why-this-is-the-greatest-time-ever/): In The Case for Optimism I outlined both why we are better off than we have ever been in history, especially if we live in the West, and why the future is so promising. USA Today, of all places, just published a lot of the statistics underlying the first part of my argument.
- [Fantastic presentation on customer acquisition](https://fabricegrinda.com/fantastic-presentation-on-customer-acquisition/): My good friend Saar Gur who is a general partner at Charles River Ventures just posted a brilliant presentation on customer acquisition. He explains that most startups fail because they don’t acquire customers profitably.
- [2013: The Dawn of a New Beginning](https://fabricegrinda.com/2013-the-dawn-of-a-new-beginning/): I spent most of 2013 living with the consequences of the life changing decisions I made in late 2012 (2012: A Transition to New Beginnings!) of leaving OLX (Why I am leaving OLX) and radically simplifying my life (The Very Big Downgrade).
- [The Case for Optimism](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-case-for-optimism/): We live in difficult times. Financial crisis, sovereign debt crisis, euro crisis, Syrian conflict, global warming. We are bombarded nonstop with despairing news. In Europe, the mood is morose and the prospects seem dire. The general consensus is that things are going to be bad, the only conversation is around how bad things will get.
- [Video of my LeWeb Keynote: The Case for Optimism](https://fabricegrinda.com/video-of-my-leweb-keynote-the-case-for-optimism/): Last year I finally resolved my internal cognitive dissonance between my profound optimism about humanity and my pessimism about the near term economic outlook in the West. It’s ultimately hard to be pessimistic given the long term secular trend of technology led productivity growth. Moreover, as I mention in The Economy: An Optimistic Thought Experiment, and as I tried to point out to Montebourg, most of the economic problems we are facing are reasonably easily solvable. We are just missing the political will to fix them.
- [LeWeb 2013 Interview of Arnaud Montebourg](https://fabricegrinda.com/leweb-2013-interview-of-arnaud-montebourg/): Loic Lemeur asked Jeff Clavier and me to react to Arnaud Montebourg’s presentation at LeWeb and ask him a few questions. I suggested France might adopt some measures that would make the economy more efficient, while preserving the French progressive social model, but I fear he misunderstood the question.
- [Good karma](https://fabricegrinda.com/good-karma/): I found a wallet on the floor in the Promenade des Anglais this Sunday. I was thinking of giving it to a cop, but felt the owner would not get it back in a timely and hassle-free fashion. The wallet was full: driver’s license, health insurance, credit cards, etc.
- [Office 365 Home Premium is the way to go if you are in the market for Microsoft Office](https://fabricegrinda.com/office-365-home-premium-is-the-way-to-go-if-you-are-in-the-market-for-microsoft-office/): If you are in the market for Microsoft Office, Office 365 Home Premium is the no brainer choice.
- [2013 Holiday Gadget Gift Guide](https://fabricegrinda.com/2013-holiday-gadget-gift-guide/): It’s that time of the year again, so I am sharing my recommendations for all gadget lovers of the world to be happy this holiday season!
- [If you travel internationally switch to T-Mobile](https://fabricegrinda.com/if-you-travel-internationally-switch-to-t-mobile/): I was an AT&T Wireless customers for years. They had worse reception in New York than Verizon but significantly better global roaming agreements. Given that I spend most of the year on the road, international coverage is essential for me. AT&T also has somewhat faster LTE speeds than Verizon in the US so I could not complain.
- [Henry Blodget’s Slides on the Future of Digital: 2013 are a must read](https://fabricegrinda.com/henry-blodgets-slides-on-the-future-of-digital-2013-are-a-must-read/): I have had the privilege to see Henry do his “Mary Meeker” impersonation as he effectively flies through 200 slides in less than 1 hour and it’s very impressive. He is articulate, clear and to the point.
- [Notes on the future of humanity based on Matt Ridley’s book The Rational Optimist](https://fabricegrinda.com/notes-on-the-future-of-humanity-based-on-matt-ridleys-book-the-rational-optimist/): By Otilia Aionesei
- [Why we play Moneyball rather than Powerball](https://fabricegrinda.com/why-we-play-moneyball-rather-than-powerball/): I was reading The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande which shows the efficacy of checklists in complex situations. It resonated with me, because Jose & I use a checklist as part of our angel investing strategy. The checklist does not lead to an invest / don’t invest answer, but it helps us make sure we cover all the bases and keeps us grounded. It’s especially useful when we encounter very eloquent founders or products we love, which tempt us to be less disciplined.
- [The cure for hubris](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-cure-for-hubris/): As a species and as individuals we are often shockingly arrogant. We believe, or want to believe, that as a species and individuals we are special. When we take a step back it’s truly horrifying to see how insignificant we are in both time and space.
- [Delusional optimism can go a long way!](https://fabricegrinda.com/delusional-optimism-can-go-a-long-way/): As I have repeatedly observed both as an entrepreneur and angel investor if you believe in something strongly enough and fight for it beyond what most would consider reasonable, you can typically achieve “the impossible”.
- [No Limits to Growth](https://fabricegrinda.com/no-limits-to-growth/): Over the course of the last few years I resolved the cognitive dissonance between my short term pessimism about the economy and my personal optimism about humanity, the technology world I inhabit and about my life and of that of my friends in general. I realized that over the long run, as painful as recessions are and as long as sovereign debt crisis take to play out, the overall tidal wave of technology driven productivity growth is bound to transform our lives for the better. This will happen sooner than most suspect and can be accelerated by applying best practice economic policies from around the world as I documented in The Economy: An Optimistic Thought Experiment.
- [Absolute must read for all entrepreneurs!](https://fabricegrinda.com/absolute-must-read-for-all-entrepreneurs/): James Altucher just published on Techcrunch a 100 point FAQ on starting an Internet business. It’s straight to the point and very clear. I basically agree with every point!
- [The end of an era!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-end-of-an-era/): PC World just exited the print market, marking the exit of the last general-interest PC magazine. I am actually surprised that it did not happen earlier. Magazines readership as a whole is declining as readers are moving online. This is all the more true in technology where tech nerds’ thirst for immediacy is pushing us to sites like Techmeme, Techcrunch, Engadget and The Verge.
- [How to live](https://fabricegrinda.com/how-to-live/): When I think about sixteen-century European writers, I think of a heavily ornamented writing style and grand themes such as history, religion and ethics. I had no reason to believe Montaigne will be different than most Renaissance writers, but what I discovered in Sarah Bakewell’s How to Live: A Life of Montaigne is a modern thinker in every sense of the word. The book is a short biography of Montaigne, and a wonderful celebration of being alive and conscious. Every chapter is based on one of Montaigne’s Essays, and attempts to answer questions such as how to cope with loss, death, or failure? In teaching how to live, Montaigne exposes as accurately as possible how he felt when he himself faced these dilemmas. He does not attempt to answer how you should live, as he is more interested in human emotions rather than the ethical fabric of our actions. His sincerity, his humbleness, and the modern character of his themes will strike you. So, it is worth looking at all twenty questions explored by Bakewell in her book, because every single one of them can resonate with twenty first century readers.
- [Fun interview in Le Monde](https://fabricegrinda.com/fun-interview-in-le-monde/): I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Benoit Hopquin from Le Monde last June while I was passing through Paris. He was interviewing a variety of people, Buddhist monks, retirees, etc., for a series on happiness. He had come across my interest on the topic and reached out to me.
- [Great Steve Jobs Quote](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-steve-jobs-quote/): "When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money.
- [How to launch your startup](https://fabricegrinda.com/how-to-launch-your-startup/): Paul Graham just published yet another must read blog post. This one is entitled Do Things that Don’t Scale. It’s essentially a how-to guide on launching your startup. He suggests eschewing the traditional “big launch” and instead manually recruiting your first customers. The advice is invaluable. It’s not scalable to manually recruit customers, but by personally attending to their needs you have the dual opportunity to better understand and delight them. When is the last time the Founder & CEO of a company took care of your personal needs? It’s a level of service and attention your small and nimble startup can offer that your competitors can't, so make the most of it.
- [Let’s reinvent PC gaming!](https://fabricegrinda.com/lets-reinvent-pc-gaming/): In addition to the decline of PC gaming described in my previous blog post (The Rise and Fall of PC Gaming), the business model of game development is broken for most developers, on both consoles and PCs. They spend millions to build a game. They sell it for $49.99 for a few months, at best, in an ever more hit driven environment dominated by mega-productions. In a way it’s like the movie business. $200+ million blockbusters and low budget horror movies are profitable. Everyone in the middle is getting squeezed and fewer of the smart dramas I would like to see on screen are getting created. This is true with games as well. The mega-productions like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto cost hundreds of millions to make and generate hundreds of millions in sales. Tiny developers, which are often single employee operations, can scrape by with sales on Steam. Everyone in the middle is getting squeezed. As costs are escalating even $100 million games like Eidos’ excellent Tomb Raider often end up losing money. Tomb Raider did not break even despite selling 3.4 million copies! That’s why I blogged a few years ago that despite being a gamer, I don’t work in the gaming industry: https://fabricegrinda.com/why-i-dont-work-in-the-gaming-industry/.
- [The Rise and Fall of PC Gaming](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-pc-gaming/): It has been interesting, and a bit sad, to observe the rise and fall of PC gaming. Ever since I got my first PC in 1984, the primary impetus for upgrading my PC was getting a computer and graphic card powerful enough to play the latest games. It was a wild ride on the way up every step of the way – 8088, 80286, 386, 486, Pentium and beyond. Likewise, with graphic cards and sound cards, hearing the names SoundBlaster, Roland MT-32 and Voodoo always brings a bout of nostalgia.
- [Why does the world exist is a thoughtful and compelling read](https://fabricegrinda.com/why-does-the-world-exist-is-a-thoughtful-and-compelling-read/): Jim Holt deftly tackles one of most profound questions in philosophy: “why is there something rather than nothing?” To tackle the question of existence he deftly takes us through the history of the philosophy and physics on the issue presenting the case of theists and atheists alike.
- [3D Printing will change the world](https://fabricegrinda.com/3d-printing-will-change-the-world/): It seems a foregone conclusion that 3D printing will change the world. It’s already revolutionized prototyping, and we’re now getting a glimpse of the technology's potential in mass customization, medicine and home use. It’s easy to imagine a future where everything is bespoke: even items mass manufactured in China will be complemented with 3D printed customization in stores. Once printers become commonplace in the home, one can conceive printing custom glasses and plates for a dinner party. In medicine, hospitals are already printing structural body components. In labs they are working on printing out organs, though it will be a while before this becomes commonplace.
- [David Rowan’s experience at Singularity University is a must read for everyone interested in thinking and learning about the future!](https://fabricegrinda.com/david-rowans-experience-at-singularity-university-is-a-must-read-for-everyone-interested-in-thinking-and-learning-about-the-future/): I had the pleasure of chatting with David while at Martin Varsavsky’s Tech Talk Menorca and was fascinated by his recounting of his experience there.
- [The Sony Vaio Pro 13 is the best notebook on the market](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-sony-vaio-pro-13-is-the-best-notebook-on-the-market/): Sony has finally released a worthy successor to its series Z high end notebook which was extraordinary. The Vaio Pro 13 is amazing. It’s an incredibly light 2.34 pounds despite having a touch screen. The new MacBook Air is 3 pounds by comparison, 28% heavier, and does not have a touch screen. The screen is 1920*1080 vs. 1440*900 for the MacBook Pro. Ever since Apple got me hooked on touch screens with its iPad and iPhone I have become quite fond of them. It’s ironic that Apple does not offer them on its notebooks. On top of that the SSD hard drive is super-fast and includes a 512 Gb option. The battery lasts 7 hours under heavy usage and can be doubled to 14 hours with an extra external battery that brings the overall weight to 3 pounds. It’s by far the best 13” notebook on the market.
- [Murder as a Fine Art is a fantastic historical thriller!](https://fabricegrinda.com/murder-as-a-fine-art-is-a-fantastic-historical-thriller/): As I reviewed Inferno I criticized Dan Brown for the poor writing and character development. The same cannot be said of David Morrell’s writing. While Inferno was merely good entertainment, Murder as a Fine Art is brilliant and extremely well written. It artfully mixes fact and fiction and is truly genre bending: part crime fiction, historical fiction, thriller and police procedural.
- [Inferno is a good summer read](https://fabricegrinda.com/inferno-is-a-good-summer-read/): I am a big fan of thrillers and loved The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. Dan Brown’s books typically have poor writing and character development, but he makes up for it with fascinating plots. I also love the way he intertwines symbolism, art history and exotic locales with fast paced action; though obviously one has to suspend disbelief that a professor of symbology is the perfect person to solve these mysteries and that the Bond-esque villain just has to leave a litany of clues for Robert Langdon to unravel his evil machinations.
- [The skiing beach bum in me is intrigued :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-skiing-beach-bum-in-me-is-intrigued/): As you might have noticed from previous posts, I love skiing. As I am living in Cabarete these days, I have been spending more time kiting and enjoying the beach. Perhaps it is time to combine these two passions by trying “surf skiing” as demonstrated below!
- [Bill Gurley’s thoughts on marketplaces are a must read!](https://fabricegrinda.com/bill-gurleys-thoughts-on-marketplaces-are-a-must-read/): As you can probably imagine given my recent blog post, Thoughts on building successful vertical marketplaces, marketplaces have been on my mind a lot of late.
- [Am I ambitious enough?](https://fabricegrinda.com/am-i-ambitious-enough/): I have been wondering of late if my rational heuristic driven approach to business selection is making me under reach. I feel I have been building and investing in reasonably “small projects” in the grand scheme of things.
- [Great speech on the five trends reshaping the global economy](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-speech-on-the-five-trends-reshaping-the-global-economy/): Dominic Barton, the managing director of McKinsey, recently gave an insightful speech at Stanford Business School. I encourage you to watch it.
- [Is risk aversion really the fear of feeling?](https://fabricegrinda.com/is-risk-aversion-really-the-fear-of-feeling/): Check out this interesting Harvard Business Review article:
http://blogs.hbr.org/bregman/2013/05/the-unexpected-antidote-to-pro.html
- [Great article on optimal take rates in Internet businesses](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-article-on-optimal-take-rates-in-internet-businesses/): Bill Gurley is a partner at Benchmark and an investor and on the board of Uber, OpenTable and Zillow amongst others. He just wrote a fantastic article on the optimal pricing strategy for Internet businesses. He makes a compelling argument that companies should have low rakes to establish themselves as the high volume leader and not leave an opening for competitors.
- [The latest Tomb Raider is fantastic!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-latest-tomb-raider-is-fantastic/): I have always been partial to third party action adventure games like Drake Unchartered and the latest Tomb Raider is a fantastic addition to the genre.
- [Don’t blame the Internet for your failings!](https://fabricegrinda.com/dont-blame-the-internet-for-your-failings/): Paul Miller, a technology writer for The Verge, decided to spend 365 days offline. No email, Google, Facebook, texting. He became entirely Internet free. As he puts it, he embarked in his journey because:
- [The class notes from Peter Thiel’s Stanford class are a must read for all entrepreneurs](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-class-notes-from-peter-thiels-stanford-class-are-a-must-read-for-all-entrepreneurs/): I just finished reading through all of them and found them very insightful. Some sections are useful to aspiring entrepreneurs as they cover the basics of financing, vesting, etc. Most sections are useful to all entrepreneurs as they present a very thoughtful and often counter intuitive, not to mention contrarian, approach to entrepreneurship. By forcing aspiring entrepreneurs to ponder distribution, “secrets” and much more than just product/market fit, it pushes them to refine their idea and be more thoughtful about which startup to create.
- [The John McAfee story is fascinating!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-john-mcafee-story-is-fascinating/): I just came across his engrossing story in a recent copy of Wired. In many ways entrepreneurs, myself included, are a little bit crazy. However, after reading his story, I feel much more confident in my sanity!
- [I have a confession to make: I am addicted to white powder!](https://fabricegrinda.com/i-have-a-confession-to-make-i-am-addicted-to-white-powder/): No not the kind you are thinking about. I am talking about the much more expensive and dangerous one! I am referring to the magical powder you encounter heli-skiing.
- [Thoughts on building successful vertical marketplaces](https://fabricegrinda.com/thoughts-on-building-successful-vertical-marketplaces/): As you know, I love operating and investing in marketplaces.
- [Could it be that stock photography is the best business ever?](https://fabricegrinda.com/could-it-be-that-stock-photography-is-the-best-business-ever/): What is surprising about this business to me is how high the take rate is.
- [Be a doer!](https://fabricegrinda.com/be-a-doer/): The Man in the Arena
- [Make them dream!](https://fabricegrinda.com/make-them-dream/): "If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea" -Antoine St. Exupery
- [Great inspirational video by Michael Marantz](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-inspirational-video-by-michael-marantz/): The Future is Ours!
- [Raising money from VCs is just like dating!](https://fabricegrinda.com/raising-money-from-vcs-is-just-like-dating/): The first two times I raised VC money, until success simplified things, it occurred to me how the process really mimics real world dating. Observing many other entrepreneurs similarly struggling with the process over the last few years only corroborated my thesis. Unfortunately for the most part, we entrepreneurs play the role of the desperate nerdy guy while the VCs play the role of the extremely desirable and seemingly unobtainable pretty girl. This is all the more true in the current Series A crunch as more and more seed funded entrepreneurs are chasing a smaller number of VCs writing $3-7 million Series A checks.
- [Invictus by William Ernest Henley](https://fabricegrinda.com/invictus-by-william-ernest-henley/): Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
- [The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-road-not-taken-by-robert-frost/): Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
- [Nice Churchill Quote](https://fabricegrinda.com/nice-churchill-quote/): “In War: Resolution. In Defeat: Defiance. In Victory: Magnanimity. In Peace: Goodwill.” -Winston Churchill
- [2012: A Transition to New Beginnings!](https://fabricegrinda.com/2012-a-transition-to-new-beginnings/): I spent most of 2012 barreling down the path I set in motion in early 2011 (Looking back at 2011, looking forward to 2012), before ultimately deciding to completely unravel my life. I left OLX (Why I am leaving OLX) and I am radically simplifying my life (The Very Big Downgrade).
- [The Very Big Downgrade](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-very-big-downgrade/): I decided to radically simplify my life and divide my living expenses by 10!
- [Dear Santa…](https://fabricegrinda.com/dear-santa/): I have been an exceptionally good boy this year. As you may be struggling with ideas for what to get me tonight, I have come up with a short list of suggestions:
- [First Round Capital's Holiday Video is Amazing!](https://fabricegrinda.com/first-round-capitals-holiday-video-is-amazing/): Their portfolio is not too bad either :)
- [Why I am leaving OLX](https://fabricegrinda.com/why-i-am-leaving-olx/): I decided to relinquish my position as Co-CEO of OLX. My partner Alec is staying as CEO. Given how much of my life and soul I poured in the company and the many friends I have working there, I did not take the decision lightly. I wrestled with conflicting feelings and wanted to walk you through my thought process.
- [Cloud Atlas is a beautiful ode to everlasting love!](https://fabricegrinda.com/cloud-atlas-is-a-beautiful-ode-to-everlasting-love/): Clearview’s Mt Kisco cinema has a tradition of having one of their staff thank us for being there before the movie begins. This one felt compelled to tell us: “let me warn you this foreign film is over 3 hours long and incomprehensible!” Nothing could have been further from the truth. Never mind that this movie is American and made by the Wachowskis, it was moving and amazing!
- [Further evidence suggesting consumer Internet series A financings are more difficult to come by](https://fabricegrinda.com/further-evidence-suggesting-consumer-internet-series-a-financings-are-more-difficult-to-come-by/): Fred Wilson just wrote an article, What Has Changed, in which he confirms the observation I made in a recent post (And then there were 100…) that Series A funding rounds are harder to obtain for consumer Internet companies.
- [My IDCEE Keynote](https://fabricegrinda.com/my-idcee-keynote/): I attempt to share the lessons I learned operating and angel investing in emerging markets.
- [And then there were a 100…](https://fabricegrinda.com/and-then-there-were-a-100/): Given the pace at which Jose and I have been angel investing, it’s not surprising we have now invested in 100 startups! Pitzi, the Assurion of Brazil, takes the prize for being the 100th startup! In fact given my procrastinating in writing this blog post, we are now at 105 startup investments!
- [Blockbuster makers seem to know something we don’t :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/blockbuster-makers-seem-to-know-something-we-dont/): Over the years I have seen New York blown to smithereens (Independence Day), invaded by Aliens (Avengers), frozen (The Day After Tomorrow), destroyed by monsters (Cloverfield, Godzilla), taken over by vampires (I am Legend) and much more! Movie makers clearly know that if something bad is going to happen, it’s going to happen in New York.
- [Knockerball rocks!](https://fabricegrinda.com/knockerball-rocks/): This game is known in France as "bobomimine" which literally means “my hands are hurting”. I am told it was popular in Flanders before World War I and that it is the ancestor of foosball. Most of the tables were destroyed during World War I, but my grandfather managed to save a few and my family has enjoyed playing it ever since.
- [Gone Girl is riveting!](https://fabricegrinda.com/gone-girl-is-riveting/): I had never read a Gillian Flynn novel or heard what Gone Girl was about when I started reading the book. At first I thought it was a love story gone wrong, akin to the movie Blue Valentine, as Nick wrote about the travails of his marriage in the present time (their 5th wedding anniversary), while Amy’s diary described their falling in love 6 years earlier.
- [Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is a must read for book and technology nerds alike!](https://fabricegrinda.com/mr-penumbras-24-hour-bookstore-is-a-must-read-for-book-and-technology-nerds-alike/): The book is a fun portrayal of the tension, dichotomy and yet relationship between traditional print publishing and technology. The story centers on Clay, a down on his luck web designer, who starts working in Mr. Penumbra’s strange 24-Hour Bookstore. It sells few books to even fewer customers. He discovers that the bookstore is really a front for a secret society trying to break the code to immortality. Intrigued, he enlists the help of his best friend, CEO of a tech company, and of Kat, a Google employee he rapidly falls for (and for whom I also rapidly develop a massive virtual crush :)
- [Ruby Sparks is thought provoking, beautiful, poignant and confronting](https://fabricegrinda.com/ruby-sparks-is-thought-provoking-beautiful-poignant-and-confronting/): While the movie indulges in a bit of magic realism, it takes flight once you stop questioning its premise and indulge in the fantasy that Calvin, the struggling former young writing phenom, breaks out of his rut by writing a character, Ruby, “who is perfect for him”, only to find her in the flesh in his apartment a week later as his live-in girlfriend.
- [Enroll in Star Force!](https://fabricegrinda.com/enroll-in-star-force/): After read Arthur C. Clarke’s sci-fi masterpiece Childhood’s End, I became more open minded to the sci-fi genre in general. I decided to check out B.V. Larson’s highly regarded Star Force Series. I have to say it’s quite the page turner and probably the most enjoyable book series I have read in years.
- [The 500 is a fun thriller](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-500-is-a-fun-thriller/): I was in the mood for a fun “beach read” when I came across Matthew Quirk’s The 500. It’s superficially like John Grisham’s The Firm – and that’s a great thing. The story covers the life of Mike Ford, a Harvard Law School student, working hard to keep up with his more privileged classmates. He lands his dream job at the most prestigious political consultancy in DC and enjoys the ride until he realizes there may be more than meets the eye with his employer.
- [Fantastic interview about what may very well be my next car!](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-interview-about-what-may-very-well-be-my-next-car/): I had the pleasure of meeting both Ron Dennis and Frank Stephenson at the McLaren factory outside of London in August. When they spoke about their design and assembly philosophy, I was struck by how much they sounded like Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive at Apple.
- [I knew it all along: video games are great for you and allow you to live longer :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/i-knew-it-all-along-video-games-are-great-for-you-and-allow-you-to-live-longer/): Not only do games allow you to live longer, healthier life, recent scientific research suggests that intense game playing allow us to improve multitasking, decision-making and creativity.
- [The Economy: An Optimistic Thought Experiment](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-optimistic-thought-experiment-2/): Over the past few years the economist in me has been profoundly pessimistic about the short and medium term economic destiny of the developed world, a view that is profoundly at odds with my fundamentally optimistic nature (see Cognitive Dissonance be damned, I am a pessimistic optimist).
- [If it's in the press it must be true :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/if-its-in-the-press-it-must-be-true/): I had the pleasure of being interviewed by CNBC. The interview consisted of some pretty open-ended questions about innovation and entrepreneurship, their role in society and the global economy, and their impact on my life.
- [The Avengers is a great ensemble movie](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-avengers-is-a-great-ensemble-movie/): The movie does not quite rise as high as the Rotten Tomatoes 93% critic and 96% spectator scores imply, but is very well done and extremely entertaining. I would reserve scores like those for The Incredibles, Shrek or Batman Begins when it comes to movies in this genre. That said the movie crushed my expectations. Spiderman 3 and Shrek 3 largely failed because they introduced too many disparate characters that were not developed enough within a muddled story line. When The Avengers was announced, I really feared it would succumb to the same flaws.
- [Prometheus is visually impressive, but underwhelming](https://fabricegrinda.com/prometheus-is-visually-impressive-but-underwhelming/): Watching the movie in IMAX 3D was glorious. Many of the settings and effects were amazing. Unfortunately, despite a few good scenes, the story does not live up to expectations. It’s completely predictable despite being illogical at times. The pre-credit final scene is also risibly and laughingly bad.
- [Childhood’s End is a sci-fi masterpiece!](https://fabricegrinda.com/childhoods-end-is-a-sci-fi-masterpiece/): Arthur C. Clarke managed a tour de force with Childhood’s End. I could not believe the book was written in 1953. I now know where the inspiration for the opening scenes of V & Independence Day with massive ships hovering over major cities came from!
- [Why we won’t invest in Pinterest clones](https://fabricegrinda.com/why-we-wont-invest-in-pinterest-clones/): In the past few months, we’ve been approached by almost 10 companies who want to be the Pinterest for some foreign country. As you well know, we like investing in copies of established ideas and taking them to the rest of the world, however, there are some ideas that are riper for cloning than others.
- [Entrepreneur quote of the day: "I VIP!"](https://fabricegrinda.com/entrepreneur-quote-of-the-day-i-vip/): Me: Long time no speak. How are you?
Him: I VIP!
Me: ??????
Him: I Vest in Peace!
- [Great Article on Steve Jobs’ “Wilderness Years”](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-article-on-steve-jobs-wilderness-years/): The May issue of Fast Company has a great article on Steve Jobs’ “wilderness years”. This 1985-1996 period during which he was exiled from Apple is often seen as his least productive. However, the writer forcefully and successfully argues that that these years played a pivotal role and made him a better CEO and person which set the stage for his triumphant return at Apple.
- [A Song of Ice and Fire is magnificently complex, thrilling and entertaining!](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-song-of-fire-and-ice-is-magnificently-complex-thrilling-and-entertaining/): When I saw the ads for the HBO Series Game of Thrones, I expected more of the same and did not check the TV show out for the greater part of the year. The overwhelming critical acclaim ultimately swayed me and I decided to give Game of Thrones a shot. After the opening 15 minutes, I was worried that my fears would be proven right, but very rapidly the story shifted to complex intrigue between the characters and I came to appreciate its genius. Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire in general are a very rich and entertaining character driven story with fantasy elements. The fantasy elements accompany and support the story rather than distract from it.
- [The Hunger Games Will Satisfy You](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-hunger-games-will-satisfy-you/): By Anne Hamilton
- [Is the Euro zone crisis by design?](https://fabricegrinda.com/is-the-euro-zone-crisis-by-design/): While doing research for the section on the Euro zone crisis, I came across an article I helped write for Niall Ferguson in 2003 where I argued that the European Union was far from an “optimal currency area” with broadly homogeneous conditions. Moreover, the lack of a fiscal union, cross country labor mobility and the fiscal straightjacket of the Growth and Stability Pact would lead to a crisis.
- [Very detailed interview about the emerging markets Internet craze](https://fabricegrinda.com/very-detailed-interview-about-the-emerging-markets-internet-craze/): I had the pleasure of being interviewed by memeburn a few weeks ago. Topics included the following: which emerging markets are most attractive, why tech clusters are no longer required to create successful startups, and why copying concepts and implementing them in new places still requires innovation.
- [Fantastic Startup Launch Video](https://fabricegrinda.com/fantastic-startup-launch-video/): I have not seen the deck or met the entrepreneur. I have no idea what the gross margins are and how big this can get, but the launch video is brilliant!
- [OLX India TV ads: Take 2!](https://fabricegrinda.com/olx-india-tv-ads-take-2/): I reported previously how much I loved the original OLX India TV ads. We continued with the same theme and actors for the new campaign. I am including them below for your viewing pleasure.
- [Valentine’s Day Cards for Economists](https://fabricegrinda.com/valentines-day-cards-for-economists/): The economist in me could not help laughing at the graphs!
- [This is the cutest thing to wake up to!](https://fabricegrinda.com/this-is-the-cutest-thing-to-wake-up-to/): I love Bagheera!
- [To accomplish the impossible it helps not knowing something is impossible!](https://fabricegrinda.com/to-accomplish-the-impossible-it-helps-not-knowing-something-is-impossible/): I loved the examples given in the article:
http://www.inc.com/harvey-mackay/how-to-accomplish-the-impossible.html
- [Great common sense advice from our elders](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-common-sense-advice-from-our-elders/): I loved this quote: "I chose to live each day as if it could be my last — but with a watchful eye on the future in case it wasn’t."
- [Sheldon Cooper was based on me 20 years ago!](https://fabricegrinda.com/sheldon-cooper-was-based-on-me-20-years-ago/): I just watched all the episodes of The Big Bang Theory and the conclusion is ineluctable: I was the original Sheldon Cooper! The people who know me today find it hard to believe because they see me as a socially confident extrovert. They don’t realize that this is the result of a deliberate exercise I undertook 10 years ago to foster my extroversion and social skills, followed by 10 years of practice.
- [Quote of the Day: "Money cannot buy you happiness, but happiness can't buy you anything!"](https://fabricegrinda.com/quote-of-the-day-money-cannot-buy-you-happiness-but-happiness-cant-buy-you-anything/)
- [Looking back at 2011, looking forward to 2012](https://fabricegrinda.com/looking-back-at-2011-looking-forward-to-2012/): After the fundamental structural changes in my life in 2010, 2011 was more the logical continuation and buildup on the changes from last year.
- [Mission Impossible 4 is one of the best movies of the year](https://fabricegrinda.com/mission-impossible-4-is-one-of-the-best-movies-of-the-year/): This is one title I never expected to write. I rarely expect 4s of anything to be any good. Moreover, the series has been a bit hit or miss. The first one was ok, the second movie was disappointing (especially since The Matrix came out just before), the third movie was very good (thanks J.J. Abrams!) and this fourth installment is fantastic.
- [Why Good Entrepreneurs Borrow, Great Ones Steal](https://fabricegrinda.com/why-good-entrepreneurs-borrow-great-ones-steal/): The video of my fun interview with David Lerner for Venture Studio and Mashable is live.
- [What if the Secret to Success is Failure?](https://fabricegrinda.com/what-if-the-secret-to-success-is-failure/): Read the article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/what-if-the-secret-to-success-is-failure.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all
- [Top Holiday Gadgets Buying Guide](https://fabricegrinda.com/top-holiday-gadgets-buying-guide/): The wives and girlfriends of my friends have been asking me for recommendations so I decided to share the analysis for all gadget lovers of the world to be happy this holiday season :)
- [LeWeb 2011: The Trials and Tribulations of Angel Investing in Brazil, Russia and around the World!](https://fabricegrinda.com/leweb-2011-the-trials-and-tribulations-of-angel-investing-in-brazil-russia-and-around-the-world/): I had the great pleasure of being invited to give a keynote at LeWeb 2011 on angel investing in Brazil, Russia and around the world! I really enjoyed the fireside chat I had with Loic Lemeur at LeWeb in 2009 and was really looking forward to the opportunity to share all the lessons learned over the course of the past few years and explain why Brazil and Russia have been such an important part of my professional life in the recent past.
- [I love this ad :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/i-love-this-ad/)
- [Very detailed interview about everything I learned as an entrepreneur and business angel](https://fabricegrinda.com/very-detailed-interview-about-everything-i-learned-as-an-entrepreneur-and-business-angel/): For the French speakers among you:
http://www.itespresso.fr/fievre-de-start-up-fabrice-grinda-toujours-essayer-jusqua-trouver-ce-qui-marche-le-mieux-44612.html
- [The Irony of Netflix](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-irony-of-netflix/): The last few months have been difficult for Netflix. Ignoring the Qwikster disaster, the world seems to have realized that Netflix’ business model has fundamentally changed for the worse in the move to online video distribution.
- [Steve Jobs was one of us](https://fabricegrinda.com/steve-jobs-was-one-of-us/): For the past few weeks I was pondering what could explain the viscerally emotional response I felt when I heard Steve Jobs died. I felt a profound feeling of loss and cried as I would have had close friend, family member or beloved dog passed away. Somehow, Steve Jobs, whom I had unfortunately never met, elicited a similar emotional response.
- [Must read article on America’s 21st century collapse!](https://fabricegrinda.com/must-read-article-on-americas-21st-century-collapse/): I just came across this very well thought through article on everything that could go wrong for the US in the 21st century should we continue down the current path.
- [Ready Player One is a must read for gamers and fans of the 80s!](https://fabricegrinda.com/ready-player-one-is-a-must-read-for-gamers-and-fans-of-the-80s/): Ready Player One takes place in the mid-21st century. The world has essentially gone to hell and most of humanity spends its time working, playing and essentially living in OASIS which is an immersive massively multiplayer game.
- [Drive was disappointing](https://fabricegrinda.com/drive-was-disappointing/): Despite the 93% on rottentomatoes, I should have seen the telltale sign. Whenever an audience likes a movie less than the critics do it’s typically the sign that a movie is stylistically interesting but not necessarily entertaining.
- [Contagion is gripping yet unfulfilling](https://fabricegrinda.com/contagion-is-gripping-yet-unfulfilling/): Contagion makes great points about how civil order would fall apart in supposedly “civilized” societies like our own should a virulent deadly disease spread. The movie makes a compelling case that its depiction of both the public and government reactions is realistic. However, as this is a Hollywood movie with a stellar cast, I was expecting much more. There are so many undeveloped characters that you don’t really care about any of them when they die. Moreover, the movie lacks entertainment value. In other words, it’s interesting but that’s about it…
- [Introducing New York’s First Padel Court!](https://fabricegrinda.com/introducing-new-yorks-first-padel-court/): As I mentioned a few years ago, I always wanted to play in New York, and knew there were enough Argentine, Spanish and French practitioners to organize games, but there were no courts. I am happy to report that New York is now complete! I decided to take matters in my own hand and built a padel court at my house in Bedford just outside of the city.
- [Eat People makes great points but ultimately falls short](https://fabricegrinda.com/eat-people-makes-great-points-but-ultimately-falls-short/): I loved How We Got Here, Andy Kessler’s last book. That book was essentially the entrepreneurship and capitalist equivalent of Bill Bryson’s A Short Story of Nearly Everything. I was really looking forward to reading Eat People: And Other Unapologetic Rules for Game-Changing Entrepreneurs.
- [The Fall of the Roman Empire is a must read for Roman history buffs!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-fall-of-the-roman-empire-is-a-must-read-for-roman-history-buffs/): Peter Heather has managed the inconceivable: to displace Gibbons (for me at least) as the reference when it comes to explaining the fall of the Western Roman Empire. He very convincingly argues that the rise of the Huns and Goths brought down the Roman Empire rather than internal conflicts and moral decline. He disputes that the Christianization of the Empire had a real impact on the running of the Empire. It brought about a cultural revolution, but did not impact the running of the Empire: “only the nomenclature was different.” Likewise, he argues that splitting the Empire in Western and Eastern parts was necessary to spread patronage throughout a very large population and avoid usurpation.
- [The Upside of Irrationality is a must read!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-upside-of-irrationality-is-a-must-read/): Given my blog post on How to minimize human misery in recessions or the macroeconomic implications to hedonic adaptation, this review should not come as too much of a surprise. I had loved Dan Ariely’s original book Predictably Irrational and The Upside of Irrationality is a worthy successor.
- [Happy people perform better!](https://fabricegrinda.com/happy-people-perform-better/)
- [The Ultimate Startup: Creating a New Country](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-ultimate-startup-creating-a-new-country/): My good friend Auren Hoffman posited that existing nation states would benefit from a little bit of creative destruction and competition to maximize the welfare of their “customers“.
- [Help me fix online dating!](https://fabricegrinda.com/help-me-fix-online-dating/): Somehow on a flight back from a conference with my friend John Myers we hit upon the topic of our respective frustrations with online dating and decided to break down the issues we observed:
- [Crazy, Stupid, Love is Genuine, Funny, Heartfelt!](https://fabricegrinda.com/crazy-stupid-love-is-genuine-funny-and-heartfelt/): Crazy, Stupid, Love is a fun, romantic comedy for adults. It’s unabashedly sweet, yet effectively deals with matters of the heart: from lost passion and romance for a married couple (Steve Carell & Julianne Moore), to unrequited love by Steve’s son, and to the games and antics of modern day dating, personified by a womanizer played by Ryan Gosling.
- [Midnight in Paris is tons of fun!](https://fabricegrinda.com/midnight-in-paris-is-tons-of-fun/): I recently had the opportunity to see Woody Allen’s latest movie, Midnight in Paris, and very much enjoyed it. The underlying concept of longing for the better days of a foregone era was very well portrayed. I really looked forward to seeing which new amazing characters Gil (Owen Wilson) was going to meet every night. I particularly loved the representations of Zelda Fitzgerald (Alison Pill), Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll), Salvador Dali (Adrien Brody) and Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates) who were exactly as I imagined they would be!
- [Friends with Benefits is well worth seeing](https://fabricegrinda.com/friends-with-benefits-is-well-worth-seeing/): Granted, I am partial to the genre, especially smart rom coms like As Good as it Gets, Something’s Gotta Give, Serendipity, Easy A and How to lose a guy in 10 days. While it does not soar to the heights of those movies, Friends with Benefits is a worthy addition to the pantheon.
- [Must see speech by Juan Enriquez on mindboggling science!](https://fabricegrinda.com/must-see-speech-by-juan-enriquez-on-mindboggling-science/)
- [Angel Investing Secrets](https://fabricegrinda.com/angel-investing-secrets/): A few weeks ago, I was invited to give a keynote speech at La Red Innova in Madrid. La Red Innova is the premier Spanish and Latin American tech conference. As I have given a few keynotes on entrepreneurship, OLX, my 9 business selection criteria and the travails of running global businesses in the past, they asked me to speak about my angel investing strategy.
- [I love the OLX India TV ads!](https://fabricegrinda.com/i-love-the-olx-india-tv-ads/): Watch them in order :)
- [Summons by Robert Francis](https://fabricegrinda.com/summons-by-robert-francis/): I must be in romantic mood as I feel compelled to share one of my favorite poems :)
- [Cameron Rules, Sarkozy Sucks!](https://fabricegrinda.com/cameron-rules-sarkozy-sucks/): The conclusion is ineluctable: Cameron rules, Sarkozy sucks! Now if the Brits could just do something about the weather in London, I might even consider moving there :)
- [Why India is behind China!](https://fabricegrinda.com/why-india-is-behind-china/): I recently wrote how the world is less globalized than we suspect it is and how we now spend $88 billion a year in visa processing fees. What is not included in this figure is the extraordinary opportunity cost of time and inefficiencies imposed by the visa obtaining process. I recently experienced a telling experience which illustrates the differences between China and India.
- [New York is now complete!](https://fabricegrinda.com/new-york-is-now-complete/): I have always had one favorite restaurant: La Petite Maison in Nice. I have always loved Mediterranean food and been amazed how very simple dishes with great ingredients served tapas style can be extraordinarily good. Even the tomatoes and lemon they leave on the table before the meal are succulent!
- [How to minimize human misery in recessions or the macroeconomic implications to hedonic adaptation](https://fabricegrinda.com/how-to-minimize-human-misery-in-recessions-or-the-macroeconomic-implications-to-hedonic-adaptation/): As I was reading The Upside of Irrationality, Dan Ariely’s sequel to the brilliant Predictably Irrational, I started wondering whether there were macro implications and applications for behavioral economics and specifically to the concept of hedonic adaptation.
- [Great Speech by Seth Priebatsch on gamifying the world](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-speech-by-seth-priebatsch-on-gamifying-the-world/)
- [Augustus: The Life of Rome’s First Emperor by Anthony Everitt is enriching](https://fabricegrinda.com/augustus-the-life-of-romes-first-emperor-by-anthony-everitt-is-enriching/): As a self-styled Roman history buff who has always considered Augustus to be my role model because he essentially singlehandedly created the Roman Empire, I had to read his biography to get the detailed backstory.
- [The Metropolis Case is beautifully written and shockingly compelling](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-metropolis-case-is-beautifully-written-and-shockingly-compelling/): I am a bit at a loss for words when it comes to describing my liking of The Metropolis Case. I am not a huge fan of music, dislike opera and don’t particularly care for gay male leads. Yet, somehow, the intertwining tale of four characters connected by music over a period spanning from 1860s Paris to New York after 9/11, becomes slowly engrossing.
- [Fast Five is surprisingly good!](https://fabricegrinda.com/fast-five-is-surprisingly-good/): Fast Five brings together all the main actors of the past movies and manages to utilize them effectively and coherently by focusing them on a heist whilst being chased by The Rock and his team. In many ways, the movie is more Ocean’s Fourteen than The Fast and the Furious and is all the better for it.
- [Globalization is more fragile and less entrenched than you think!](https://fabricegrinda.com/globalization-is-more-fragile-and-less-entrenched-than-you-think/): I was shocked that the statistics I came across in a recent article in The Economist which presented Pankaj Ghemawat’s research on globalization.
- [Warning: Be prepared for self-indulgent narcissism over the next few days :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/warning-be-prepared-for-self-indulgent-narcissism-over-the-next-few-days/): You might argue that coming from me it might not be much of a change from the usual, but as I have not found a way to share TV interviews or shows about me without appearing narcissistic, I felt a warning was appropriate ;)
- [The Ricther Scales should update “Here Comes Another Bubble”](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-ricther-scales-should-update-here-comes-another-bubble/): I posted the video when it first came out in 2007 and watched it again this morning and it feels much more relevant today than it did then. It might not be a bubble yet, but the environment is definitely getting frothy. Most of the larger companies going public or being acquired are clear leaders with revenues and profits, albeit with dizzying valuations. However, at the seed stage seemingly anyone with an idea can get funded. Moreover, the terms have worsened significantly for investors as “uncapped convertibles”* have become more common for the best deals. This frothiness at the seed stage is making the war for talent insanely competitive resulting in failed or marginally successful startups being acquired only for their teams! This won’t become a full blown bubble until marginal companies start going public or getting exits based on hope rather than real success, but it sure is getting hot in here! Now is definitely a good time to be starting or selling a company.
- [The Sleepless Elite](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-sleepless-elite/): There was a great article in this week’s Wall Street Journal on the 1 to 3 percent of the population who are “short sleepers”. They thrive on only a few hours of sleep per night without the need for naps or caffeine. They are energetic, optimistic, ambitious and thinner than the average. They may also be hypomanic.
- [How to buy respectability :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/how-to-buy-respectability/): If you share my quirky sense of humor, you will love this article from the Economist on how rogues, dictators, oligarchs and others can buy respectability.
- [A SuperAngel’s Investment Guide](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-superangels-investment-guide/): In recent years I came to realize how much I truly love angel investing: I get to meet tons of young new entrepreneurs, I get to see and hear the newest developments in the market, and I get to participate in the growth of amazing companies!
- [Fantastic and brutally honest memo by Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia](https://fabricegrinda.com/fantastic-and-brutally-honest-memo-by-stephen-elop-ceo-of-nokia/): It has been clear to outsiders for a while that not all is well in the house of Nokia. The question was whether Nokia’s management would realize it before it was too late and what they would do about it. The previous management seemed complacent about the threat to Nokia’s very survival brought about by the three pronged attack of Chinese phone makers on the low end, iPhone on the high end and Android pretty much everywhere in between.
- [The 4-Hour Workweek is shockingly good and may change your life forever!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-4-hour-workweek-is-shockingly-good-and-may-change-your-life-forever/): I had heard great things about The 4-Hour Workweek and actually met its author, Tim Ferriss, a few times, but the gimmicky title always kept me from reading it. Rave reviews for his new book The 4-Hour Body, with yet another annoying gimmicky title, convinced me to start at the beginning to see what all the fuss was about.
- [There are fewer millionaires than you might think!](https://fabricegrinda.com/there-are-fewer-millionaires-than-you-might-think/): If you live in a city like New York with everyone is seemingly richer than you, you imagine that there must be millions of millionaires in New York alone. However, many high income individuals seemingly spend to impress and don’t accumulate much wealth. It’s those who lead ordinary lives, work hard and save who end up being millionaires.
- [Current Reading List](https://fabricegrinda.com/current-reading-list/): Non-Fiction:
- [The Sherlockian is worthy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-sherlockian-is-worthy-of-sir-arthur-conan-doyle/): I was in the market for a good thriller or detective story when I came across a glowing review of The Sherlockian in Entertainment Weekly. The concept of a dual track detective story one taking place in Arthur Conan Doyle’s time and one in the present appealed to me and the book did not disappoint.
- [The Merchant of Venice is fantastic!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-merchant-of-venice-is-fantastic/): I had the great pleasure of seeing the Merchant of Venice with my good friend Niro last Friday, courtesy of my good friend Stacie.
- [2010: A Year of Change](https://fabricegrinda.com/2010-a-year-of-change/): While the last few years were the logical continuation of the years that came before, 2010 marked a series of profound changes in almost every aspect of my life.
- [Great speech by Brené Brown on The Price of Invulnerability](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-speech-by-brene-brown-on-the-price-of-invulnerability/)
- [Great Discussion with Ron Chernow on George Washington](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-discussion-with-ron-chernow-on-george-washington/): Ron Chernow is one of my favorite authors. He wrote amazing epic biographies on Alexander Hamilton and Rockefeller amongst others. He recently released a biography on George Washington called Washington: A Life. He spoke with Jon Meacham at the New York Public Library last September about his new book.
- [Top 10 Holiday Gadgets Buying Guide](https://fabricegrinda.com/top-10-holiday-gadgets-buying-guide/): The wives and girlfriends of my friends have been asking me for recommendations so I decided to share the analysis for all gadget lovers of the world to be happy this holiday season :)
- [The Big Downgrade](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-big-downgrade/): No, no, Apple’s stock has not been downgraded yet! I am referring to the fact that I divided my monthly expenditures by four starting in July.
- [Matthieu Ricard: The World’s Happiest Man](https://fabricegrinda.com/matthieu-ricard-the-worlds-happiest-man/): Ever since I saw Matthieu's great speeches on the habits of happiness, I was intrigued and interested in learning more.
- [Megamind is tons of fun!](https://fabricegrinda.com/megamind-is-tons-of-fun/): This year’s slate of animated movies has been great with How to Train your Dragon and Toy Story 3. Megamind is a worthy addition to the genre. As far as superhero movie goes, it does not reach the soaring heights of The Incredibles but holds its own with its fun twist on the superhero genre by being written from the villain’s perspective.
- [Kalalau: Valley of the Lost Mangos (and Hidden Paradise)](https://fabricegrinda.com/kalalau-valley-of-the-lost-mangos-and-hidden-paradise/): Between my new girlfriend Laura’s repeated ravings about Kalalau and National Geographic’s beautiful pictures, I had no choice but to go and check out this “hidden paradise” for myself.
- [What are some tips for people moving to San Francisco from New York City?](https://fabricegrinda.com/what-are-some-tips-for-people-moving-to-san-francisco-from-new-york-city/): Courtesy of my friend Linda Kang who moved from NY to SF a few years ago.
- [Haunting suspense in Let Me In](https://fabricegrinda.com/haunting-suspense-in-let-me-in/): Let me in is the best vampire movie I ever saw alongside Interview with a Vampire. There is no sexy, brooding vampire in this movie. The movie is very dark and sad for all the characters – from Abby’s constant need for blood, to Owen’s harassment by cruel bullies, to his mother’s ignorance and alcoholism, to the fate of Abby’s caretaker, there is seemingly no hope in the movie, especially as it sees itself as a fantastic modern day retelling of Romeo and Juliet.
- [The Town is gritty and entertaining](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-town-is-gritty-and-entertaining/): After Ben Affleck’s fantastic directorial debut with Gone Baby Gone, I was looking forward to his next movie. The Town did not disappoint! In many ways I was reminded of Heat, but on a smaller scale in a style more reminiscent of Clint Eastwood’s directing.
- [iPhone vs. Android vs. BlackBerry](https://fabricegrinda.com/iphone-vs-android-vs-blackberry/): Courtesy of C-Section Comics.
- [Should you raise money from VCs? If so, how should you pick your VC?](https://fabricegrinda.com/should-you-raise-money-from-vcs-if-so-how-should-you-pick-your-vc/): It has become part of the conventional entrepreneur wisdom that you should raise an angel round, then a first VC round followed by a few more before taking the company public, selling to a strategic or a private equity company. Most of the well-known Internet companies have followed this path: Yahoo, eBay, Amazon, Google, Facebook, etc.
- [Things to do in Buenos Aires and Argentina](https://fabricegrinda.com/things-to-do-in-buenos-aires-and-argentina/): If you go clubbing, don't go before 3 am. Everything is empty and dead before then - definitely not before 2 am.
- [RED (Retired, Extremely Dangerous) is extremely entertaining!](https://fabricegrinda.com/red-retired-extremely-dangerous-is-extremely-entertaining/): The movie is campy and tons of fun. It was a true pleasure seeing Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman exchange witty banter while kicking butt. With such a great cast we are rewarded with great acting mixed with a fun completely over the top storyline! I am glad Helen Mirren and John Malkovitch, otherwise known for their more serious roles, both accepted to do the movie and went with it!
- [Unpopular Science](https://fabricegrinda.com/unpopular-science/): I reproduce it here for your viewing pleasure:
- [The Garden of Betrayal is a thrilling read!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-garden-of-betrayal-is-thrilling-read/): I had not come across a great fun thriller since The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons a few years ago. The Garden of Betrayal was a welcome surprise. I had read the review in The Economist and was intrigued.
- [The new Kindle is great!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-new-kindle-is-great/): For a self-avowed tech geek, it took me a long time to transition to ereaders. I have an iPhone 4, an iPad, a Lumix ZS7, lots of plasma TVs, Xbox 360s, PS3s, a Traxxas remote control car, an E-flite remote control plane and tons of other gadgets. You would think I would be the perfect candidate for reading on an ereader. Yet, somehow I was addicted to the feel of the book in my hands. I could not conceive of using an ereader. Maybe this anachronism was the legacy of all the reading I had done at Princeton in a most traditional setting, but somehow I could not shed it and risked being left behind by the times.
- [The Secret History of Silicon Valley](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-secret-history-of-silicon-valley/): Great Google Tech Talk by Steve Blank on the military origins of Silicon Valley.
- [Monsters is well worth seeing!](https://fabricegrinda.com/monsters-is-well-worth-seeing/): I rented the movie on iTunes which somehow had it available to rent 1 month before it came to the theaters. I had seen the trailer, but unlike other reviewers, I knew this was a low budget movie and did not expect a special effects extravaganza. I have Skyline and Super8 to look forward to for that. In this movie, as expected, the monsters mostly stay off screen and provide the backdrop for the story. As a result Monsters feels like it could have been shot by an earlier, low-budget era Spielberg.
- [Internet landscape circa 2010](https://fabricegrinda.com/internet-landscape-circa-2010/): Courtesy of xkcd.com
- [The Social Network is a must watch, especially for entrepreneurs!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-social-network-is-a-must-watch-especially-for-entrepreneurs/): The movie is one of the best movies of the year. The acting is fantastic and the movie has by far the best dialogue of any movie this year. More importantly for entrepreneurs, the story will resonate! From Zuck’s interaction with his girlfriend at the beginning of the movie, to his lack of social skills, to his condescending attitude towards those who “don’t get it”, to being on his notebook during boring legal meetings or all alone at night in at the office working on the product, it all felt familiar.
- [This is exactly what we are doing at OLX: we are building a plane in flight! :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/this-is-exactly-what-we-are-doing-at-olx-we-are-building-a-plane-in-flight/)
- [Angelgate is overblown!](https://fabricegrinda.com/angelgate-is-overblown/): I like a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy and some of the Hitler Angelgate parodies are really funny, but the alleged attempted collusion is a nonissue if only because even if the super angels tried to collude they would be bound to fail.
- [I knew massages were good for you! :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/i-knew-massages-were-good-for-you/): It's not really a double blind controlled study and many of the benefits might come from just resting in a quiet room for an hour, but the positive evidence for light "Swedish" type massages is intriguing.
- [Just Manic Enough: Seeking Perfect Entrepreneurs](https://fabricegrinda.com/just-manic-enough-seeking-perfect-entrepreneurs/): I had written about how America’s success might be because America’s entrepreneurs are hypomanics (Hypomanics to the rescue :)).
- [The World According to Americans :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-world-according-to-americans/): Old and cliché but fun :)
- [Naspers made a strategic investment in OLX](https://fabricegrinda.com/naspers-made-a-strategic-investment-in-olx/): The cat is out of the bag. We had not planned on disclosing the investment, but given the sheer number of people aware of the transaction (all of our employees and the LPs of our VCs) it was bound to happen. Someone tipped off Techcrunch that Naspers had invested in OLX and my partner Alec Oxenford and I confirmed the deal.
- [Apple: Short Term Winner, Long Term Loser](https://fabricegrinda.com/apple-short-term-winner-long-term-loser/): Near Term Winner
- [OLX just launched its first TV ads!](https://fabricegrinda.com/olx-just-launched-its-first-tv-ads/): To see if we could significantly move the needle in terms of traffic and brand awareness, we just launched our first TV campaign for OLX in Russia. We hope the effort will prove to be a stepping stone for OLX in our bid for global free classifieds market domination :)
- [Kick-Ass is great!](https://fabricegrinda.com/kick-ass-is-great/): I just rented Kick-Ass on Zune HD and had a blast! The movie much more violent than I expected; yet, somehow the violence was extremely funny. Choe Moretz who plays Hit-Girl really makes the movie. Her moves, tone and attitude were all amazing! I can’t wait to see her in other movies.
- [Toy Story 3 is very good](https://fabricegrinda.com/toy-story-3-is-very-good/): Like in Shrek 4, the themes of Toy Story 3 are very grown up as they deal with growing up, moving on, and letting go.
- [What to do with your millions](https://fabricegrinda.com/what-to-do-with-your-millions/): One of the wonders of entrepreneurship is that sometimes we can get lucky and make millions. Paul Buchheit wrote a good article on what to do when that happens. His advice is very practical and covers both how to invest the money (don’t rush to invest it, keep it safe) and what to change in your life (very little – keep working, maintain your friendships, be grateful).
- [The Master Cleanse Day 11 Update: The End … for Now!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-master-cleanse-day-11-update-the-end-for-now-2/): After 11 days of not eating, the time has come to slowly return to a normal diet. I am going camping in Kalalau (in Kauai) for 6 days. I will have limited access to food there and it’s probably a good idea to get some strength before going, especially as I hear the 11 mile hike in is very arduous.
- [Shrek 4 is very good](https://fabricegrinda.com/shrek-4-is-very-good/): Shrek 4 obviously does not match the originality of the first movie which was the first animated movie I ever saw whose humor and parodies were made to appeal to adult audiences. However in terms of entertainment value Shrek 4 is much nearer the first two amazing movies than the horribly disappointing, muddled and boring third movie!
- [Don’t believe the critics: Knight & Day is tons of fun!](https://fabricegrinda.com/dont-believe-the-critics-knight-day-is-tons-of-fun/): The movie never found an audience and was panned by critics, but it was incredibly entertaining and the dialogues between Cruise and Diaz were absolutely amazing! The chemistry between Diaz & Cruise was great and the campy tone was exactly what the movie called for.
- [Great article on the future of startup funding: Founders vs. Angels vs. VCs!](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-article-on-the-future-of-startup-funding-founders-vs-angels-vs-vcs/): Paul Graham wrote another great article on the future of startup funding.
- [Great article on what happened to Yahoo](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-article-on-what-happened-to-yahoo/): Paul Graham just wrote another fantastic article, this time covering what happened to Yahoo.
- [The Master Cleanse: Day 6 Update](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-master-cleanse-day-6-update/): In a way, I don’t have too much to report. Living on nothing but lemonade with maple syrup and pepper for 6 days has not been as miserable as many predicted it would be. On the other hand, it has not led to a newfound clarity or the spiritual nirvana others predicted. In other words, I don’t feel like much has changed.
- [I just started the Master Cleanse!](https://fabricegrinda.com/i-just-started-the-master-cleanse/): I usually don’t follow faddy diets, especially since I don’t really need to lose weight and if I did eating less and exercising more would be the first thing I would try. That said after my good friend and fellow Internet entrepreneur and angel investor Stephan Paternot raved about it, I decided to try the Master Cleanse.
- [I guess this means no Ferrari for me :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/i-guess-this-means-no-ferrari-for-me/): William, my best friend and VP of Marketing at OLX, is in the market for a used Ferrari 360 Spider. As a good friend, I decided to help him through the ordeal of car shopping by tagging along to the Ferrari dealer :)
- [Windows Live Sync Beta is fantastic!](https://fabricegrinda.com/windows-live-sync-beta-is-fantastic/): Given my itinerant lifestyle I end up working from many different computers. I was looking for a solution to move everything to the Cloud but only had imperfect solutions. Thanks to Microsoft Exchange I already have access to all my emails from any computer and many mobile devices. Carbonite gave me a good backup of all my files and remote access to them, but keeping files in sync between all my computers was always a pain. I would change some files in some folders at home, different files in the same folder at work and keeping it all straight was messy and complicated. I would use a mix of emailing myself the files and copying them on a USB stick, but it was manual, annoying and error prone.
- [Inception is very good](https://fabricegrinda.com/inception-is-very-good/): In other words, I went to see Inception with high expectations. I was not disappointed! The movie’s plot is very intricate (but logical), the special effects are dazzling and the concept of dreams within dreams is innovative. The movie is not without flaws. The various parts don’t quite neatly tie perfectly together. Somehow, I did not feel emotionally attached to the characters. I was also disappointed by the deliberate gimmick of leaving the movie open ended.
- [Read the reviews of the Uranium Ore on Amazon :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/read-the-reviews-of-the-uranium-ore-on-amazon/): Read the reviews at: http://www.amazon.com/Uranium-Ore/dp/B000796XXM/
- [How to generate synthetic happiness by Dan Gilbert](https://fabricegrinda.com/how-to-generate-synthetic-happiness-by-dan-gilbert/)
- [The Booq Boa Squeeze is the best notebook backpack in the market!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-booq-boa-squeeze-is-the-best-notebook-backpack-in-the-market/): I prefer backpacks to carry my notebook to keep the weight balanced on both my shoulders. After I downsized notebook, it made sense to downsize backpack.
- [The Vaio Z Series is the best notebook on the market right now!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-vaio-z-series-is-the-best-notebook-on-the-market-right-now/): In any case, it’s the best notebook on the market right now so if you are looking for a lightweight high performance notebook, look no further.
- [Predators is terrible](https://fabricegrinda.com/predators-is-terrible/): I went to see Predators last week with my good friend William. We were lured by the 63% Rotten Tomatoes score from the critics and 77% from the community. The reviews promised a back to basics approach for the movie with a darker, scarier tone similar to the original with Schwarzenegger.
- [The Passage was disappointing](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-passage-was-disappointing/): I had read that The Passage by Justin Cronin was the must read beach book of the summer. After one too many raving review, I downloaded it in the Kindle store to read on my iPad during my crazy business trip.
- [What Microsoft should do in search](https://fabricegrinda.com/what-microsoft-should-do-in-search/): We can start by asking why Microsoft should be in search. Microsoft has two extremely successful businesses with Windows and Office that generate $13.1 billion and $12.4 billion in operating income in 2008. Granted search advertising is an attractive market. It is predicted to grow from $20 billion in 2007 to $40 billion in 2012. It’s also extremely profitable once you obtain scale and cover your fixed costs with 60-70% gross margins. However, market attractiveness is not enough: pharmaceuticals are also an attractive business with high margins and no one is suggesting Microsoft goes into pharmaceuticals.
- [If](https://fabricegrinda.com/if/): Rudyard Kipling
- [Fantastic BP Oil Spill Parody](https://fabricegrinda.com/fantastic-bp-oil-spill-parody/)
- [Maui is my favorite kiteboarding spot!](https://fabricegrinda.com/maui-is-my-favorite-kiteboarding-spot/): Kiteboarding also makes for great bonding opportunities and the kiting community is very close. Kiteboarders look out for each other: they help each other launch and land their kites and most importantly bail us out when we have kitemares especially far out at sea. Everyone who kites has needed to be helped or rescued by someone at some point. Knowing you will need help one day makes you much more understanding, appreciative and willing to help! As a result, the event made for fantastic networking. I got to meet fantastic new people, made new friends and became even closer to existing friends.
- [Ironman 2 is very entertaining](https://fabricegrinda.com/ironman-2-is-very-entertaining/): The movie is not quite as good as the original but still very good. Robert Downey Junior is as good as ever. Mickey Rourke is fantastic as the bad guy and has significance presence despite his few words. The story is interesting and a lot of the speeches and dialogue reach the level of the first movie. I was laughing out loud at the beginning when Robert Downey Junior does not say how fantastic he is :) The tone has remained appropriately light and campy and I very much enjoyed the story.
- [Things to do in the South of France](https://fabricegrinda.com/things-to-do-in-the-south-of-france/): As I am from Nice I keep getting asked what to do when visiting the South of France. Here are my recommendations:
- [I can’t believe we flew over the Eyjafjallajökull volcano!](https://fabricegrinda.com/i-cant-believe-we-flew-over-the-eyjafjallajokull-volcano/): I asked what was going on, hoping they were not staring at an engine on fire, and they excitedly reported we could see the Eyjafjallajökull volcano from the window! I checked the on screen map which said we were flying right over the middle of Iceland and went to look out the window. Low and behold the volcano was right there in all its glory!
- [Summit Series Speech: The Pessimistic Optimist](https://fabricegrinda.com/summit-series-speech-the-pessimistic-optimist/): I wanted to share with you something that has been on my mind lately as I have been suffering from a severe case of cognitive dissonance.
- [Google just acquired Lab Pixies, one of my portfolio companies!](https://fabricegrinda.com/google-just-acquired-lab-pixies-one-of-my-portfolio-companies/): I am glad to report that Google just acquired Lab Pixies, one of my portfolio companies. Lab Pixies was the first investment I had made in Israel. The impetus for investing in Israel came from my friend Mark Gerson who decided to look for global Internet investment opportunities a few years ago and who was kind enough to invite me to participate. He teamed up with Yaron Carni who became our investment opportunity lead generator and co-investor in Israel and they invited a bunch of our entrepreneur friends to invest alongside him such as Auren Hoffman and Gilad Carni.
- [So true!](https://fabricegrinda.com/so-true/): "There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face" - Ben Williams
- [French Entrepreneur Dinner](https://fabricegrinda.com/french-entrepreneur-dinner-2/): My entrepreneur dinners have become somewhat of a tradition on my visits to Paris. They allow me to reconnect with my old Internet friends from the bubble days and meet the new generation of French entrepreneurs.
- [A Prisoner of Birth is Jeffrey Archer’s best book in years!](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-prisoner-of-birth-is-jeffrey-archers-best-book-in-years/): Fortunately, A Prisoner of Birth reads much more like Jeffrey Archer’s earlier works and is highly entertaining! It’s a modern retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. Like in most Jeffrey Archer books the story is utterly predictable and the characters very black and white. I did not know what the book was about, but within a few pages I could have told you everything that going to happen at every point of the story. Interestingly enough, neither limitation hindered my enjoyment of the book. I knew what was going to happen, but I really wanted to know how it was going to happen!
- [How to Train your Dragon is the best movie of the year so far!](https://fabricegrinda.com/how-to-train-your-dragon-is-the-best-movie-of-the-year-so-far/): I had the pleasure of seeing How to Train your Dragon in 3D IMAX last Friday. The movie looks great, but much more importantly the story is great. Even though the movie is completely predictable, the story is so well done, the dialog so good and the scenes so touching, that it’s a must see movie. I actually cried a few times! Maybe I was overly emotional because I was sleep deprived (a grown man needs an excuse after all :), but maybe it was that good and touching.
- [Three Cheers for Jason Calacanis!](https://fabricegrinda.com/three-cheers-for-jason-calacanis/): I don’t really know Jason. I sublet some office space from him in the early days of Zingy when he was running Venture Reporter, but we never took the time to have a meaningful conversation. However, I am very impressed by his initiative to promote entrepreneurship with the Open Angel Forum.
- [My speech at TEDx Paris (in English)](https://fabricegrinda.com/my-speech-at-tedx-paris-in-english/): Last January, I was privileged to be invited to speak in French at the first TEDx Paris. They asked me to speak for 10 minutes about my life as an entrepreneur and my love of entrepreneurship. I had already spoken on this topic in Paris at LeWeb, but it was in English so they asked me to give a similar speech in French. You can also find a translation of the notes I prepared for the speech below:
- [Malcolm Gladwell is wrong!](https://fabricegrinda.com/malcolm-gladwell-is-wrong/): I usually find much to agree with in Malcolm Gladwell’s writing, be it in Outliers or his collection of assorted New Yorker articles in What the Dog Saw. However, I strongly disagree with his recent article The Sure Thing which appeared in the January 18 edition of the New Yorker.
- [The Big Short is fantastic!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-big-short-is-fantastic/): Michael Lewis’ books have been hit or miss for me. Liar’s Poker provided a great social commentary on the insanity of Wall Street and was a great introduction, in my teens, to the world of high finance. Moneyball’s description of how statistical analysis helped Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland As, to defy conventional wisdom and win so much with the lowest payroll in Baseball was engrossing! The New New Thing, while attempting to portray the crazy “can do” ethos of Silicon Valley, somehow felt short probably because Michael Lewis chose the wrong role model in Jim Clark and spent too much time describing Clark’s building of his sailboat Hyperion.
- [Why entrepreneurs should never retire!](https://fabricegrinda.com/why-entrepreneurs-should-never-retire/): This poem about an idling Ulysses by Alfred Tennyson brings to mind what might happen to an entrepreneur who sold his company and is now whittling away inside a large firm or on the beach.
- [Conspirata was disappointing](https://fabricegrinda.com/conspirata-was-disappointing/): As a self styled Roman history buff, I should have loved Robert Harris’ Conspirata. It tells the story of Cicero’s year as Consul written from the perspective of Tiro, his slave secretary. The book does a good job at immersing us in the politics of Republican Rome which foreshadows Caesar’s rise and fall and the Republic’s ultimate demise, but falls short of being great.
- [The Ghost Writer was disappointing](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-ghost-writer-was-disappointing/): While significantly better than Alice in Wonderland, the move did not live up to expectations. The movie’s overt political stance and explicit criticism of Tony Blair would have been better served by a better story.
- [Salon at my place](https://fabricegrinda.com/salon-at-my-place/): Last Monday I organized a gathering of smart individuals at my place. To broaden my horizons, I mostly invited people I did not know. I asked four of the guests to speak for a few minutes about something (non promotional and non partisan) that was on their minds of late.
- [Alice in Wonderland is boring!](https://fabricegrinda.com/alice-in-wonderland-is-boring/): I had heard good things and went to see the movie this week-end in IMAX 3D. I was extremely disappointed and this review is reminiscent of my Avatar review. The movie is visually stunning, but the pace is incredibly slow, the characters are all one note (which is intentional but disappointing when you have actors like Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway) and the story is just not gripping. I did not care about the characters or their quest and spent half the movie hoping it would end soon!
- [The Greatest Trade ever is a thrilling read!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-greatest-trade-ever-is-a-thrilling-read/): It’s rare for nonfiction books to read like thrillers, but Gregory Zuckerman manages the feat in The Greatest Trade Ever. The book tell the story of how John Paulson realized the real estate and subprime markets were grossly inflated and how he made $15 billion in 1 year betting on a blowup, a difficult feat given how many other celebrated investors had failed trying to short bubbles.
- [Open is a must read!](https://fabricegrinda.com/open-is-a-must-read/): Open is not only the best sports autobiography I ever read, it’s one of the best biographies I ever read and one of the best books I read in the past few years!
- [Don’t read Nanny Returns](https://fabricegrinda.com/dont-read-nanny-returns/): I have a confession to make: I love chick lit and chick flicks! I suppose that beneath the hardened exterior of the busy Internet entrepreneur, I am a big softy on the inside and easily fall for cheesy, unbelievable stories of romance.
- [Great article on love in Scientific American](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-article-on-love-in-scientific-american/): The December issue had an interesting section on falling in love. My favorite article was actually "The Happy Couple" which explains how to stay in love.
- [Econ philosophy as a rap video :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/econ-philosophy-as-a-rap-video/): My inner econ geek loves this video!
- [My speech at TEDx Paris on the love of entrepreneurship](https://fabricegrinda.com/my-speech-at-tedx-paris-on-the-love-of-entrepreneurship/): For the French speakers among you.
- [College Will Kill Your Entrepreneurial Spirit While Simultaneously Turning You into a Worker Bee](https://fabricegrinda.com/college-will-kill-your-entrepreneurial-spirit-while-simultaneously-turning-you-into-a-worker-bee/): This article tells a fascinating story of a journey of survival through entrepreneurship. The persistence and trial and error approach will ring true to all entrepreneurs. His conclusion does not apply to all, I know plenty of people who loved college and love the job they do since college, but he does have a point.
- [Up in the Air is Fantastic!](https://fabricegrinda.com/up-in-the-air-is-fantastic/): The movie is great. It’s a movie about a fictional character in a fictional job, and yet it’s probably the most realistic movie I have ever seen. The movie is completely predictable, dark, gloomy and bleak, yet I loved it. It’s incredibly well acted and the characters’ soul searching felt tangible and real.
- [A Perfect Crime was a perfect time](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-perfect-crime-was-a-perfect-time/): Last Monday night Fabrice and I had the pleasure of going to see the longest-running play in New York, “A Perfect Crime.” Although neither of us had heard much about it, as theater and mystery buffs we decided we should form our own opinions. Luckily, we were not disappointed! The plot is a murder mystery that keeps you on your toes till the very end. Although normally I hate excessive plot twists, and usually find them either predictable or gratuitous (sorry David Mamet), in this case each surprise was unique in its execution and built upon clues earlier in the play that were subtle enough to keep us in suspense while still integrated enough that each new development made sense and followed from the data we had been given. In fact, the various twists and turns were so devious that Fabrice and I came up with completely different theories as to what was happening, only to both be proven right at the end!
- [Avatar is underwhelming](https://fabricegrinda.com/avatar-is-underwhelming/): Ah, the tyranny of high expectations! I had heard such fantastic things about Avatar that I was really looking forward to seeing it. To maximize my potential viewing pleasure, I waited until I could watch it in IMAX 3D and finally had the opportunity to do so on Friday night.
- [How David beats Goliath](https://fabricegrinda.com/how-david-beats-goliath/): I just came across this great article by Malcolm Gladwell in the New Yorker. He explains why underdogs often beat favorites by breaking the rules. It's actually relevant for entrepreneurs as it emphasizes that underdogs end up winning because they absolutely want to win and will do whatever it takes to win.
- [The New York Internet community is thriving!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-new-york-internet-community-is-thriving/): I participated last night in an Internet entrepreneur ping pong tournament organized by Spark Capital. It was incredibly well attended – Fred Wilson, Chris Dixon, Kevin Ryan, Dina Kaplan, Charlie O’Donnell, Dan Allen and many more made an appearance as well as a few West Coasters who happened to be in town including Loic Lemeur.
- [Do not watch The Book of Eli!](https://fabricegrinda.com/do-not-watch-the-book-of-eli/): I had intended to go watch Avatar 3D in Imax, Up in the Air or Fantastic Mr. Fox, but all three were sold out despite having been out for weeks. I opted instead to watch The Book of Eli which still had openings on opening night. I should have taken that as a sign!
- [The 18 Mistakes that Kill Startups](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-18-mistakes-that-kill-startups/): This is an old article by Paul Graham (October 2006), but a must read for all entrepreneurs.
- [New Year's resolution: Have more sex](https://fabricegrinda.com/new-years-resolution-have-more-sex/): You would think CNN started writing on my behalf. Right after they wrote an article explaining why girls in their early 20s should date me, they wrote an article explaining the benefits of having sex every day :)
- [French interview about OLX on ITespresso.fr](https://fabricegrinda.com/french-interview-about-olx-on-itespresso-fr/): While I was in Paris for LeWeb, I ran into Philippe Guerrier, a great French IT journalist whom I have known for 11 years. He took the opportunity to ask for a quick update on OLX and my angel investments.
- [Great TED Talk: Solve Problems by Changing Perception!](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-ted-talk-solve-problems-by-changing-perception/): Rory Sutherland: Life lessons from an ad man
- [The average price of a home in Detroit is $15,000!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-average-price-of-a-home-in-detroit-is-15000/): Given the Big Three's difficulties it's not surprising that Detroit is ailing, but the extent of the pain is incredible:
- [What the Dog Saw is thought provoking](https://fabricegrinda.com/what-the-dog-saw-is-thought-provoking/): After I read a collection of Tim Hartford’s Financial Times articles in Dear Undercover Economist, it was only logical to follow up with a collection of Malcolm Gladwell’s articles in the New Yorker, especially as I truly loved his last book Outliers.
- [Great TED talk by Dan Gilbert on our inability to estimate odds and value](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-ted-talk-by-dan-gilbert-on-our-inability-to-estimate-odds-and-value/)
- [Great quote on friendship](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-quote-of-the-day/): "Our friends' happiness is the essence of friendship."
- [My friend Einat Wilf is in the Knesset!](https://fabricegrinda.com/my-friend-einat-wilf-is-in-the-knesset/): I am so incredibly proud of being able to call Einat my friend. She is one of those people with incredible presence. I had barely met her as my officemate at McKinsey 13 years ago (in September 1996) that we engaged in a passionate political economic conversation. I can’t think of a single day in the years we were officemates that we did not spend several hours remaking the world!
- [Why girls in their early 20s should date me :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/why-girls-in-their-early-20s-should-date-me/): Just when I thought I would have to come up with creative ideas, Simcha Whitehill comes up with all the right reasons for CNN Living :)
- [The Power of Two: 2 > 1!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-power-of-two-2-1/): Looking at the most successful Internet and technology companies of the past few decades, it’s shocking to see how many have two or more founders: Google, Apple, Microsoft, Intel, Youtube, Skype, Yahoo to name a few all have multiple founders. Even Oracle which is closely associated with Larry Ellison has multiple founders. It’s much harder to come up with super successful Internet companies which only have one founder. Amazon and eBay seem to be the exception and Jeff Bezos is all the more exceptional as he is still CEO. The same applies to up and coming Internet companies which also seemingly all have multiple founders: Gilt, Yelp, Facebook and Twitter.
- [Fantastic article on progress in The Economist](https://fabricegrinda.com/fantastic-article-on-progess-in-the-economist/): It deftly addresses why our modern view of progress is so dismal.
- [Mortgage modifications have done more harm than good](https://fabricegrinda.com/mortgage-modifications-have-done-more-harm-than-good/): I argued in a prior post that the best way to deal with a deflating bubble was not to try to reflate that bubble. Instead of letting the real estate market reach equilibrium by letting prices fall to the point where the market clears and letting people who cannot afford their housing move to cheaper rentals, it has tried to keep homeowners in place through a combination of policies: mortgage modifications, subsidized low mortgage rates and tax credits.
- [OLX 2009 Team Video](https://fabricegrinda.com/olx-2009-team-video/)
- [Looking back at 2009, looking forward to 2010](https://fabricegrinda.com/looking-back-at-2009-looking-forward-to-2010/): In many ways 2009 was the continuation of 2008.
- [Prea is THE place to kite surf!](https://fabricegrinda.com/prea-is-the-place-to-kite-surf/): After a few disappointing trips to Cabarete over Thanksgiving and late December where I was cursed with only 1 day of wind out of a combined 10 days there (granted it’s not the windy season there), I was looking forward to a change of kiting scenery.
- [I loved Dear Undercover Economist](https://fabricegrinda.com/i-loved-dear-undercover-economist/): I was already a fan of Tim Hartford’s previous books The Undercover Economist and The Logic of Life. It should not surprise you to hear that I loved Dear Undercover Economist – a collection of Tim Hartford’s Financial Times popular column where readers ask him questions on anything and he answers them through the lens of economics.
- [Fantastic fireside chat with Loic Lemeur at LeWeb](https://fabricegrinda.com/fireside-chat-with-loic-lemeur-at-leweb/): I loved this year's LeWeb. I met many great entrepreneurs and was truly impressed by the organization and the quality of the participants.
- [OLX featured in Business Week](https://fabricegrinda.com/olx-featured-in-business-week/): Over the past few years OLX has largely been under the radar in the press given our small presence in the US leading me to coin OLX the largest website no one's ever heard of! This article is the first real public mention of the company in a reasonably mass market publication (we appeared a few times on TechCrunch in the past).
- [Tanzania was memorable!](https://fabricegrinda.com/tanzania-was-memorable/): Ever since I read about Tanzania in National Geographic Adventure, I had wanted to go, especially as I had never been on a safari. I originally considered a 10 day walking safari in the Serengeti with Mark Thornton Safaris followed by a climb of the Kilimanjaro (not on the “Coca Cola route”). Mark Thornton Safaris provides an amazing experience as the walks are lead by a team of Maasai warriors, but ultimately, as my dad decided to join so much walking and climbing was inappropriate. As we considered our options, we were lucky that Mark Harrison, the CEO of Abraham Harrison, OLX’s fantastic PR agency had lived in Tanzania for a few years. He introduced us to Tanzania Odyssey and helped structure the trip for us.
- [SuperFreakonomics is a fantastic read!](https://fabricegrinda.com/superfreakonomics-is-a-fantastic-read/): SuperFreakonomics is a fantastic new entry in this line of writing. Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner cover a wide range of topics – prostitution, terrorism, apathy, altruism, hospital health outcomes, car safety and even global warming. They employ with great efficacy the same writing technique Malcolm Gladwell and Bill Bryson use in Outliers and A Short Story of Nearly Everything: they make their stories relatable and personal by detailing the lives of the people behind their analysis.
- [Looking for an entrepreneurial stint: at what startup stage should you join?](https://fabricegrinda.com/looking-for-an-entrepreneurial-stint-at-what-startup-stage-should-you-join/): In the past few weeks I met a few seasoned executives who had reached a point in their lives where they had saved enough to take on additional risk and were looking forward to experiencing the thrill of joining a startup.
- [Cognitive dissonance be damned: I am a pessimistic optimist!](https://fabricegrinda.com/cognitive-dissonance-be-damned-i-am-a-pessimistic-optimist/): However, as the disparity between the consensus economic outlook and my own predictions has grown, I feel I can hold my silence no longer. In so doing, I feel I have solved my dilemma with cognitive dissonance: I can be a pessimistic optimist!
- [The cause of the financial crisis in one simple sentence :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-cause-of-the-financial-crisis-in-one-simple-sentence/): Read: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/opinion/14trillin.html?_r=3
- [Lessons from Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix](https://fabricegrinda.com/lessons-from-reed-hastings-ceo-of-netflix/): I had the pleasure of being invited to attend the Liberty Media Net Leaders Forum. The forum was fantastic featuring great presentations from Mark Mahaney, the star Internet analyst from Citigroup, and a chat between John Malone and Greg Maffei, respectively Chairman and CEO of Liberty Media. Reed Hastings’ discussion of the lessons he learned as CEO of Netflix were one of the highlights of the day.
- [Why is the US birth rate falling? Children offer a decreasing return on investment :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/why-is-the-us-birth-rate-falling-children-offer-a-decreasing-return-on-investment/): I have always been a fan of Ben Stein's articles. I find this one both intriguing and amusing:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/31/magazines/fortune/children_value_benefits.fortune/index.htm
- [Interesting Article: Mark Zuckerberg: The evolution of a remarkable CEO](https://fabricegrinda.com/interesting-article-mark-zuckerberg-the-evolution-of-a-remarkable-ceo/): http://venturebeat.com/2009/10/02/mark-zuckerberg-the-evolution-of-a-remarkable-ceo/
- [Watch Twitteleh: Twitter for your Jewish Mother :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/watch-twitteleh-twitter-for-your-jewish-mother/)
- [Great article on interviewing programmers](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-article-on-interviewing-programmers/): A must read: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/GuerrillaInterviewing3.html
- [The power of disconnecting](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-power-of-disconnecting/): I bet that often in your life you have been faced with a seemingly intractable problem. After hours of frustrating work, you would be no closer to solving the issue than when you started. By necessity, you would then turn to other activities or literally sleep on the problem. At some random point the solution would instantly pop into your mind as if by magic. Clearly while your conscious mind was focusing on something else, your subconscious was still working on the problem. Harnessing the power of your subconscious can prove extremely successful – hence the power of disconnecting!
- [This explains everything! :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/this-explains-everything/): I just came across this great article which has me written all over it:
Why The Smartest People Have The Toughest Time Dating
- [An ode to friendship](https://fabricegrinda.com/an-ode-to-friendship/): I was touched by their presence and took the opportunity to express how much their friendship means to me.
- [35: Reflection on the Passage of Time](https://fabricegrinda.com/35-reflection-on-the-passage-of-time/): More importantly, the passage of time has taught me to cherish the present. I used to look down at the artificiality of birthdays or New Years which only marked one revolution around the sun from an artificially selected point, but no longer. We humans are quintessentially social animals and if such artificial dates help provide excuses for bonding, commemorating our friendships and the ties that bind us together, then all the better! If there was one thing I could fundamentally change in my life it would be to spend more time with the people who are dearest to me. I did not realize how good we had it when we all lived together in New York with no obligations and seemingly infinite free time to remake the world through our conversations. Today our lives and obligations have taken us afar – Bryan in Minnesota, Amanda in DC, Einat in Israel, my brother Olivier in Sao Paulo, Fulvio in Nice – and even with those who have stayed behind (Dan, Niro, Breo, Steph) the obligations of work and family have kept us apart. I am lucky my childhood friend William lives 5 minutes away and is available as he is. My commitment to my friends from now is clear: I will be a better friend, I will make more time for you!
- [Whatever Works is a great movie with fantastic dialogue](https://fabricegrinda.com/whatever-works-is-a-great-movie-with-fantastic-dialogue/): I admit I was skeptical going in to see the movie. I had seen mixed reviews (46% on rotten tomatoes) and I was not enthused by the idea of yet another Woody Allen Spring/Autumn relationship movie.
- [The Economy: The End of the Beginning…](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-economy-the-end-of-the-beginning/): … but probably not the beginning of the end! It is interesting to see the speed at which sentiment seemingly switches. Last October and in late February and early March of this year, people seemed desperate, believing a new Great Depression was inevitable. The past few months have seen renewed optimism with many suggesting that the economy could recover by the end of the year – which in turn has led many to worry that a pickup in economic growth will lead to massive inflation. All three views are probably wrong.
- [The Panasonic ZS3 is a fantastic digital camera!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-panasonic-zs3-is-a-fantastic-digital-camera/): After my last digital camera met its untimely demise by falling in water, I started looking for a new digital camera. I have historically been a fan of the Canon Digital Elph series (Canon SDxxx) as they are extremely compact (around 5 ounces) and take beautiful pictures automatically with essentially no need to meddle with settings. However, I found repeatedly found myself frustrated by the limited zoom (around 3-4x optical depending on the camera) and the inability to zoom in videos.
- [Into Thin Air is a thrilling read](https://fabricegrinda.com/into-thin-air-is-a-thrilling-read/): Over 10 years ago, Bryan Ellis, one of my best friends, McKinsey alum, multi-sport enthusiast and executive extraordinaire, recommended I read the book. I was skeptical about how thrilling a climb up a mountain could truly be, regardless of how disastrous the outcome. As a result, the book sat in my ever growing “to read” pile.
- [Twitter Skepticism](https://fabricegrinda.com/twitter-skepticism/): I am skeptical about all the hype around Twitter. I like Twitter and find that it’s an effective way of letting my followers know what I am up to, but it’s not much more than that. It’s not a great real time search engine. The information is too “spammy” and confusing.
- [You are not rational as you think you are!](https://fabricegrinda.com/you-are-not-rational-as-you-think-you-are/): I am a big fan of Dan Ariely's book Predictably Irrational.
- [Matthieu Ricard on the Habits of Happiness](https://fabricegrinda.com/matthieu-ricard-on-the-habits-of-happiness/): Matthieu Richard makes a great presentation on the phenomenal plasticity of the brain. The deliberate actions one can take to reach a sense of well being will resonate with the readers of my articles on Happiness. It's time to start mind training!
- [Lessons from a startup failure](https://fabricegrinda.com/lessons-from-a-startup-failure/): I met Jordan Cooper a few years ago while he was an associate at General Catalyst in Boston. I immediately loved his enthusiasm, energy and intelligence. Early last year, when he moved to New York intent on creating a startup, I decided to support him by investing alongside a small group of angels in his venture.
- [Great article on OLX on Techcrunch](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-article-on-olx-on-techcrunch/): http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/07/craigslist-competitor-olx-scores-5-million-for-online-classifieds/
- [Not Winnie the Pooh :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/not-winnie-the-pooh/): Provided by:
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/05/not-winnie-the-pooh/
- [Happiness is a skill!](https://fabricegrinda.com/happiness-is-a-skill/): New scientific research that shows we can alter the emotional landscape of our brains from anxiety to happiness – and from almost any state to another state – by learning (and continuously practicing!) the right techniques.
- [Interesting PEN event](https://fabricegrinda.com/interesting-pen-event/): I had the pleasure of attending a black tie awards ceremony organized by PEN last night. PEN is a not for profit organization dedicated to advancing literature and defending free expression. They are the oldest international literary and human rights organization. Last night, they gave three awards celebrating the freedom to write, the international freedom to publish and literary service.
- [The Pomegranate Phone!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-pomegranate-phone/): Check it out! It's absolutely hilarious and incredibly well done. Be sure to click on the shaver and coffee brewer options :)
- [Bureaucracy in Action](https://fabricegrinda.com/bureaucracy-in-action/): I had the unfortunate experience of living Parkinson’s Law first hand. Parkinson posited that because people within bureaucracies make work for each other if only to feel important and get more subordinates, dealing with bureaucracy becomes increasingly complex and employment in the bureaucracy keeps increasing irrespective of the variation in the real amount of work to be done.
- [Amazing TED Talk: Juan Enriquez: Beyond the crisis, mindboggling science and the arrival of Homo evolutis](https://fabricegrinda.com/amazing-ted-talk-juan-enriquez-beyond-the-crisis-mindboggling-science-and-the-arrival-of-homo-evolutis/)
- [Work smarter and harder](https://fabricegrinda.com/work-smarter-and-harder/): I just came across a fantastic blog post by Jeffrey Kalmikoff who is the entrepreneur behind Threadless.
- [The value of positive advisors](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-value-of-positive-advisors/): While it is key to mostly ignore negative advisors, it might be just as important to have and to listen to positive advisors. As entrepreneurs, we are often so busy dealing with the day to day operations, that we can miss the big picture. That’s why it’s great to have smart advisors to help you out with strategic decisions. They may be part of a formal structure – by being on your board or advisory board – or just friends or mentors whose opinion you value.
- [On the duality of ambition :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/on-the-duality-of-ambition/): I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
- EB White
- [This looks amazing!](https://fabricegrinda.com/this-looks-amazing/): wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.
- [A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson is a must read!](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-short-history-of-nearly-everything-by-bill-bryson-is-a-must-read/): It’s hard to believe anyone could weave together a history of all the scientific fields – cosmology, astronomy, paleontology, geology, chemistry, physics and more! – into a compelling narrative. Somehow, Bill Bryson manages this incredible feat! I truly loved the way he ties together the history of science with the stories of the men and women behind the science.
- [Stand up comics for rationality!](https://fabricegrinda.com/stand-up-comics-for-rationality/)
- [Duplicity is tons of fun!](https://fabricegrinda.com/duplicity-is-tons-of-fun/): I loved the movie. Clive Owen and Julia Roberts have great chemistry. The plot and dialogue are fun and engaging and the tone really reminded me of Ocean’s 11.
- [Wall Street Investment  Banking Explained](https://fabricegrinda.com/wall-street-investment-banking-explained/): Young Chuck moved to Texas and bought a donkey from a farmer for $100.
The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day.
The next day the farmer drove up and said, 'Sorry Chuck, but I have some bad news, the donkey died.'
Chuck replied, 'Well, then just give me my money back.'
The farmer said, 'Can't do that. I went and spent it already.'
Chuck said, 'OK, then, just bring me the dead donkey.'
The farmer asked, 'What ya gonna do with a dead donkey?
Chuck said, 'I'm going to raffle him off.'
The farmer said 'You can't raffle off a dead donkey!'
Chuck said, 'Sure I can. Watch me. I just won't tell anybody he's dead.'
A month later, the farmer met up with Chuck and asked, 'What happened with that dead donkey?'
Chuck said, 'I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars apiece and made a profit of $898.00.'
The farmer said, 'Didn't anyone complain?'
Chuck said, 'Just the guy who won. So I gave him his two dollars back.'
Chuck now works for Morgan Stanley.
- [Entrepreneurs: Global Heroes!](https://fabricegrinda.com/entrepreneurs-global-heroes/): There is a great series of articles on entrepreneurship in the latest Economist.
- [On entrepreneurship and democracy](https://fabricegrinda.com/on-entrepreneurship-and-democray/): "The movement that built the first national democracy was not triggered by an uprising of the masses; nor was it led by intellectual theorists. It was led by entrepreneurial men of means ... . In fact, starting a business develops precisely the traits that make democracy work. It requires independence, much effort, and self-discipline – but also the ability to work with others and the recognition that you can only succeed by serving the needs of others."
- [Interesting progress in the fight against HIV](https://fabricegrinda.com/interesting-progress-in-the-fight-against-hiv/): Over the last 25 years, the fight against HIV has seemed hopeless. Every attempt at a vaccine or cure has failed miserably. Sometimes in science breakthroughs happen inadvertently. An AIDS patient who underwent a bone marrow transplant to treat leukemia seems to have won his battle with AIDS. Doctors have not been able to detect the virus in his blood for more than 600 days despite having ceased all conventional AIDS medication.
- [Uwe Reinhardt is brilliant!](https://fabricegrinda.com/uwe-reinhardt-is-brilliant/): I had the pleasure of studying under Uwe Reinhardt at Princeton. He was by far the best teacher. He gave such entertaining presentations, full of jokes and anecdotes, that he managed to make accounting fun - even at 9 am - an ungodly hour for a college student! I loved working with him so much that I became a teacher assistant for the class.
- [Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II is disappointing](https://fabricegrinda.com/warhammer-40000-dawn-of-war-ii-is-disappointing/): As it is built on the Company of Heroes engine, I had great hopes for this real time strategy game (RTS). Unfortunately, the game is even more simplistic than Company of Heroes (which itself was extremely simple) and the unit control is nowhere near as precise as in Company of Heroes. My RTS hopes now rest on Starcraft II and Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor.
- [CEPS: George Soros on the crash of 2008](https://fabricegrinda.com/ceps-george-soros-on-the-crash-of-2008/): I had the pleasure of being invited to a dinner organized by the Princeton University Center for Economic Policy Studies (CEPS) where George Soros spoke on the current economic crisis.
- [The Winter’s Tale is fantastic](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-winters-tale-is-fantastic/): I saw William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale last Thursday at the BAM in Brooklyn and loved it. The play is one of BAM’s “Bridge Projects” bringing together talent from London and New York.
- [Fantastic presentation by Bill Gates at TED](https://fabricegrinda.com/fantastic-presentation-by-bill-gates-at-ted/): I love his optimism!
- [Taken is a fun thriller](https://fabricegrinda.com/taken-is-a-fun-thriller/): I meant to see this movie ever since I saw a preview in an Argentine movie theater almost a year ago. For some reason (probably because it’s French directed and produced), it came out in the US a few weeks ago, much later than in the rest of the world. It has done extremely well.
- [The Eligible-Bachelor Paradox](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-eligible-bachelor-paradox/): Last Spring, Mark Gimein, who is usually more known for his investigative journalism, wrote an interesting article using game theory to explain why there are seemingly so few eligible male bachelors in their 30s relative to the number of attractive, eligible women.
- [The Future of Media](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-future-of-media/): After the dinner, we all partook in a discussion on the future of media moderated by David Remnick from the New Yorker. The discussion ranged far and wide from Fred Wilson’s “There is no truth, I only want to read what the masses are thinking” to a few journalists from the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal vehemently defending the value of investigative journalism. Jason reminded us of the fantastic Epic video that emerged a few years ago where Google caused the demise of the New York Times which at the end became a newsletter for the elite.
- [Global industrial bail-outs: the Smoot-Hawley Tariffs of 2009?](https://fabricegrinda.com/global-industrial-bail-outs-the-smoot-hawley-tariffs-of-2009/): In November the leaders of the G20 group of big, rich and emerging economies promised to eschew any new trade barriers for a year. Within days, Russia and India raised tariffs on cars and steel respectively. It has actually been surprising how few direct protectionist calls there have been so far in the US even though tariffs are currently low enough that on average they could triple without breaking WTO rules. It may be that to avoid appearing protectionist, politicians won't increase tariffs but will resort to other means. Global competitive industrial bailouts are currently the main source of concern.
- [Man on Wire is the best documentary of 2008](https://fabricegrinda.com/man-on-wire-is-the-best-documentary-of-2008/): It's a testament to this documentary that the image of a man walking between the tops of the twin towers has, for a time, made them whole again.
- [The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is moving, but ultimately disappointing](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button-is-moving-but-ultimately-disappointing/): I hate the fact that we are mortals. I also abhor the fact that we age and gradually lose our physical and mental abilities. Benjamin Button played on those fears as no movie ever has and made me sob throughout.
- [Looking back at 2008, looking forward to 2009](https://fabricegrinda.com/looking-back-at-2008-looking-forward-to-2009/): As I had expected, 2008 was a year of consolidation. OLX continued to grow slowly but surely – we now have 115 employees and are present in 80 countries in 39 languages. I traveled far and wide for OLX and hope there will be less business travel in 2009.
- [Margarita (Venezuela) was disappointing](https://fabricegrinda.com/margarita-venezuela-was-disappointing/): I was lured to Margarita and specifically the kite spot El Yaque by the kite boarding travel specialist Fun & Fly. It promised 360 days of wind out of 365.
- [Outliers is fantastic!](https://fabricegrinda.com/outliers-is-fantastic/): I truly loved Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book on exceptional people. He argues that the largest reason those people succeeded is not because of their specific character traits but because they successfully combine hard work (specifically 10,000 hours of deliberate practice) with the many hidden advantages, extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies provided to them.
- [Happiness is not contagious after all :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/happiness-is-not-contagious-after-all/): An article on the Freakonomics blog repudiates the notion that happiness is contagious. While an increase in your friend’s happiness statistically significantly increases your happiness level, Justin Wolfers contends that the cause is the shared emotional experiences and environments that friends share.
- [How We Got Here is a must read for everyone with an interest in technology](https://fabricegrinda.com/how-we-got-here-is-a-must-read-for-everyone-with-an-interest-in-technology/): Andy Kessler's book is a fascinating and witty retelling of the story of technology of capital markets. It effectively walks you through the all the innovations that led to the technologies we now use and the capital markets and bubbles that funded them.
- [Happiness is contagious!](https://fabricegrinda.com/happiness-is-contagious/): A new study suggests that your happiness is heavily influenced by the happiness of the people around you.
- [The incredible rise and fall of IGE](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-incredible-rise-and-fall-of-ige/): As a gamer and fan of marketplaces, I have followed with amazement the rise and fall of IGE. It started as a marketplace for Everquest virtual goods and rapidly expanded to others, especially World of Warcraft.
- [Netflix and the Xbox 360: a match made in Heaven!](https://fabricegrinda.com/netflix-and-the-xbox-360-a-match-made-in-heaven/): As both a movie buff and an avid gamer, I have both an Xbox 360 and a Netflix account. The November 19 revamp of Xbox Live brought Netflix “Watch Now” to the Xbox 360 and I love it!
- [Beijing and China: 14 years later](https://fabricegrinda.com/beijing-and-china-14-years-later/): Even though I have been to China many times in the past 14 years, my last trip to Beijing dates back to 1994. I was already fascinated by the economic reforms China was undertaking and wanted to live them firsthand as opposed to writing about them from my ivory tower in Princeton. I decided to spend the summer of 1994 at Beijing Normal University (Beishida) to study mandarin.
- [Change in angel investment strategy](https://fabricegrinda.com/change-in-angel-investment-strategy/): I have had the pleasure of interacting with a large number of angels with numerous investment strategies. Without fail, the companies that succeeded for them were never those they might have expected to succeed the most at the time of investment. Their success as investors most often came down to luck and did not seem correlated with the intensity of the due diligence they had conducted or a priori quality of the management teams they had backed.
- [VCs are not sheep – why VCs invest less during downturns](https://fabricegrinda.com/vcs-are-not-sheep-why-vcs-invest-less-during-downturns/): As an entrepreneur, I often find myself defending venture capitalists. For some reason, they have acquired a terrible reputation. During downturns, I often hear first time entrepreneurs complaining that VCs are sheep: “like everyone else they get frightened and run for the exits.” There is some truth to the charge as illustrated by the number of me-toos that typically get funded when market conditions are good. However, the reality is much more complex. There are two major reasons VCs invest less during downturns: their sources of capital dry up and entrepreneur valuation expectations take time to adjust creating a time lag before the market clears.
- [Quantum of Solace is underwhelming](https://fabricegrinda.com/quantum-of-solace-is-underwhelming/): Quantum of Solace disappoints on all fronts. The dark, gritty tone remains, but everything else seems to have been lost. The characters are barely fleshed out and as a result the movie remains a one note revenge movie. The villain’s objective does not seem evil or grandiose enough and the setting for the final battle lacks the scale or glamour we have come to expect from Bond movies. Even the action sequences left a bit to be desired as everything seemed too blurry and close up (though that might be an artifact of being in the front row – I only arrived 45 minutes early for the 12:01 am showing on opening night).
- [Tom Stoppard on Chekhov](https://fabricegrinda.com/tom-stoppard-on-chekhov/): On Tuesday, I had the privilege to attend an interview with Tom Stoppard at BAM by David Remnick, an editor at the New Yorker. The event epitomized what I love about New York – an erudite audience, an amazing setting, and brilliant presentation.
- [Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 is disappointing](https://fabricegrinda.com/command-conquer-red-alert-3-is-disappointing/): I was a huge fan of the original Command & Conquer and Red Alert games. When they came out they were truly innovative. Westwood who had invented the genre with Dune 2 redefined it with C&C by introducing competitive multiplayer games and truly dominated the real time strategy game genre alongside Warcraft and Warcraft II during the 1990s until Age of Empires showed up.
- [And now for something completely different :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/and-now-for-something-completely-different/): It has been said ridicule no longer kills. To test that assertion and stay in the spirit of Halloween, at least in terms of scaring my parents, I present you: Blue Man Fabrice :)
- [It’s good to be 21 :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/its-good-to-be-21/): I went to a FOUNDERSclub & Silicon Alley Insider event last night was pleasantly surprised to learn they had selected me as the 21st most influential person in NY :)
- [Talent is overrated!](https://fabricegrinda.com/talent-is-overrated/): I blogged a few times that, your level of natural talent notwithstanding, excellence is achieved through deliberate practice (A Star is Made, A Star is Made – Part 2, Gladwell on Genius).
- [Ten tips to ride the economic slowdown](https://fabricegrinda.com/ten-tips-to-ride-the-economic-slowdown/): After all the dire warnings given by various VCs, here is a more positive list of recommendations sent from one of my friendly VCs:
- [Psychology of an Entrepreneur](https://fabricegrinda.com/psychology-of-an-entrepreneur/): Kevin O'Connor came across a few interesting studies on what makes entrepreneurs tick:
- [John Stuart Mill (1806 – 1873), On Liberty](https://fabricegrinda.com/john-stuart-mill-1806-1873-on-liberty/): "The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. Each is the proper guardian of his own health, whether bodily, or mental or spiritual. Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest."
- [Perez-Reverte’s books are disappointing](https://fabricegrinda.com/perez-revertes-books-are-disappointing/): Perez-Reverte came highly recommended as an author of well written intelligent thrillers. I also loved the movie The Ninth Gate based on The Club Dumas. I optimistically purchased all his books and had great expectations.
- [New MacBook Pro disappointment](https://fabricegrinda.com/new-macbook-pro-disappointment/): I have had a 17” MacBook Pro for nearly 2 years and it’s starting to show its age. Its Nvidia 8600M graphic card is not keeping up with new games. Outlook takes forever to load (I have 20Gb of PST files). The casing is all bruised up after 2 years of traveling with me every day and being dropped more than a few times.
- [What the financial crisis means to entrepreneurs](https://fabricegrinda.com/what-the-financial-crisis-means-to-entrepreneurs/): Last March I explained why startups should raise as much money as possible to prepare for the upcoming crisis (Why the startup market is like the real estate market). Now that the crisis has hit, we can examine what it means for entrepreneurs.
- [Whodunit?](https://fabricegrinda.com/whodunit/): As a society and as individuals we are loth to take responsibility for our actions. We much prefer finding scapegoats or blaming circumstances. I was recently asked who was to blame for this crisis.
- [The Economy: The case for (relative) optimism](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-economy-the-case-for-relative-optimism/): During the past few years, I often felt I was the sole economic pessimist. I urged my friends and whoever would listen to rent and not buy their apartments (Rent … unless you want to buy, I professed that the current economic imbalances would lead to disaster (Macro Perspectives on Global Liquidity) and that the downside risk to the economy was much greater than people expected (A Different Perspective on the Global Economy).
- [A Fundraising Survival Guide](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-fundraising-survival-guide/): Paul Graham has a fantastic article on the perils of raising money and advice on how to best do it.
- [September Madness: Place your bets!](https://fabricegrinda.com/september-madness-place-your-bets/)
- [Drink heavily and recycle :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/drink-heavily-and-recycle/): Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle.
- [Why active entrepreneurs mostly invest in consumer Internet companies](https://fabricegrinda.com/why-active-entrepreneurs-mostly-invest-in-consumer-internet-companies/): My good friend Auren Hoffman just wrote an interesting article on why entrepreneurs end up investing mostly in consumer focused companies. As he points out, we have day jobs running our own companies and spend less than 2% of our time as angel investors. As such we don’t have time to do a lot of due diligence and consumer Internet companies are just a lot easier to evaluate.
- [Banking Management: No time for half measures](https://fabricegrinda.com/banking-management-no-time-for-half-measures/): It annoys me to no end that even as banks have massively diluted their shareholders to raise capital, they are still paying dividends. In the current environment they should focus all their efforts on capital preservation. They should completely eliminate their dividend. Besides, given the number of new shares they have issued, cutting the dividend per share by a certain percentage, does not decrease the cash outflow by that percentage.
- [Tuesdays with Rupert](https://fabricegrinda.com/tuesdays-with-rupert/): Vanity Fair has a fascinating article on Rupert Murdoch. Michael Wolff has been given unprecedented access to Murdoch for an upcoming biography. I was surprised by the picture that emerges of him as a man. He seems much less well thought through than I imagined.
- [The Clinton Global Initiative is very impressive](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-clinton-global-initiative-is-very-impressive/): It’s very rare for former heads of states to play a meaningful role in world affairs after their presidency. In fact, their employment option is often limited to tours on the speaker circuit. The Clinton Global Initiative is a welcome exception.
- [Nigeria on the Potomac :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/nigeria-on-the-potomac/): Dear American:
- [Jim Cramer's August 2007 outburst is a must watch!](https://fabricegrinda.com/jim-cramers-august-2007-outburst-is-a-must-watch/): I am not usually a fan of his style, but in this case, his outburst was justified and eerily prescient!
- [All Hail the Fed: why to be skeptical about the priciest bailout ever](https://fabricegrinda.com/all-hail-the-fed-why-to-be-skeptical-about-the-priciest-bailout-ever/): By Steven E
- [Credit Default Swaps](https://fabricegrinda.com/credit-default-swaps/): So I mentioned to Fabrice that I had been explaining credit default swaps to a friend of mine without a finance background, and he asked me to be so kind as to explain it to those of you who are also a bit in the dark about what these things are. Mostly because he’s too lazy to do it himself :)
- [What Makes Us Happy?](https://fabricegrinda.com/what-makes-us-happy/): There is a great series of interviews on the topic of happiness on Ted.com.
- [Tropic Thunder is very funny!](https://fabricegrinda.com/tropic-thunder-is-very-funny/): A comedy in this genre is extremely difficult to make the fine line between being ridiculous and funny, but they pull it off with brio. After watching the movie I felt elated and happy all day long!
- [Interesting unforeseen application of social networks](https://fabricegrinda.com/interesting-unforeseen-application-of-social-networks/): Many other interesting and unexpected uses of social networks will emerge.
- [Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac: How we got here and what to do next](https://fabricegrinda.com/fannie-mae-freddie-mac-how-we-got-here-and-what-to-do-next/): Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are privately owned and run government sponsored enterprises (GSEs). Fannie Mae was founded as a government agency in 1938 to develop the secondary mortgage market. In 1968, in part to remove its activity from the federal budget, it was converted into a private corporation. In 1970, Freddie Mac was created by Congress, also as a private corporation, to expand the secondary mortgage market.
- [I just finished Grand Theft Auto 4!](https://fabricegrinda.com/i-just-finished-grand-theft-auto-4/): While I was disappointed with the graphics and the multiplayer play, I really loved the depth of the single player story line. I am excited to see what they will come up with next.
- [French Entrepreneur Dinner](https://fabricegrinda.com/french-entrepreneur-dinner/): I had the pleasure of organizing a redux of my last entrepreneur dinner in Paris in September 2006. I am happy to report that French entrepreneurship is alive and well:
- [Predictably Irrational is fascinating](https://fabricegrinda.com/predictably-irrational-is-fascinating/): Dan Ariely shares with his readers the results of dozens of experiments where he tested people’s decision making ability. Not only are people much less logical than they think they are, but they are predictably and repeatedly irrational! He finds out that we are easily swayed by emotions, social norms and even words we read!
- [Bardot, Deneuve, Fonda by Roger Vadim is surprisingly entertaining](https://fabricegrinda.com/bardot-deneuve-fonda-by-roger-vadim-is-surprisingly-entertaining/): When a friend of mine gave me this book saying I would love it, I was a bit doubtful. What could be interesting in the shallow gossipy tales of stars of yesteryears?
- [Discover Your Inner Economist is disappointing](https://fabricegrinda.com/discover-your-inner-economist-is-disappointing/): I expected a book in the line of Freakonomics or The Undercover Economist and the first chapter brilliantly set the stage for such a book. Unfortunately, Tyler Cowen seemed more interested in preaching how to live your life rather than discovering your inner economist. I could feel his disapproving gaze for not appreciating art or food the way he does. Skip it and read The Undercover Economist instead.
- [The Life Philosophy of Money](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-life-philosophy-of-money/): This individual’s life philosophy of money is to be “penny wise, but dollar foolish” which is essentially the exact opposite of how you should lead your life! Relative to your income you should be penny foolish, but dollar wise. Don’t fret the small things – enjoy everything that makes your day to day life pleasant (after calculating what a “penny” is for you), but be careful about the bigger purchases that can radically alter your financial wellbeing. For most of us, this means being careful with the car and house we lease or buy.
- [The Plasticity of Personality and the Power of Extroversion](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-plasticity-of-personality-and-the-power-of-extroversion/): It has become widely accepted that our brains and bodies are plastic. We can largely shape them through our diet, life experiences and mental and physical exercises. From personal experience, I can also say that our personalities are plastic. We can dramatically alter them given the will to change and the grit, tenacity and perseverance necessary to see the change through.
- [Tell No One is the French Fugitive](https://fabricegrinda.com/tell-no-one-is-the-french-fugitive/): Tell No One is a fantastic French thriller playing in select theaters in the US. Francois Cluzet plays Doctor Alex Beck who receives an email with a video of his wife, who was supposedly murdered 8 years ago, alive and well.
- [A second with Fabrice](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-second-with-fabrice/): Well. When it comes to Fabrice, the word friendship immediately comes to my mind. Not that we can consider each other regular friends. We live in some opposite sides of the world and our encounter was probably more than unexpected. However, there is one second that always challenges the rules of life. It is an indefinable second of trust which can pop up even in the middle of the most unlikely context. I believe this happened to us in October 2006 when we first met in New York.
- [Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams](https://fabricegrinda.com/randy-pausch-last-lecture-achieving-your-childhood-dreams/): You have to watch this! It's so inspiring and touching!
- [OLX wants you!](https://fabricegrinda.com/olx-wants-you/): If you are a super smart programmer hell bent on world domination looking to live new adventures surrounded by gorgeous people in beautiful Buenos Aires (Argentina), we want you!
- [Batman: The Dark Knight is the best movie of the year so far!](https://fabricegrinda.com/batman-the-dark-knight-is-the-best-movie-of-the-year-so-far/): I can’t believe I coined a movie the best superhero movie ever twice in the same year, but here goes: The Dark Knight is the best superhero movie edging out Ironman! Ironman is extremely high quality entertainment, but it does not transcend the typical super-hero movie. Batman is much more than a super-hero movie – it’s a fantastic movie in its own right. It’s dark and gritty and you get high quality entertainment, brilliant performances and hefty topics (death, illegal wiretapping, anti-heroism).
- [Why?](https://fabricegrinda.com/why-2/): I have chosen to move from my current apartment and it’s interesting that the first question I get is “Why?” As though moving is only acceptable if you had a change in life circumstances. Apparently just because does not cut it anymore!
- [Glider acrobatics are tons of fun!](https://fabricegrinda.com/glider-acrobatics-are-tons-of-fun/): The flight starts with the glider towed to 8,000 feet over the Monterey Bay Area – flying over the Gabilan Mountain Range and the San Andreas Fault line. Once we reach 8,000 feet the acrobatics begin until 3,700 feet. I had never done acrobatics before and the G forces experienced are quite unique and tons of fun! It’s like being on a roller coaster to the power of 10 and the videos below don’t do justice to the experience! The pilot expertly did loops, barrel rolls, tail spins, humpty dumpty and tons of other maneuvers whose name I did not quite catch.
- [Random thought of the day: management consulting firms will always be lagging indicators of the business cycle](https://fabricegrinda.com/random-thought-of-the-day-management-consulting-firms-will-always-be-lagging-indicators-of-the-business-cycle/): I am not quite sure what the starting salaries are at management consulting firms these days but for argument’s sake let’s say it’s $50,000 for analysts and $100,000 for associates. Given that management consulting firms “rent” their services for at least 5 times the employment costs, the downside of being understaffed is much greater than the downside of being overstaffed. As a result, they will always be over-staffed at the beginning of a recession.
- [The Art of Racing in the Rain is a must read for all dog owners!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-art-of-racing-in-the-rain-is-a-must-read-for-all-dog-owners/): Imagine a more dramatic Marley and Me written from the dog’s perspective and you get The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.
- [Hancock is extremely entertaining](https://fabricegrinda.com/hancock-is-extremely-entertaining/): I had the pleasure of attending the New York premiere on Monday night. I know the movie got bad reviews, but I enjoyed it very much. It was cheesy and over the top which was exactly what I expected. I actually liked seeing Will Smith play against type and Charlize Theron is drop dead gorgeous in the movie.
- [The US Economy: How bad will it get?](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-us-economy-how-bad-will-it-get/): In the past few years, I have been extremely pessimistic about the US economy. I explained that most pundits seemed to be underestimating the deflationary risks to the economy (A Different Perspective on the Global Economy), that our current account deficit was unsustainable (Macro Perspectives on Global Liquidity: How Chinese Farmers and Oil Sheiks are Subsidizing American Consumption and its Implications), and that real estate prices were out of line with reality (Rent … unless you want to buy).
- [Reasons to be Pretty was disappointing](https://fabricegrinda.com/reasons-to-be-pretty-was-disappointing/): Having enjoyed Fat Pig and The Shape of Things so much, I had high expectations for Reasons to be Pretty. Unfortunately, the play did not live up to my expectations. The characters and setting did not resonate with me. The dialogue is simplistic and crass, reflecting the blue collar setting. I missed the wit from his other plays. I also did not buy the relationships. Greg, the main character, seems too smart to be dating a lunatic like Steph or to be friends with a bully like Kent. I also hated the moralizing monologue at the end of the play. Ah well, I hope I like Neil Labute’s next play more!
- [The Food Crisis: A Radical Rethink](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-food-crisis-a-radical-rethink/): I’ve been a bit perturbed lately reading about some of the responses to the global food crisis. I’ve seen a lot of reports that governments and NGOs are donating money to buy more food, which as an economist just doesn’t make sense to me. In the short term, the food supply is almost completely inelastic. By donating more money to buy food, you will only shift the demand curve out and drive prices up (from D1 to D2 in the figure).
- [The Shape of Things is fantastic!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-shape-of-things-is-fantastic/): I went to a reading of The Shape of Things by Neil Labute last night. The Shape of Things is Neil’s first play in his trilogy on beauty. I already loved Fat Pig and had high expectations. I was not disappointed. It was fantastic – amoral, irreverent and tons of fun! In fact, I liked it even more than Fat Pig. I am surprised the movie version got mediocre reviews and will be checking out shortly.
- [Mongol is fantastic!](https://fabricegrinda.com/mongol-is-fantastic/): I went to see Mongol last night on the early life of Genghis Khan and loved every minute of it. I have to admit I am clearly biased: I read and loved Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World and consider Genghis Khan to be one of my role models.
- [What if the world’s best violinist played the world’s best violin at a subway stop?](https://fabricegrinda.com/what-if-the-worlds-best-violinist-played-the-worlds-best-violin-at-a-subway-stop/): Joshua Bell is an internationally acclaimed virtuoso. As part of a fantastic experiment in context, perception, public taste and priorities, Joshua Bell agreed to play his Stradivarius incognito at the L’Enfant Plaza station in DC at 8 am on Friday, January 12 in the middle of the morning rush hour.
- [I actually really liked The Happening](https://fabricegrinda.com/i-actually-really-liked-the-happening/): The movie got terrible reviews, but I actually really liked its slow and deliberate pace. It was perfect for setting an appropriately eerie mood. It also feels very a propos.
- [Why I invested in Lab Pixies](https://fabricegrinda.com/why-i-invested-in-lab-pixies/): We decided to find young, smart aggressive people to find early stage startups for us outside of the beaten path. In Israel, we started working with Yaron Carni who introduced us to Lab Pixies.
- [Guest Post: Fabrice In Real Life](https://fabricegrinda.com/guest-post-fabrice-in-real-life/): So Fabrice has been writing a lot lately about the joys of friendship and how much he enjoys all of the wonderful people who fill his world. In keeping with this theme of warm and fuzzy blog posts, I thought I'd share with all of you who aren't lucky enough to know Fabrice outside of this space what it's like to be friends with him.
- [Fat Pig is fantastic!](https://fabricegrinda.com/fat-pig-is-fantastic/): Before going to see it, I decided to check out two of Neil LaBute’s prior plays, which with Reasons to Be Pretty, form a sort of trilogy on beauty. I began with a reading last night of Fat Pig, which was fantastic. It tells the story of a good-looking man who starts dating an extremely nice and funny but overweight girl, and his struggle to balance his love for her with the negative reactions of his friends and society as a whole. The play is tragic-comic. It begins on a light, extremely funny note, but keeps getting darker as it progresses and the superficiality of our society begins to manifest itself.
- [Guest Blog Posts](https://fabricegrinda.com/guest-blog-posts/): In order to add a bit of diversity to the writing, I am opening up the blog to outside posts. Shoot me an email if you have anything you really want to share with the world, whether it is transcendental or merely amusing!
- [Fun with Lost](https://fabricegrinda.com/fun-with-lost/): I just finished watching Season 4 of Lost and I have to admit I am impressed. The show has rekindled its magic and has by far the most interesting storyline of any drama on TV currently.
- [Why I invested in Sonico](https://fabricegrinda.com/why-i-invested-in-sonico/): I first met Sonico at BarCamp in Buenos Aires last September. They were by far the most interesting company. Alec and I met Rodrigo, the CEO, and his team in person a few days later and we were blown away. It’s hard to put my finger on what it was exactly, but they just got it. They were fantastic people – all close friends from San Andres University in the mid to late twenties – and we loved their approach to business
- [I am heartbroken :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/i-am-heartbroken/): As you might have suspected given my prior post on the topic (The Teutonic Viagra), I have been lusting for the Audi R8. It had caught my eye before seeing Ironman, but its role in that movie cemented its position as my infatuation du moment.
- [Sex and the City is just fabulous!](https://fabricegrinda.com/sex-and-the-city-is-just-fabulous/): I should start by saying that my review is clearly biased. I have seen every episode of Sex and the City in order and absolutely adore the show! I wondered in what direction they were going to take the movie in light of the effective closure in the series finale. My fears were rapidly assuaged. The movie is the logical continuation of the show and brought back everything I loved about it – the characters, the friendships and the relationships.
- [The tyranny of time](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-tyranny-of-time/): My “solution” to the tyranny of time comes from the words of Buddha: ““Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” For me, there is no better way to do that than to spend time with a close friend remaking the world and talking about everything and anything.
- [Patrick Stewart’s Macbeth is fantastic!](https://fabricegrinda.com/patrick-stewarts-macbeth-is-fantastic/): I had the privilege of seeing Patrick Stewart’s Macbeth last night at the Lyceum Theater before it closes on May 24. I loved the re-interpretation of the setting with Macbeth playing a Stalin-like figure with a backdrop and effects worthy of George Orwell’s 1984! Patrick Stewart is magnificent in the role and clearly shows how is undoing is really of his own making.
- [The Black Hat Tax](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-black-hat-tax/): My friend Auren Hoffman just wrote a very interesting article on the growing cost consumer Internet companies face fighting scamming, phishing, hacking and government requests. He estimates that it’s a tax of around 25% in terms of inherent time, resource and mindshare.
- [Graduating from College: Starting your own business or joining an established company?](https://fabricegrinda.com/graduating-from-college-starting-your-own-business-or-joining-an-established-company/): I often get asked by college students whether they should start their own businesses right out of college or whether they should join an established company. The reality is that at that stage in your life and career, there are no wrong choices. No matter what you choose, you are going to learn a lot and get valuable experience.
- [21 is tons of fun!](https://fabricegrinda.com/21-is-tons-of-fun/): I had an opening between my various meetings today down in Buenos Aires and took the opportunity to watch 21. You will not be surprised that it did not provide profound insights on the meaning of life, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I left the movie with a huge grin on my face and ready for the battles that lay ahead.
- [The Logic of Life is Fascinating](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-logic-of-life-is-fascinating/): The Logic of Life is Tim Hartford’s second book following his fantastic The Undercover Economist. In this book he tackles why so many things that are seemingly irrational are actually the logical result of the underlying incentives people face.
- [Interview on Small Businesses for the Washington Post](https://fabricegrinda.com/interview-on-small-businesses-for-the-washington-post/): I was interviewed by Big Think as part of a series on small businesses for the Washington Post. You can see the interview below.
- [How it all began…](https://fabricegrinda.com/how-it-all-began/): When I explained how I raised my very first round of financing in a recent post, a number of you asked me to count the story of my first company. The story is a lot less sexy and purposeful than that of Aucland, my first Internet company, but I hope you fight it entertaining and enlightening nonetheless.
- [Sarkozy: The First Year](https://fabricegrinda.com/sarkozy-the-first-year/): The first time I got an insight into Sarkozy’s character was reading The Economist review of his literary biography L’Aube le soir ou la nuit by Yasmina Reza. It showed both the scale of his ambition and a fascination with the desire to outwit time:
- [I must be the only one a bit disappointed by GTA4](https://fabricegrinda.com/i-must-be-the-only-one-a-bit-disappointed-by-gta4/): Given the rave reviews I expected something a little better. The story of single player campaign is absolutely fantastic. However, the graphics are a bit fuzzy at times, especially when driving. Worse the multi-player system is clunky. It’s hard to get games started with your friends (few others join) and the game is not nearly as playable as Call of Duty 4 in multiplayer.
- [Ironman is the best superhero movie to date!](https://fabricegrinda.com/ironman-is-the-best-superhero-movie-i-have-seen/): My previous title holder was Spiderman 2 which I adored, but I just relate better to a fast talking, self indulgent, immodest billionaire who wants to change the world for the better! Besides, he’s driving my next car :)
- [What was Microsoft thinking?](https://fabricegrinda.com/what-was-microsoft-thinking/): It’s odd to me that their opening bid was at $31 per share given that the stock was trading at $19. I don’t see why they did not offer a 40% premium – say $27 and give themselves room to negotiate upwards with everyone saving face.
- [Big bird brain :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/big-bird-brain/): Many linguists argue that only human brains have the ability to nest ideas within ideas to form the infinitely recursive architecture of thought: When you’re done eating breakfast would you look in the box at the back of the table for the yellow rubber glove with the middle finger turned inside out?
- [Dating Pools](https://fabricegrinda.com/dating-pools/): Found on: http://xkcd.com/314/
- [Costa Rica is Heavenly!](https://fabricegrinda.com/costa-rica-is-heavenly/): Last September I embarked on a multi-sport adventure in Costa Rica starting near the Atlantic Coast and finishing on the Pacific Ocean. The experience was simply divine.
- [Cabarete is the place to go if you are into kite boarding](https://fabricegrinda.com/cabarete-is-the-place-to-go-if-you-are-into-kite-boarding/): I had heard great things about Cabarete in the Northern Dominican Republic and decided to check it out last September. I was not disappointed!
- [Buying the right gift](https://fabricegrinda.com/buying-the-right-gift/): Most of us put very little thought into buying gifts for our friends. For some reason people seem intent on buying me ties and cufflinks. People: I appreciate the gesture, but I am an Internet entrepreneur. I wear jeans and t-shirts. I can’t recall in what year I last wore either of those things! Similarly, my female friends seem to receive flowers and chocolate. Those are somewhat useful, but very impersonal. The same is true for bottles of wine which are also used as a standby gift for both sexes.
- [Allmydata 3.0: The Ultimate Online Storage Solution](https://fabricegrinda.com/allmydata-30-the-ultimate-online-storage-solution/): I have to admit Allmydata has had a rough time. The original team had difficulty executing on the vision and most had to be replaced. Using a peer-to-peer client to have lower bandwidth and storage costs and hence lower pricing have not been a comparative advantage in an over-funded world where many money losing free competitors have emerged. Moreover, despite the security and encryption users hated the idea that their files were stored on other people’s computers. The product we had originally devised was much more difficult to use than we had anticipated. Frankly the software was slow, bloated and buggy!
- [How did you raise your very first round of financing?](https://fabricegrinda.com/how-did-you-raise-your-very-first-round-of-financing/): Greg Galant at Venture Voice just started a new series where he asks former show guests a question. You can find my answer to his first question below and on Venture Voice.
- [OLX just raised $13.5 million](https://fabricegrinda.com/olx-just-raised-135-million/): OLX just raised another $13.5 million from General Catalyst, Bessemer Venture Partners, Founders Fund and DN Capital. This brings the total raised to $23.5 million as we had raised $10 million in September 2006 from the same VCs and various angels.
- [Amtrak sucks!](https://fabricegrinda.com/amtrak-sucks/): In most countries trains are much more reliable than planes – they are not affected by the weather or runway, air traffic and gate limitations. In light of the numerous flight cancellations and the on time record of US airlines, this is probably also true in the US as well. Nonetheless, it’s shocking how unreliable Amtrak is. I take the train to Boston and DC relatively regularly and it’s almost never on time.
- [Physics of the Impossible is enlightening and entertaining](https://fabricegrinda.com/physics-of-the-impossible-is-enlightening-and-entertaining/): Michio Kaku’s exploration of the science behind science fiction is a fascinating way of getting a snapshot of where we stand in science in almost every domain. I don’t think I learned so much in a long time – especially while being entertained! I especially loved the way Kaku intertwines his scientific explanations with anecdotes from movies, literature and the life of the people behind the science.
- [Healthy Living](https://fabricegrinda.com/healthy-living/): I have a confession to make: I love Diet Coke. I find it tastes great and is extremely refreshing. In fact, so much so that for a while I only drank Diet Coke and I drink a lot so I was consuming more than 12 cans per day.
- [Definitely Maybe is sweet, fun and intelligent!](https://fabricegrinda.com/definitely-maybe-is-sweet-fun-and-intelligent/): Definitely Maybe is this rare exception: the smart romantic comedy. The premise is slightly contrived but allows for great storytelling. The dialogue is fantastic – quick, witty and intelligent! The characters are intriguing and the 11 year old is memorable in her adult like analysis.
- [Men are from Video Games, Women are from Social Networks](https://fabricegrinda.com/men-are-from-video-games-women-are-from-social-networks/): Auren just wrote an interesting article analyzing the behavior pattern of men and women on social networks. Even though men and women both represent 50% of the users on social networks, women are much heavier users. This dichotomy is even more true for married women who are active users, while married men mostly don't join the sites. Men spend as much time online, but spend more of it playing video games or poker.
- [Four Seasons Follow-Up](https://fabricegrinda.com/four-seasons-follow-up/): Somehow someone at the Four Seasons read my negative review and called to apologize. They reimbursed the room service charge and explained that the rental operation is run by Whistler itself and that they will try to push them to provide faster service.
- [Jira is a fantastic technical project management tool](https://fabricegrinda.com/jira-is-a-fantastic-technical-project-management-tool/): Nine months ago we moved all of OLX to Jira (http://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/). We are extremely satisfied with the product.
- [The bright future of online advertising](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-bright-future-of-online-advertising/): Despite my previous post on the gloomy outlook for startups for the next 12 months, I am more bullish than most on the online advertising market.
- [Why the startup market is like the real estate market](https://fabricegrinda.com/why-the-startup-market-is-like-the-real-estate-market/): The same thing is about to happen in the startup world. In theory, startups should be insulated from the current macroeconomic headwinds. The current economic slowdown is caused by massive deleveraging around the economy. Venture capitalists are not funded by debt and cannot afford to sit on all the capital they raised for too long. Likewise, startups for the most part have no debt. However, as public valuations of consumer Internet companies have come down by over 25% across the board (and in some cases much more than that) and the IPO market has shut down, exit multiples are likely to decrease accordingly. Moreover, VCs, like most people, are like sheep. If everyone is putting their heads down and bracing for the worse, they will do the same and be much more careful.
- [The Art of Designing Markets](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-art-of-designing-markets/): As an economist by formation and at heart if not by trade, I have always been fascinated by how the creation of efficient markets can fundamentally improve welfare for all. This is one of the reasons, I love my job at OLX so much: I am creating free, liquid, efficient markets where in many cases there were expensive, fragmented alternatives before.
- [Recessions promote breakthrough innovations](https://fabricegrinda.com/recessions-promote-breakthrough-innovations/): Auren Hoffman wrote an interesting article a few weeks ago on how recessions can promote innovation. I can relate. When Zingy was created in July 2001, the mere mention that we were doing "telecom" and "direct to consumer" made investors run away in the other direction. In the end, Zingy was definitely helped by the lack of capital available in the market because it meant that we had very few competitors. Aucland, by comparison, had dozens of competitors in every country with many companies raising over $10 million. As the result, we exhausted our resources fighting for market share rather than building a sustainable company.
- [Stayin’ Alive](https://fabricegrinda.com/stayin-alive/): If like me, the concept of our mortality bothers you, be sure to check out Stayin’ Alive, an article on Ray Kurzweil, longevity and the singularity in the April 2008 issue of Wired. I doubt Kurzweil is right, but I sure hope he is! It’s not online yet, but you can find a summary at:
http://pimm.wordpress.com/category/medicine/
- [The Club Dumas and Special Assignments were disappointing](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-club-dumas-and-special-assignments-were-disappointing/): After a long non-fiction binge, I decided to read a few fun thrillers while on my two ski trips. I picked up The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte and Special Assignments by Boris Akunin on strong recommendations from Amazon, my friends and a review in The Economist.
- [Whistler is great](https://fabricegrinda.com/whistler-is-great/): I had never been to Whistler and decided to take advantage of the fact that I was already in San Francisco to check it out.
- [The type of article that stirs my feelings of mortality](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-type-of-article-that-stirs-my-feelings-of-mortality/): Reading about astrophysics almost always makes me feel insignificant and oh so mortal. The article below proved no exception, especially given its bleak predictions, even if they are hundreds of billions of years in the future.
- [The Bank Job is lots of fun!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-bank-job-is-lots-of-fun/): This British bank heist movie is great. It felt like a well done classic. In many ways it reminded me of Snatch, though it’s a bit darker. The story is fast, sharp and fun. The intertwining story lines keep you guessing and come to a satisfying ending (as opposed to many of the current thrillers which often end with a completely implausible twist).
- [Snowbird & Alta currently rank as my favorite ski resorts!](https://fabricegrinda.com/snowbird-alta-currently-rank-as-my-favorite-ski-resorts/): I adore skiing. I was introduced to it essentially when I learned to walk and have enjoyed it tremendously and extensively ever since. I had the pleasure of skiing in Snowbird and Alta with my dad and baby brother for the past few days and the experience was phenomenal.
- [I loved the Federer – Sampras exhibition match at the Madison Square Garden](https://fabricegrinda.com/i-loved-the-federer-sampras-exhibition-match-at-the-madison-square-garden/): I had the pleasure of being invited to watch Sampras and Federer last night. The setting was amazing. Federer entered the court to the Star Wars theme song dressed in his “Darth Vader” black. Various songs from Rocky were played to cheer Sampras on during the change overs. Many tennis great were also in attendance including Ivan Lendl, Roy Emerson and John McEnroe.
- [The Prospects for Democracy in China](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-prospects-for-democracy-in-china/): "Is China democratizing? The country's leaders do not think of democracy as people in the West generally do, but they are increasingly backing local elections, judicial independence, and oversight of Chinese Communist Party officials. How far China's liberalization will ultimately go and what Chinese politics will look like when it stops are open questions."
- [I'm getting bored of Facebook :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/im-getting-bored-of-facebook/): The Richter Scales' Here Comes Another Bubble seem to be the inspiration for yet another great song!
- [Cityvox, my learnings as an angel investor and the power of grit and tenacity](https://fabricegrinda.com/cityvox-my-learnings-as-an-angel-investor-and-the-power-of-grit-and-tenacity/): In a prior post – Sometimes it pays to be lucky – I was expressing my gratitude when I learned that MilleMercis, one of the companies I got involved with after my Aucland days, had gone public.
- [Great articles by fake Steve Jobs on Facebook and Google](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-articles-by-fake-steve-jobs-on-facebook-and-google/): Funny and insightful!
- [China’s Business and Policy Evolution](https://fabricegrinda.com/chinas-business-and-policy-evolution/): On Tuesday evening, I had the pleasure of attending a seminar sponsored by McKinsey on China’s Business and Policy Evolution at the Asia Society (http://www.asiasociety.org/) in New York.
- [If you are white and in graduate school you are a cliche :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/if-you-are-white-and-in-graduate-school-you-are-a-cliche/): Most of the posts are great as well! You can recognize yourself in some of the posts which is so humbling! These two posts in particular were dead on:
- [Pinky & The Brain by Steven Spielberg](https://fabricegrinda.com/pinky-the-brain-by-steven-spielberg/): Many of my friends used to call me "The Brain" for some reason :)
- [Happy Birthday Harvard & Bagheera!](https://fabricegrinda.com/happy-birthday-harvard-bagheera/): My dogs turned 3 respectively on March 2 and 4. I am happy to report that Harvard is as spastic, crazy and happy as ever while Bagheera remains incredibly sweet, smart and nice.
- [Entourage is great!](https://fabricegrinda.com/entourage-is-great/): I am on an HBO binge. After watching all of Sex and the City and Rome in order (and loving them), I just started watching Entourage. In a way it’s the male Sex and the City – except even more unrealistic – the premise must be every teenage boy’s dream, but for 99.99999% of us, that’s all it will ever be!
- [The first half of Season 4 of Lost is a masterpiece!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-first-half-of-season-4-of-lost-is-a-masterpiece/): I watched the last three episodes of Lost on abc.com very early this morning. The HD streaming quality is great! I don’t know if the lack of sleep made me more emotionally vulnerable or if the claustrophobic feel of watching the show in the dark in my bed on my computer got to me, but I could not believe how amazing and great the episodes were! I even cried at the end of “The Constant”!
- [Racing Dune Buggies in the Baja is so much fun!](https://fabricegrinda.com/racing-dune-buggies-in-the-baja-is-so-much-fun/): I read great things about this trip in National Geographic Adventure (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/) and decided to check it out. I enlisted William, a childhood friend and fellow car enthusiast who is also VP of Marketing at OLX, and we signed up for Ensenada Tour organized by Wide Open Baja (http://www.wideopenbaja.com/ensenada.html).
- [My table tennis coach is going to the Olympics!](https://fabricegrinda.com/my-table-tennis-coach-is-going-to-the-olympics/): This amazing little club is in Harlem on 100th and Broadway. The place does not look like much, but the players are first rate. You can get an hour’s lesson for $40 with up and coming junior players and sometimes with Wang herself. Keanu Reeves and John McEnroe both play there.
- [Renaissance Week-End is phenomenal!](https://fabricegrinda.com/renaissance-week-end-is-phenomenal/): I had the pleasure of attending Renaissance Week-End (www.renaissanceweekend.org) over President’s Day Week-End. Renaissance Week-End is a gathering of interesting people from all disciplines who basically meet to talk about everything and anything in a structured environment. I attended fascinating sessions on topics ranging from love to astronomy!
- [Making economics relevant again](https://fabricegrinda.com/making-economics-relevant-again/): I just came across a great article in the New York Times. A few decades ago, economics mattered greatly with John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman directly influencing policy decisions. In the last few decades, the increasingly technical math has made economics more rigorous at the cost of losing its grand ideas.
- [Free Sex :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/free-sex/): With the growth of online advertising, many businesses are evolving from paid business models to free ad supported business models. The Economist had an interesting article on the topic in “The World in 2008” special edition: Freenomics – Online, there really is such a thing as a free lunch.
- [Policy recommendation for the candidates](https://fabricegrinda.com/policy-recommendation-for-the-candidates/): I am an economist by formation and at heart if not by trade and I am appalled by the terrible quality of the economic policy recommendations from essentially all candidates from both parties.
- [While on the topic of startup valuations…](https://fabricegrinda.com/while-on-the-topic-of-startup-valuations/): Paul Graham wrote these two interesting articles on the topic:
- [Startup Valuations](https://fabricegrinda.com/startup-valuations/): Many of you have written asking how you should value your startup during the fund raising process. There is no easy answer. I will start by telling you how your startup is NOT valued. To the disappointment of finance types, valuations of startups are not done via net present value of future cash flows. From a theoretical sense that should be the valuation, but the future cash flows are really completely unknown. From my experience, financial models you write before your business has launched are not worth the paper they are written on in the startup world. They might be helpful to you to understand your gross and net margins and the scalability of the business, but beyond that their revenue and profit predictability is so low that you cannot base your valuation on them.
- [Wall Street Meltdown](https://fabricegrinda.com/wall-street-meltdown/): The phenomenal video "Here comes another bubble" by the Richter Scales (see: http://www.fabricegrinda.com/?p=274) inspired this great video on the Wall Street metldown.
- [Fun with personality types](https://fabricegrinda.com/fun-with-personality-types/): Somehow all my Princeton friends started taking personality tests a week ago to see if they had changed over time so I decided to join them. I took: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm.
- [The power of unintended consequences](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-power-of-unintended-consequences/): The road to hell is paved with good intentions! In public policy above all else, I have often found that some of the best intentioned laws end up having the opposite effect and hurt the very constituencies they were supposed to help.
- [Be grateful you live in the US!](https://fabricegrinda.com/be-grateful-you-live-in-the-us/): The mother of an OLX employee called 911 in Argentina to report a robbery in progress across her street. The police did not answer, but played a “helpful” message: “If you are in danger, try to avoid the danger”!
- [The power of great people (why “good enough” won’t cut it)](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-power-of-great-people-why-good-enough-wont-cut-it/): While on the topic of hiring, my friend Auren just wrote a great article as to why great people are so much more valuable than good people, especially for engineers.
- [The art of hiring](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-art-of-hiring/): A lot has been written about the science of hiring: finding candidates through referrals, having multiple interviewers, getting references from potential recruits’ bosses, etc. In fact, I would recommend you all sign up for the free tips from Smarttopgrading (www.smarttopgrading.com) and read Jack Welsh’s many articles on the topic.
- [Google’s Loss is Murdoch’s Gain](https://fabricegrinda.com/googles-loss-is-murdochs-gain/): A few months ago I described the “Grinda Hypothesis” where I posited that social networks would be hard to monetize (Advertising on Facebook and MySpace: the “Grinda Hypothesis”). It seems that Google is coming to the same realization: they are losing more money on their deal with MySpace than they expected (http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/googles-loss-is-murdochs-gain/?ref=technology).
- [My take on the Microsoft – Yahoo deal](https://fabricegrinda.com/my-take-on-the-microsoft-yahoo-deal/): I would very much like the deal to go through and actually succeed! For the sake of innovation, the Internet needs the search and online advertising business to be competitive. If you are in the direct to consumer world, Google probably accounts for the vast majority of your traffic, revenues and marketing spend. The dependence is scary!
- [Books that make you dumb :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/books-that-make-you-dumb/): Virgil Griffith analyzed the top 10 books listed on Facebook by students in a college versus the average SAT scores for the school and the results are hilarious!
- [The Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000 and Orbit AF are great webcams](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-logitech-quickcam-pro-9000-and-orbit-af-are-great-webcams/): We were evaluating webcams for doing video conferences over Skype between the OLX New York & Argentina offices and selected those two.
- [Amazing Art Works – Part 3](https://fabricegrinda.com/amazing-art-works-part-3/): Worry not, it's my last post with these :)
- [Rogue French trader Jerome Kerviel was forced to work 30 hours a week!](https://fabricegrinda.com/rogue-french-trader-jerome-kerviel-was-forced-to-work-30-hours-a-week/): Kerviel was known to start work as early as nine in the morning and still be at his desk at five or even five-thirty, often with just an hour and a half for lunch.
- [The Dlink DGL 4500 and 4300 are the best gaming routers on the market](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-dlink-dgl-4500-and-4300-are-the-best-gaming-routers-on-the-market/): I was having difficulty connecting to games both on the Xbox 360 and with my PC, but ever since I switched to the DGL 4500 and 4300, it’s been working extremely well.
- [Amazing Art Works – Part 2](https://fabricegrinda.com/amazing-art-works-part-2/)
- [Great Gaming PC](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-gaming-pc/): I just bought a Dell XPS 420 with a 512Mb Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT, a 3.0 Ghz Core 2 Duo and 3Gb of DDR2 SDRAM at 800Mhz for $1,249 and it’s a phenomenal machine for the price. I hooked it up to my Dell 24” widescreen monitor and Company of Heroes runs flawlessly in 1920*1200 in full high resolution mode.
- [Amazing Art Works!](https://fabricegrinda.com/amazing-art-works/)
- [Go Masha!](https://fabricegrinda.com/go-masha/): Go Masha!
- [An optimist’s perspective: the party system in the US works!](https://fabricegrinda.com/an-optimists-perspective-the-party-system-in-the-us-works/): Again, those things have happened and are not questioned anymore. The issues of both parties have been largely successfully addressed and accepted – far beyond the wildest imagination of the most optimistic person in the early 1970s.
- [Outsourcing Development](https://fabricegrinda.com/outsourcing-development/): The more relevant issue in my perspective is one of management. Outsourcing your development will NOT save you from needing a great CTO and/or VP of Product. You will need to have very well defined specs for the development to meet your expectations. You will also find them to be much more responsive and effective if you are speaking with them daily and verifying their work daily. This constant need for communication means that where you outsource to is highly important. If there is a 13 hour time difference communication is extremely difficult because there is never a good time to talk.
- [Cloverfield is highly entertaining!](https://fabricegrinda.com/cloverfield-is-highly-entertaining/): The movie is very well done. It lulls you into a false sense of security in the first few minutes of the movie as it covers the life of the protagonists to the point you almost forget you are in a monster movie. However, once the action starts, it is relentless.
- [My article in Challenges on the American entrepreneurial spirit](https://fabricegrinda.com/my-article-in-challenges-on-the-american-entrepreneurial-spirit/): Challenges is a French business magazine similar to Forbes and Fortune in the US. They just had a special issue on the US and the American Dream and asked me to write an article on the American entrepreneurial spirit.
- [The secret to raising smart kids (and overcoming challenges)](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-secret-to-raising-smart-kids-and-overcoming-challenges/): I just came across a fascinating article in Scientific American on how one’s attitude towards intelligence dramatically impacts your performance in school and life. If you believe you have a set level of intelligence, you will shy away from tough problems and react negatively to failure. If you believe you can build your intelligence by working at it, you will look forward to solving difficult problems and setbacks will only be learning experiences.
- [The power of regression analysis by Malcolm Gladwell](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-power-of-regression-analysis-by-malcolm-gladwell/): As Malcolm Gladwell expressed in a New Yorker article, when it comes to art, most people fall in the Hume camp of reasoning, but a defiant minority always falls in the Kames camp:
- [If you are in New York, go see Rock ‘n’ Roll](https://fabricegrinda.com/if-you-are-in-new-york-go-see-rock-n-roll/): I have always been a huge fan of Tom Stoppard’s plays and movies especially Arcadia, Shakespeare in Love and Empire of the Sun. I just saw Rock ‘n’ Roll, a play about communism, the 1968 uprising in Czechoslovakia and rock and roll as a symbol of freedom. It’s not as good as Arcadia, but I truly loved the dialogue, the characters and their evolution.
- [Criminal Profiling is bogus by Malcolm Gladwell](https://fabricegrinda.com/criminal-profiling-is-bogus-by-malcolm-gladwell/): I have always been a huge fan of Malcolm Gladwell’s New Yorker articles. He is the quintessential eclectic modern day intellectual. His recent article on criminal profiling is a case in point. He uses engaging anecdotes to count the history of criminal profiling, leaving little doubt by the end of the story that the process is fraught with error and misleading.
- [Shocking research on continental European economics teaching](https://fabricegrinda.com/shocking-research-on-continental-european-economics-teaching/): A recent article in the Financial Times showed that French and German schoolbooks demonize enterprise. As the article put it:
- [World Without End is fascinating](https://fabricegrinda.com/world-without-end-is-fascinating/): World Without End is a sequel of sorts: it takes place in the same setting of Kingsbridge two centuries later. The story is a bit predictable and the characters unidimensional – I often felt I was observing a nature vs nurture story with nature winning every time – but perhaps the original suffered from the same flaws and I did not notice them as I was much younger. Regardless it made for great storytelling!
- [Startup Kit / Startup 101: Select Articles for First Time Entrepreneurs to Read](https://fabricegrinda.com/startup-kit-select-articles-for-first-time-entrepreneurs-to-read/): A number of you have asked me which of my articles first time entrepreneurs should read. Here is the list as requested:
- [Looking back at 2007, looking forward to 2008](https://fabricegrinda.com/looking-back-at-2007-looking-forward-to-2008/): While 2006 was a year of transition with the break after Zingy and the creation of OLX, 2007 was a year of consolidation. I put my disagreement with the acquirer of Zingy behind me. I made two new Internet investments. OLX continued to grow slowly but surely – we now have over 80 employees and are present in 40 countries in 12 languages.
- [The End of Inequality](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-end-of-inequality/): As I wrote in a recent article (Capitalism and Democracy), despite decreases in global inequality because of economic growth in South East Asia, in-country income inequality has been rising. However, this analysis of inequality is misleading as income inequality is less relevant to well being than real consumption inequality.
- [Interview about OLX on an Indian blog](https://fabricegrinda.com/interview-about-olx-on-an-indian-blog/): If you want to find out more about we have been up to, you can read the interview at:
http://puchoo.wordpress.com/2007/12/19/interview-with-fabrice-grinda-co-ceo-olx-inc/
- [American Gangster is worth seeing](https://fabricegrinda.com/american-gangster-is-worth-seeing/): The movie is good, not great. It’s extremely well done and acted. However, given that it’s directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down), I expected to be completely wowed – by maybe I am holding him to impossible standards. I should not complain too much: I was thoroughly entertained.
- [Interesting quote on love](https://fabricegrinda.com/interesting-quote-on-love/): "I have stressed the fact that the beloved person is a substitute for the ideal ego. Two people who love each other are interchanging their ego ideals. That they love each other means they love the ideal of themselves in the other one. There would be no love on earth if this phantom were not there. We fall in love because we cannot attain the image that is our better self and the best of our self. From this concept it is obvious that love itself is only possible on a certain cultural level or after a certain phase in the development of the personality has been reached. The creation of an ego ideal itself marks human progress. When people are entirely satisfied with their actual selves, love is impossible. The transfer of the ego ideal to a person is the most characteristic trait of love.” - Theodor Reik "Of love and lust"
- [OLX Invests in Edeng, One of China's Leading Free Online Classifieds Site](https://fabricegrinda.com/olx-invests-in-edeng-one-of-chinas-leading-free-online-classifieds-site/): In a recent post, I explained how one of the ways that OLX has grown was to partner with other sites to run their classifieds channel (http://www.fabricegrinda.com/?p=256). The other way has been through acquisitions.
- [New York is the place to be :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/new-york-is-the-place-to-be/): I live in New York even though I work on the Internet. That decision has always been for personal reasons. To maximize business opportunities, I should arguably be in San Francisco.
- [Check out the OLX application on Facebook](https://fabricegrinda.com/check-out-the-olx-application-on-facebook/): We thought it would be cool to let users display their listings on their profile page and use OLX without ever having to leave Facebook.
- [Watch Harvard and Bagheera run in the snow!](https://fabricegrinda.com/watch-harvard-and-bagheera-run-in-the-snow/): They are so incredibly cute :)
- [Optimism](https://fabricegrinda.com/optimism/): It is the formidable character of the species to routinely seek the improbable, the difficult, even the impossible, as a source of pleasure and self-justification. Who would try to write poems, or novels, or paint pictures unless he is an optimist.
Lionel Tiger The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- [Phenomenal skit on the subprime market](https://fabricegrinda.com/phenomenal-skit-on-the-subprime-market/): You have to love the dry British humor :)
- [Alan Patricof, Microcredit, Trickle Up and Equity Investments in Developing Countries](https://fabricegrinda.com/alan-patricof-microcredit-trickle-up-and-equity-investments-in-developing-countries/): Alan made an even more impassioned speech in favor of equity financing in Africa. As he pointed out, almost all the capital available in Africa is debt financing. There is also a growing private equity business in Africa, but no real venture capital funds making equity investments in early stage businesses. Debt financing, given the need to pay interest in the short term, limits entrepreneurs to businesses with immediate sales, and misses many of the more scalable, employment and wealth generating ideas. To change this, he is creating a $45 million fund, funded by foundations at this stage (given the below market expected rate of return).
- [Read Richard Dawkins The Selfish Gene](https://fabricegrinda.com/read-richard-dawkins-the-selfish-gene/): Having read and enjoyed Richard Dawkins The God Delusion, I decided to check out the book that made him famous. It’s interesting to see that many of the themes from The God Delusion are already addressed (if only in passing) such as the illusion of design – and this 30 years before Intelligent Design became “relevant”.
- [Xbox 360 vs PS3: it’s all about the games!](https://fabricegrinda.com/xbox-360-vs-ps3-its-all-about-the-games/): Unfortunately for Sony, Drake’s Fortune is the only exclusive PS3 game I truly wanted to play. The Xbox 360 still has many more great exclusive games: Gears of War, Halo 3, Bioshock, Mass Effect. Most of the games available on both consoles come out first on the Xbox such as Oblivion IV and The Orange Box. Finally, with multiplayer working better on the Xbox and as more of my friends have Xboxes, I buy the multiplayer games available on both, such as Call of Duty 4, only on the Xbox 360.
- [The Esky LAMA RC Helicopter is a lot of fun](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-esky-lama-rc-helicopter-is-a-lot-of-fun/): I had never flown a remote controlled helicopter before. The Esky LAMA comes pre-built and ready to fly out of the box. It’s fun, stable, easy to learn to fly and incredibly cheap at $69!
- [Trapeze in New York](https://fabricegrinda.com/trapeze-in-new-york/): This summer, in an attempt to connect with my inner Carrie Bradshaw, I tried out trapeze on top of Pier 40 on the West Side Highway. It’s a lot of fun. You can even complete a catch – where a guy on the other trapeze catches you as you let go of the trapeze – on your first day.
- [Advertising on Facebook and MySpace: the “Grinda Hypothesis”](https://fabricegrinda.com/advertising-on-facebook-and-myspace-the-grinda-hypothesis/): In a recent post, Facebook: the next Google?, I expressed skepticism on the value of Facebook given the nature of advertising there.
- [Einat Wilf, Danny Gillerman and Israel](https://fabricegrinda.com/einat-wilf-danny-gillerman-and-israel/): I had the pleasure of listening to my good friend Einat Wilf (www.wilf.org) speak on the future of Israeli politics at Danny Gillerman’s house last night. She is ever the brilliant orator and made an impassioned speech on the continuing importance of politics and a plea for the next generation to participate in the political process. She then gave eloquent and well thought through answers on a variety of topics ranging from the potential separation of Church and State in Israel to the importance of conscription.
- [Meet the Paypal mafia](https://fabricegrinda.com/meet-the-paypal-mafia/): Fortune just covered Peter and his former Paypal crew.
- [Watch Rome!](https://fabricegrinda.com/watch-rome/): I just watched the two seasons of HBO’s Rome on DVD and absolutely adored it. I am biased as I am a huge Roman history aficionado and Octavian (Augustus) has always been my role model/idol.
- [Capitalism and Democracy](https://fabricegrinda.com/capitalism-and-democracy/): I recently came across an article entitled “How Capitalism is Killing Democracy” by Robert Reich. The article is an adaptation from his book “Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy and Every Day Life”.
- [OLX Partners with Fotolog to Bring Free Classifieds to Millions of Users around the World](https://fabricegrinda.com/olx-partners-with-fotolog-to-bring-free-classifieds-to-millions-of-users-around-the-world/): One of the ways OLX has grown has been by partnering with other sites to run their classifieds channel. This strategy has proven successful because OLX is rather good at monetizing traffic. When you look at the distribution of Google revenues, a small percentage of searches account for the bulk of the revenues. The car, jobs, real estate and general merchandise searches are particularly successful. Given that those are some of the categories that OLX focuses on, the site generates much higher average eCPMs than the average site, especially internationally.
- [Great game setup / best plasma TV on the market](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-game-setup-best-plasma-tv-on-the-market/): As it is clearly unbearable to have to split the screen with friends for games of Halo, Call of Duty and Gears of War, I decided to install 3 plasma TVs side by side in my bedroom, each with its own Xbox 360 :)
- [The pitfalls of marrying an entrepreneur](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-pitfalls-of-marrying-an-entrepreneur/): The Financial Times just ran a very interesting article on the pitfalls of marrying an entrepreneur.
- [Facebook: the next Google?](https://fabricegrinda.com/facebook-the-next-google/): I was in San Francisco for CTIA this week and took advantage of the opportunity to catch up with my Internet friends. It’s incredible how much buzz Facebook is generating.
- [A Different Perspective on the Global Economy](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-different-perspective-on-the-global-economy/): Now that the real estate bubble and finance bubble have burst, it’s a good time to take stock regarding where we stand in the global economy. In essence we have three countervailing forces:
- [Yet another great Shakespeare quote](https://fabricegrinda.com/yet-another-great-shakespeare-quote/): Some people are born great. Some achieve greatness. Some have greatness thrust upon them.
- [Great Teddy Roosevelt Quote](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-teddy-roosevelt-quote/): It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
- [Remarkable video: battle at Kruger National Park](https://fabricegrinda.com/remarkable-video-battle-at-kruger-national-park/): Watch this amazing video of lions, a crocodile and buffalo fighting for a baby water buffalo.
- [Internet: we are still at the beginning!](https://fabricegrinda.com/internet-we-are-still-at-the-beginning/): Many people worry that they missed the opportunity to participate in the Internet revolution. I have often heard that most of the opportunities are already taken and that the incumbents are set to win.
- [Google is now worth over $190 billion!](https://fabricegrinda.com/google-is-now-worth-over-190-billion/): Google is officially more valuable than FedEx, McDonalds, Coke, Intel, IBM, and Wal-Mart, among others...
- [Effortless, informal writing :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/effortless-informal-writing/): It’s interesting how much effort we actually put in appearing effortless and informal in our writing.
- [Great Craigslist Post and Reply](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-craigslist-post-and-reply/): Funnily enough several of my friends thought I had posted the reply you will read below :)
- [My quote for the day](https://fabricegrinda.com/my-quote-for-the-day/): Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined.
Thoreau
- [Wine is a big scam!](https://fabricegrinda.com/wine-is-a-big-scam/): My friend Auren Hoffman just posted an article arguing that wine is a big scam.
- [Zero to $1 billion](https://fabricegrinda.com/zero-to-1-billion/): Most business books cover what it takes for large businesses to get even larger. Very few have covered what it takes to go from $0 to $1 billion in revenues. David Thomson, a former McKinsey consultant, has remedied that.
- [Learn to speak another language: it’s good for you!](https://fabricegrinda.com/learn-to-speak-another-language-its-good-for-you/): The BBC recently reported that people fluent in two languages rather than one were both sharper mentally and did not experience mental decline associated with age.
- [Innovations: Video Manipulations](https://fabricegrinda.com/innovations-video-manipulations/): A few weeks ago I blogged about the impressive improvements happening in the image resizing world (https://fabricegrinda.com/innovations-image-resizing/). The video below show the types of manipulations now possible in video. It's shockingly easy! It makes you wonder if you can ever trust video footage again!
- [“Loving” versus “Being in Love”](https://fabricegrinda.com/loving-versus-being-in-love/): Historically, I would have said being in love is the single most wonderful and important thing. It’s an arbiter of chemistry. However, some may argue being in love is an ephemeral sensation that is not sustainable. Perhaps loving and respecting someone are more important.
- [Touchgraph: exploring connections between websites](https://fabricegrinda.com/touchgraph-exploring-connections-between-websites/): I just came across Touchgraph. The service is extremely interesting. I am not sure they can ever monetize it, but it's a great way to visualize connections between sites.
- [Happiness Summarized](https://fabricegrinda.com/happiness-summarized/): As a supposed “expert on happiness” (try googling expert on happiness for fun), I am often asked to summarize what I have learned from the books and articles I have read and have written about. For all you lazy bums out there, here is the condensed version :)
- [I really liked “My Best Friend” (Mon Meilleur Ami)](https://fabricegrinda.com/i-really-liked-my-best-friend-mon-meilleur-ami/): I am a Daniel Auteuil fan in general, but this movie struck a chord. As a formerly (or is it merely recovering?) self centered, arrogant, harsh, introverted, shy and conservative person with few friends myself, I could understand the main character’s plight of not understanding the meaning of friendship.
- [Innovations: Image Resizing](https://fabricegrinda.com/innovations-image-resizing/): There is still a lot of innovation going on in this world. Take a look at this tool that resizes images on the fly, it's awesome!
- [Gladwell on Genius](https://fabricegrinda.com/gladwell-on-genius/): Over the past year, I blogged a few time about the importance of deliberate practice in achieving high performance (A Star is Made, A Star is Made – Part 2) and how one of the two types of geniuses are “experimental innovators” relentlessly working on a problem and ebbing at it through trial and error (What Kind of Genius are you?).
- [Ethics, spirituality and religion: a debate on torture](https://fabricegrinda.com/ethics-spirituality-and-religion-a-debate-on-torture/): A few weeks ago I had the great pleasure of attending a small salon on ethics, spirituality and religion. I was humbled by the intelligence and insight of the attendees: public intellectuals, authors, a professor of religion, and numerous successful executives and entrepreneurs.
- [Heresy: The best Windows Vista Notebook is an Apple MacBook Pro!](https://fabricegrinda.com/heresy-the-best-windows-vista-notebook-is-an-apple-macbook-pro/): In general, I like notebook PCs with a 17” screen and 1920*1200 resolution to display more information, have more open windows and play games. The downside of notebooks with 17” screens is that they have a tendency to be heavy (10+ pounds with the AC adapter) and have short battery lives. When the MacBook Pros came out a year ago I considered getting one but the graphic card was way too underpowered for playing PC games and I settled for a Dell Inspiron 1705. When the Dell died (my notebooks die often as they get roughed up in all the travel I do), I ordered a Dell 1720 mid-June. However, Dell kept pushing the delivery date back. It was first delayed to July 17, then August 1 and then on August 1 they said the delivery would be in September. Annoyed, I cancelled the order and started looking for alternatives.
- [What Kind of Genius are You?](https://fabricegrinda.com/what-kind-of-genius-are-you/): In a recent article I wrote how most successful entrepreneurs were not innate geniuses but got their success from relentless trial and error. As several of you pointed out, my description did not account for all of entrepreneurial successes out there. You were right. A recent study by the economist David Galensen suggests that creativity comes in two distinct types: quick and dramatic or careful and quiet.
- [Mercadolibre’s IPO, eBay, Argentina and the Internet Auction Market](https://fabricegrinda.com/mercadolibres-ipo-ebay-argentina-and-the-internet-auction-market/): While I was working at Aucland, a McKinsey friend of mine introduced me to a Latin American team of smart, passionate people looking to do something on the Internet. We decided to partner to conquer online auctions in Latin America. Deremate was born. As an aside, Alec Oxenford, my co-conspirator in OLX, was the heart and brains of the project and led Deremate from inception to its sale in November 2005. He is a witty, intelligent, worldly Argentine who spent his formative years at BCG and HBS.
- [The Bourne Ultimatum is phenomenal!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-bourne-ultimatum-is-phenomenal/): Threequels are usually not very good, but this movie is an exception. The Bourne Ultimatum is fun, smart, fast paced and thrilling from end to finish. I was not bored for a second!
- [Passion and love at the end of the age of innocence](https://fabricegrinda.com/passion-and-love-at-the-end-of-the-age-of-innocence/): This triggered a trip down memory lane. I re-read the letters I wrote to others and myself many years ago. For all its naiveté, the passionate expression of my love, longing and fear rendered me slightly nostalgic. When I was younger, I was terrified of social expectation, judgment, and harbored a fear of rejection. In part, such fears drove me into social isolation, and it was in that isolation that I developed true independence, which in turn led to greater creativity and drive. Did I lose something in the process of conquering those fears?
- [Create a back-up copy of your immune system](https://fabricegrinda.com/create-a-back-up-copy-of-your-immune-system/): IMAGINE having a spare copy of your immune system on ice, ready to replace your existing one should you fall victim to AIDS, an autoimmune disease, or have to undergo extensive chemotherapy for cancer.
- [Geni.com is awesome!](https://fabricegrinda.com/genicom-is-awesome/): I suppose like most of us, I am a little curious about my family history, but not enough to spend time or money researching it. That’s where Geni.com comes in.
- [Who’s Minding the Mind?](https://fabricegrinda.com/whos-minding-the-mind/): There is ever more evidence that we humans are extremely primitive. Psychologists are demonstrating time and time again how easy it is to prime us. In a recent example, college students were asked to assist someone carrying to many items by holding their cup of coffee. The cup was either hot or iced.
- [Think about it before committing yourself :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/think-about-it-before-committing-yourself/): The French have some extremely creative ads. This series of 3 TV ads was created for a prepaid phone company. Arguably, the brand and service are easy to forget given the humorous and highly entertaining nature of the ads, but I love them anyway!
- [Read The Undercover Economist](https://fabricegrinda.com/read-the-undercover-economist/): Tim Hartford is engaging and entertaining. His book and column on Slate show the reasoning of an economist as he interprets and explains the world around him. It’s much more compelling than any textbook introduction to microeconomics.
- [Bloomberg for President](https://fabricegrinda.com/bloomberg-for-president/): It occurred to me a year ago that Bloomberg would make a great president. He has been a very effective mayor of New York. He restored fiscal balance and cooperated with the democrats after the factious Giuliani years. He has been in both parties. He is a pragmatist. He’s independently wealthy and not beholden to any special interest groups. He is a true social liberal and fiscal conservative where I believe the silent majority of Americans lie.
- [Funny Elias Canetti quote](https://fabricegrinda.com/funny-elias-canetti-quote/): Whenever you observe an animal closely, you feel as if a human being sitting inside were making fun of you.
- [Mahatma Gandhi quotes](https://fabricegrinda.com/mahatma-gandhi-quotes/): Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
- [2 Days in Paris feels real and is tragically funny](https://fabricegrinda.com/2-days-in-paris-feels-real-and-is-tragically-funny/): I had the pleasure of attending the movie premiere of 2 Days in Paris at the Alliance Française last night where Julie Delpy presented her new movie. In many ways this movie felt like Before Sunset except that the two main characters have been in a relationship for two years. In this case, that’s a good thing – I loved Before Sunset’s dialogues and scenery. 2 Days in Paris matches that dialectic realism. The conversations feel real and seeing these two insecure, neurotic individuals go through their life and relationship is shockingly funny. The movie probably works better for bilingual viewers but should be entertaining for all.
- [Patience and Thrift by John D. Rockefeller](https://fabricegrinda.com/patience-and-thrift-by-john-d-rockefeller/): Patience:
- [John D. Rockefeller Quotes](https://fabricegrinda.com/john-d-rockefeller-quotes/): "I had no ambition to make a fortune. Mere money-making has never been my goal, I had an ambition to build."
- [I love this summer :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/i-love-this-summer/): The weather is great, skirts are shorter and this summer’s batch of blockbusters has been better than usual.
- [Ten Politically Incorrect Truths about Human Nature](https://fabricegrinda.com/ten-politically-incorrect-truths-about-human-nature/): Psychology Today has a great article on human nature. I am not sure I buy all the arguments – or at least not the explanations as everything does not revolve around sex – but it’s still intriguing.
- [The Inspiration for the Aucland TV Ad](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-inspiration-for-the-aucland-tv-ad/): The inspiration had come to us from this series of TV ads that Outpost.com had run in the US:
- [Entrepreneurship matchup: France versus Afghanistan](https://fabricegrinda.com/entrepreneurship-matchup-france-versus-afghanistan/): The Financial Times ran an amazing story on three French entrepreneurs in Afghanistan.
- [Speaking of uncertainty: read The Black Swan](https://fabricegrinda.com/speaking-of-uncertainty-read-the-black-swan/): Massim Nicholas Taleb’s new book is insightful and surprisingly entertaining. While it has no predictive value – black swans are by definition “unknown unknowns” – the book’s criticism of the traditional Gaussian models used by all of us strikes a chord.
- [The nature of entrepreneurship: randomness, trial and error, and how intelligence can get in the way](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-nature-of-entrepreneurship-randomness-trial-and-error-and-how-intelligence-can-get-in-the-way/): In many ways, I am not a typical entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are often risk taking, creative types who do not do well in the traditional education system or workplace. By contrast, I was the shy, introverted A+ student who was conservative and deferred to authority. I highly valued, and in many ways still value, the classical education I received and found beauty in the logical arguments I constructed both for my classes in college and for my clients at McKinsey.
- [The Theory of Social Obligation](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-theory-of-social-obligation/): Friends keep wanting to invite us to showers, bachelor parties, rehearsal dinners, weddings. Where does this sense of obligation come from? When did it become socially unacceptable to say no? I find that girls are terrible at discriminating on weddings to go to. Obviously they should go to their brother's wedding, but that does not mean they should go to the weddings of all their friends. Moreover, I wonder if they actually get any real utility out of going to the event or if it's a sense of obligation that takes them there. Worse, somehow it's not acceptable for them to go alone; so you are dragged to these boring events where you know no one. Frankly I would rather be doing something very important like playing tennis or video games :)
- [Unlimited Wireless Broadband for $19.99 / Month](https://fabricegrinda.com/unlimited-wireless-broadband-for-1999-month/): I was ready for 3G. I bought the Wireless Broadband card from Verizon the very day it came out a few years ago and have been happily using it for $79.99 per month for unlimited data ($59.99 if you also have voice plan) ever since.
- [Read Tony Blair’s essay in The Economist](https://fabricegrinda.com/read-tony-blairs-essay-in-the-economist/): Tony Blair is probably the most gifted politician of his generation. He is smart, open minded and a gifted orator. Moreover, I have repeatedly been impressed by his sense of purpose, decisiveness and willingness to fight for what he truly believed in, rather than for what was politically convenient.
- [Fly Silverjet to London](https://fabricegrinda.com/fly-silverjet-to-london/): Silverjet is a new all business airline flying between New York and London and competing with Eos, MAXjet and the business class offerings of British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and American Airlines. I had the pleasure of meeting the founder of Silverjet at one of David Larkin’s famed Internet parties in New York. Intrigued by the travel experience he promised, I decided to try them out on my current business trip to Europe.
- [Google should buy Yahoo](https://fabricegrinda.com/google-should-buy-yahoo/): You might argue that Google is taking share away from Yahoo little by little and therefore should not spend the $40 billion or so it would take to buy Yahoo. However, the deal is very easy to justify:
- [For the love of conferences :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/for-the-love-of-conferences/): George Meyer just wrote an amazing satirical essay in the New Yorker on the addiction to conferences.
- [Fear and uncertainty in the time of prosperity](https://fabricegrinda.com/fear-and-uncertainty-in-the-time-of-prosperity/): I had the pleasure to meet John Hacker last Wednesday at a New America Foundation luncheon. While he has been accused of giving personal responsibility a bad name, he did not make a moral judgment against the risk shift. He just said it happened, implied than in many cases it is actually a good thing, but that has people bear more risk, the consequences of losing their job or being sick can become devastating and this latent fear is affecting our national mood.
- [Vaclav Havel’s To the Castle and Back is both absurdly funny and informative](https://fabricegrinda.com/vaclav-havels-to-the-castle-and-back-is-both-absurdly-funny-and-informative/): Last Wednesday, I had the pleasure of attending the book launch party organized by the Czech Center. The party included a fascinating reading of the book, an extremely funny preview of an upcoming documentary on Havel’s life, and a question and answer session with Paul Wilson, who translated the book in English, and Martin Palous, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United Nations.
- [It has arrived!](https://fabricegrinda.com/it-has-arrived/): It is my true pleasure to announce that I received my green card! It’s only a temporary 2 year one, but it’s a start!
- [Top 10 ways to make better decisions](https://fabricegrinda.com/top-10-ways-to-make-better-decisions/): A recent issue of New Scientist went through the 10 things you can do to make better decisions. Like many of the tips on happiness, once read they appear self-evident, but they have empirically been proven to help:
- [I love New York!](https://fabricegrinda.com/i-love-new-york/): New York: I love you!
- [Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea is great: thrilling and informative at the same time](https://fabricegrinda.com/ship-of-gold-in-the-deep-blue-sea-is-great-thrilling-and-informative-at-the-same-time/): Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea manages a rare feat – it’s a non-fiction story that reads like a thriller! It documents both the story of the SS Central America on its journey from Panama to New York with a shipment of gold and passengers coming back from the Gold Rush, the boat’s demise, and the amazing story of Tommy Thompson’s modern day recovery efforts.
- [Only in France!](https://fabricegrinda.com/only-in-france/): I just came across a book written about a 45 year old Frenchman. He owns a large studio with a beautiful view on a garden. He owns an Alfa Romeo and leads a simple and pleasant life. His job: unemployed professional. He has been receiving unemployment benefits for 22 years. He’s happy. He loves France. The book includes hilarious letters he wrote to scare away any potential employers recommended to him by the unemployment agency.
- [Learning from Steve Case](https://fabricegrinda.com/learnings-from-steve-case/): I had the pleasure to listen to Steve Case speak at a General Catalyst event in Boston. It was interesting to hear about his early struggles and the importance of perseverance. The first startup he joined was selling modems and online downloads for the Atari game console in 1983. It sold so few pieces during the Christmas shopping season the Kleiner guy on the board reviewing the numbers in January said: “I expected that more than these would be shoplifted!” While that startup failed it allowed Steve to meet a lot of the people that would become instrumental in making AOL a huge success.
- [Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Positive Psychology in Action](https://fabricegrinda.com/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-cbt-positive-psychology-in-action/): The advent of positive psychology, as mentioned in my recent posts on happiness, is leading to a revolution in psychological counseling. As depression, anxiety and other ills seem to be largely caused by negative thoughts, psychologists have turned to cognitive behavioral therapy to teach patients how to focus on the positive and prevent negative thoughts from creeping into their minds.
- [The French Presidential Election](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-french-presidential-election/): Despite the fact that quality of life is actually very good in France, there is clearly a French malaise. People have a (real) sense of stagnation as their standard of living is not increasing as fast as it could and countries that used to be 20-30% poorer than France 25 years ago are now wealthier on a GDP per capita basis (e.g.; the UK).
- [Must love dogs :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/must-love-dogs/): Dogs rule!
- [The Tribulations of a Child of the Internet](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-tribulations-of-a-child-of-the-internet/): My computer recently crashed and as I was restoring my files, I came across an article I wrote for Les Echos, a French financial paper similar to the Financial Times, in March 2001. I felt compelled to reproduce it now as the tone clearly captures the aspirations, ethos and dreams many of us had during the bubble and the lessons we learned or chose not to learn as we continue to dream about changing the world.
- [The Immigration Non-Issue](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-immigration-non-issue/): Regardless of where you stand on immigration, demographic shifts in Mexico will render the issue meaningless in the coming 10 years. I was partaking in a New America luncheon on immigration and the speaker pointed out that the Mexican population is aging 5 times faster than the US population. By 2011, there should no longer be a new inflow of a large pool of unskilled labor every year in the Mexican population. As such within 10 years, it’s reasonable to expect no net inflows of Mexican labor to the US regardless of the immigration regime. Puerto Rico provides an interesting analogy. The US has a free flow of labor with Puerto Rico yet there is no net immigration to the US from Puerto Rico as a result of the changing demographics there.
- [You must read Crimes against Logic](https://fabricegrinda.com/you-must-read-crimes-against-logic/): Jamie Whyte’s angry and witty rant against the rhetoric, faulty reasoning and misinformation we are subjected to from all sources is fascinating, enlightening and fun. The book is a quick read and will equip you with the tools you need to become a staunch defender of truth.
- [Morality in Primates](https://fabricegrinda.com/morality-in-primates/): The New York Times had a very interesting article on morality in primates. As many primates display empathy, understand who has done them favors, display altruistic behavior and take into consideration the greater good of their group when resolving disputes, they are displaying some of the required building blocks for morality.
- [Youtube: I told you so :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/youtube-i-told-you-so/): In a previous post (http://www.fabricegrinda.com/?p=120), I mentioned that my biggest concern with the Google / Youtube deal was not the valuation, but copyright issues. Now that Viacom has sued Google for $1 billion, those fears seem validated.
- [Happiness and the dangers of belief in the written word :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/happiness-and-the-dangers-of-belief-in-the-written-word/): And so I was pleasantly surprised to be mistaken for an “International Expert on Happiness” and asked to answer a few questions. I started by telling my interviewer that she was up for a big disappointment if she thought I was an expert on happiness, but decided to play along.
- [The Science of Happiness](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-science-of-happiness/): I recently came across an interesting article on the science of happiness in Harvard Magazine recounting the emergence of “positive psychology” as a field of study, its findings and the emergence of new research areas such as the study of joy instead of happiness.
- [Inside Facebook is a fun, quick read that allows you to experience the startup spirit!](https://fabricegrinda.com/inside-facebook-is-a-fun-quick-read-that-allows-you-to-experience-the-startup-spirit/): Reading the book, I felt like I was reading about the first two years of almost every startup I have been involved with. The names of the people and product were different, but the ethos and spirit was truly there. I suppose it’s partly that spirit that keeps me going back and starting from scratch over and over again!
- [Why people believe in God](https://fabricegrinda.com/why-people-believe-in-god/): The NY Times just published a great article called “Darwin’s God” discussing why people believe in God. It’s a great complement to reading the enlightening and entertaining “The God Delusion.”
- [Warren Buffet’s 2006 Letter to his Shareholders](https://fabricegrinda.com/warren-buffets-2006-letter-to-his-shareholders/): I have been a fan of Warren Buffet’s letter to his shareholders for many years. It is clear, concise, honest, often funny, and provides insight into many matters outside of Berkshire Hathaway. The 2006 version is no exception to the rule.
- [What’s going on in China: An introduction to macro-economics](https://fabricegrinda.com/whats-going-on-in-china-an-introduction-to-macro-economics/): China has a mostly fixed exchange rate with the U.S. This means that Chinese monetary policy is essentially decided by the Federal Reserve. The problem is that given its growth rate and where it stands in the business cycle, China needs much higher interest rates than it currently has. Given the current growth and inflation rates in China, the current rates are much too low and extremely expansionary – essentially akin to putting gas on a burning fire.
- [Macro Perspectives on Global Liquidity: How Chinese Farmers and Oil Sheiks are Subsidizing American Consumption and its Implications](https://fabricegrinda.com/macro-perspectives-on-global-liquidity-how-chinese-farmers-and-oil-sheiks-are-subsidizing-american-consumption-and-its-implications/): Specifically, I thought global liquidity would collapse as:
- [A different perspective on global warming](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-different-perspective-on-global-warming/): Global warming seems to be on the mind of many these days. There is no denying that the earth has warmed up over the last century. There is also increasing evidence and a growing consensus among scientists that humanity is contributing to and is probably the main cause of global warming.
- [Kite boarding and entrepreneurship](https://fabricegrinda.com/kite-boarding-and-entrepreneurship/): Entrepreneurs are often risk taking, adventurous individuals. Not surprisingly many of them try things like kite boarding, ice climbing, car racing, flying planes and heli-skiing.
- [Web 2.0 … The Machine is Us/ing Us](https://fabricegrinda.com/web-20-the-machine-is-using-us/): A friend of mine just showed me this great video on Youtube about what Web 2.0 is all about:
- [Heli-skiing is divine!](https://fabricegrinda.com/heli-skiing-is-divine/): I love skiing and have skied at lots of places: Snowbird, Alta, Jackson Hole, Tahoe, Chamonix, Val d’Isère, Courchevel… However, there is something very different about heli-skiing and especially heli-skiing with CMH (www.cmhski.com/ski).
- [Why I don’t work in the gaming industry](https://fabricegrinda.com/why-i-dont-work-in-the-gaming-industry/): As a self avowed gamer and gaming enthusiast with a true passion for games and clear game design ideas, I often get asked why I don’t pursue that passion professionally.
- [It pays to be lucky – part 3](https://fabricegrinda.com/it-pays-to-be-lucky-part-3/): This time I am not blogging about how lucky I have been in the past but about how lucky others have been.
- [Games are good for you!](https://fabricegrinda.com/games-are-good-for-you/): Recent scientific research suggests that good games improve players’ sense of well being by giving them feelings of independence, competence and connectedness to people. The games allow people to feel effective and rule their own universe in a way that real life often does not.
- [The thinker versus the doer](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-thinker-versus-the-doer/): “Having gone though two university departments, I was fairly cultivated, thanks also to my long inertia, which I consider highly educational. He, on the contrary, was a great businessman, ignorant and active. But from his ignorance he drew strength and peace of mind, and I, spellbound, would observe him and envy him.”
- [The Annotated Mona Lisa is a great introduction to art history!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-annotated-mona-lisa-is-a-great-introduction-to-art-history/): As I do appreciate art, despite not knowing anything about it, I felt I needed a primer to it. The Annotated Mona Lisa clearly met that need. It’s easy to read, organized chronologically and full of engaging anecdotes.
- [Looking for an avid SecondLife gamer in New York](https://fabricegrinda.com/looking-for-an-avid-secondlife-gamer-in-new-york/): A friend of mine is doing a very innovative documentary on gaming and is looking to interview a SecondLife enthusiast as part of the research and observe him/her playing. Let me know if any of you meet the profile and are interested in participating!
- [Worry not I am still here ;)](https://fabricegrinda.com/worry-not-i-am-still-here/): I did not run out of things to say either. I tried to combine work, kite boarding, tennis, and hanging out with my brother and cousin for a week in Miami and noticed I did not have time to do anything else :) Did I mention I love kite boarding and tennis? :)
- [Everything bad is good for you :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/everything-bad-is-good-for-you/): I have not read Steven Johnson’s book, but after watching tonight’s episode of 24 and seeing the complex storylines of today’s TV shows, movies and video games, I am starting to buy the premise. Today’s popular culture is so much more sophisticated than the one from 20 years ago. You have to be mentally engaged not to get lost in the shows, to try to guess the twist ending in the movies (e.g.; The Illusionist) or to solve the video games. After watching Lost or 24 or for that matter Sex and the City or Desperate Housewives, watching even 15 minutes of Dallas or the Dukes of Hazard is unbearably painful!
- [iPhone: Love the Product, Skeptical about the Market](https://fabricegrinda.com/iphone-love-the-product-skeptical-about-the-market/): Steve Jobs really knows how to put on a show. The device seems great. I have not played with it and would love to see how easy it really is to type on the device, but from what I have seen and read, I really like the interface. My one gripe is that they are using Edge instead of Cingular’s 3G network.
- [Report from the video game wars: Wii vs. PS3 vs. Xbox360](https://fabricegrinda.com/report-from-the-video-game-wars-wii-vs-ps3-vs-xbox360/): As you can deduct from the above report, I own and highly recommend the Xbox 360. The PS3 has been incredibly disappointing and I will wait a year before considering buying one to complement my Xbox 360. As of now unless Sony gets exclusives on “must play” games, I don’t think I will ever get one. As for the Wii, I truly hesitated. Last week-end I headed to Best Buy to buy one. They did not have any, but a nearby store had a few in stock. Before buying it, I went to demo it one last time. They had a video game showcase with a Wii next to an Xbox 360 both playing on 42” Plasma TVs. The graphic difference was so stark, I could not get myself to buy the Wii. The graphics looked so amateurish and old! Instead, I left with Assault Heroes for the Xbox 360 and Killzone and Field Commander for the PSP.
- [The Geo-Political Landscape: The Perspective of an Optimist](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-geo-political-landscape-the-perspective-of-an-optimist/): Turn the pages of any paper covering foreign policy and it is easy to become depressed about the state of the world: massacres in Darfur, quagmire in Iraq, setbacks in Afghanistan, nuclear ambitions in Iran, a nuclear armed North Korea, recurring terrorist threats around the world, continued Palestinian/Israeli conflict, war in Somalia. The list goes on.
- [The benefits of intellectual curiosity](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-benefits-of-intellectual-curiosity/): While true polymaths like Leonardo da Vinci are rare, there is an increasing body of evidence to suggest that having diverse interests makes you better in everything you do.
- [Yet more inspirational quotes](https://fabricegrinda.com/yet-more-inspirational-quotes/): Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.
Mark Twain Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you.
Jim Rohn Watch your thoughts; they become your words.
Watch your words; they become your actions.
Watch your actions; they become your habits.
Watch your habits; they become your character.
Watch your character for it will become your destiny.
Unknown We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing.
Action always generates inspiration.
Inspiration seldom generates action.
Frank Tibolt Remove the word "problem" from your vocabulary and replace it with "challenge". Life will suddenly become a lot more interesting and enjoyable.
Donna Watson
- [Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World is amazing and surprising!](https://fabricegrinda.com/genghis-khan-and-the-making-of-the-modern-world-is-amazing-and-surprising/): Jack Weatherford provides an interesting and much more positive account of Genghis Khan’s life and legacy than I would have expected.
- [Speaking of happiness…](https://fabricegrinda.com/speaking-of-happiness/): Check out the cover of the latest Economist :) I can’t wait to read it :)
- [The Pursuit of Happiness: six experts tell what they’ve done to achieve it](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-pursuit-of-happiness-six-experts-tell-what-theyve-done-to-achieve-it/): I came across the following article in the Wall Street Journal last week. Many of the themes and experts will be familiar to readers of my previous posts on happiness (hedonic adaptation, Alan Krueger, etc.) but I thought it was interesting nonetheless.
- [The Real Thomas Crown Affair!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-real-thomas-crown-affair/): I count The Thomas Crown Affair with Pierce Brosnan as one of my favorite movies and was amused to read a NY Times article on Noah Charney who is essentially the real world version of the Rene Russo character.
- [For the holidays: Do good, feel better](https://fabricegrinda.com/for-the-holidays-do-good-feel-better/): Happy holidays - and a better New Year!
- [LeWeb3 Conference Debrief](https://fabricegrinda.com/leweb3-conference-debrief/): The conference was interesting with the quality of the debates and presentation on par with anything done in Silicon Valley. If anything the conference showed that France and Europe are not lacking in entrepreneurs and ambition – they are just hampered by excess regulation, less developed capital markets and lower scale due to differences in languages and product markets.
- [France and the mirage of progess](https://fabricegrinda.com/france-and-the-mirage-of-progess/): I just arrived in Paris from Buenos Aires for LeWeb3 conference organized by Loic Lemeur. I was horrified to see all the stores open on a Sunday! Had France given in to consumerism? Did the French government decide to trust shop owners and consumers to decide for themselves when to shop? Did the bureaucrats who set store opening hours not realize that preventing stores from being open on evenings and week-ends was actually the best defense against rampant capitalist consumerism?
- [Read New Scientist’s 50th Anniversary Special Edition](https://fabricegrinda.com/read-new-scientists-50th-anniversary-special-edition/): The predictions for the next 50 years by dozens of world class scientists are wide ranging and intriguing. The set of articles on the “big questions” is fascinating covering topics such as “Do we live in a computer simulation?” to a physicist’s interesting perspective on “Do we have free will?” and “Is the universe deterministic?”
- [Amazing dog story](https://fabricegrinda.com/amazing-dog-story/): As a dog owner and lover, I am very moved by stories like this one:
- [The God Delusion is great](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-god-delusion-is-great/): I had heard of Richard Dawkins but had never read any of his books. The book is an extremely well argued case for atheism laying out the case for God’s existence, why there is most likely no god, the roots of religion and morality and what’s wrong with religion. It should be read by believers to question their faith and non-believers to give them ammunition for religious debates. It will also encourage agnostics to take a side.
- [Many Worlds in One is fascinating!](https://fabricegrinda.com/many-worlds-in-one-is-fascinating/): Alex Vilenkin does an amazing job at describing in laymen’s terms the recent findings in astrophysics and cosmology. His book traces cosmology’s emerging picture of the universe from the big bang and inflation to quantum cosmology and multiple universes. He also covers his personal theory of how the universe originated from nothing.
- [Kite surfing is divine!](https://fabricegrinda.com/kite-surfing-is-divine/): Ted Halstead, a friend of mine and president of the New America Foundation, recently became addicted to kite surfing and convinced me to join him in Costa Rica for Thanksgiving to give it a try. I invited my cousin Cyril, my friend William, his wife Sophie, my dad and his girlfriend. We rented a local’s house on Playa Copal, in the northwest of Costa Rica (1 hour northwest of Liberia airport, west of La Cruz, next to EcoPlaya Hotel).
- [Dilbert on McKinsey](https://fabricegrinda.com/dilbert-on-mckinsey/): As a former McKinsey consultant, I find Scott Adam's take extremely amusing :)
- [Personal History by Katherine Graham is great](https://fabricegrinda.com/personal-history-by-katherine-graham-is-great/): Her story as well as that of her parents and her husband deserves to be told. The book is the story of the business, political and intellectual elite in the 20th century America. It is also a vividly personal story of a person who went from being a student, to a housewife, to one of the most important figures in American business and politics.
- [Beyond the Game is disappointing](https://fabricegrinda.com/beyond-the-game-is-disappointing/): Following Gary Smith’s amazing biography of Andre Agassi in Sports Illustrated I was inspired to buy Beyond the Game, a collection of the biographies he wrote. I was disappointed. Except for a few stories, I did not connect with the athletes he was writing about – probably because I had not heard of most of them and did not care for their sports.
- [Dubai is intense!](https://fabricegrinda.com/dubai-is-intense/): A few months ago, I spent a few days in Dubai on business. I was impressed by the energy and modernity of the city. I actually liked the faux Moroccan style of the hotel I stayed in and the artificial nature of the constructions somehow felt aesthetically pleasing. I was shocked by the number of constructions. I counted over 70 40+ story buildings in construction and was told that there were around 200 40+ story buildings being built simultaneously. Imagine building New York from scratch in 3 years!
- [The Psychology of Happiness – Part 2](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-psychology-of-happiness-part-2/): A few months ago I blogged about the Psychology of Happiness (https://fabricegrinda.com/the-psychology-of-happiness/) which showed that empirical evidence suggested that most people have a mean level of happiness they rarely deviate from and that beyond a minimal level changes in financial circumstances had very little impact on happiness due to “hedonic adaptation.” The article went on to suggest several ways of systematically improving happiness.
- [Casino Royale is great!](https://fabricegrinda.com/casino-royale-is-great/): The movie is dark, gritty, intense, fast paced and the dialogues are great! It adds a bit of James Bond flash in a subdued, not over the top, way to the grittiness of the Bourne movies to deliver a very effective experience. I still have a hard time seeing Daniel Craig as James Bond (I would have much preferred Clive Owen), but his rough around the edges look and acting is very effective for this story line – probably more so than someone who would have looked more classy, smooth and polished. Big thumbs up!
- [Borat and the problem of high expectations](https://fabricegrinda.com/borat-and-the-problem-of-high-expectations/): I really wanted to love Borat. I adored the previews and was impressed by the interviews and all the reviews I had read. The hype was so high; I walked into the movie expecting to see the funniest movie ever made.
- [Stranger than Fiction is entertaining](https://fabricegrinda.com/stranger-than-fiction-is-entertaining/): It’s not as good as Roeper thinks it is, but it’s very clever and entertaining. The plot is creative. Shockingly enough Will Ferrell is effective in the dramatic role. Dustin Hoffman is great. Emma Thompson is so good I was inspired to watch Primary Colors again this week-end.
- [The Red Carpet Syndrome](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-red-carpet-syndrome/): Einat Wilf, a young up and coming Israeli politician and intellectual, wrote an interesting article a few years ago on the sense of entitlement that easily becomes engrained in smart and talented people – a “disease” she called “The Red Carpet Syndrome.”
- [The Prestige is awesome!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-prestige-is-awesome/): As I much as I liked that other magician period piece, The Illusionist, The Prestige is better. While the Illusionist is a neatly packaged movie with twist ending at the end, The Prestige displays much more creativity. There is palpable tension and intensity in the movie due to the conflict between Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman. Those two clearly deserve each other as you will see in the movie. The end was a bit disappointing, but all in all a great movie. Christopher Nolan is truly amazing in his ability to make extremely creative movies and yet have commercial success. I can’t wait to see his next movie!
- [Floss, brush and rinse – the right way!](https://fabricegrinda.com/floss-brush-and-rinse-the-right-way/): It turns out our parents were right. Brushing our teeth, flossing and using Listerine daily does protect us from cavities. As I used to defer to authority, I duly complied and have never had a cavity to this date.
- [Alexa Question](https://fabricegrinda.com/alexa-question/): Let’s say you have a site present in tons of countries – site.fr, site.co.uk, etc. Would any of you know of a way to have Alexa aggregate all the traffic on site.com?
- [The funniest prank ever!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-funniest-prank-ever/): I had not laughed that hard in quite a while!
- [A Star is Made – Part 2](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-star-is-made-part-2/): After the recent article in the New York Times by the Freakonomics authors arguing that high performance is due to “deliberate practice” rather than innate talent, further evidence is emerging. The most recent issue of Fortune had an entire section on what it takes to be great, supporting the case for deliberate practice.
- [To new beginnings!](https://fabricegrinda.com/to-new-beginnings/): Yesterday, as I was reflecting on this new beginning, I was overcome by great feelings of joy, pride and ambition.
- [Turkey is amazing!](https://fabricegrinda.com/turkey-is-amazing/): Last August, as part of a business trip, I spent a few days exploring Turkey. I had an amazing time. The country is beautiful with an extremely rich history, the food is great and the people are friendly!
- [My concerns with Youtube (it’s not the business model)](https://fabricegrinda.com/my-concerns-with-youtube-its-not-the-business-model/): I don’t worry too much about the business model for Youtube – after all it’s pretty clear they could be making a lot of money selling pre-roll or post-roll ads on the site. With 100 million daily videos served they could probably get a CPM of $1 on low quality content playing 10-15 second post-roll ads and much more than that on premium content. At $1 CPM that’s $36.5 million per year in revenues with 95%+ gross margin. At $10 CPM that would be $365 million making the acquisition price extremely reasonable.
- [Mobile Content: Bullish on the Market, Bearish on the Startups](https://fabricegrinda.com/mobile-content-bullish-on-the-market-bearish-on-the-startups/): I suppose I am better placed than most to evaluate the mobile content market having built and sold one of the premier mobile media companies in the U.S.
- [Moscow & Kiev](https://fabricegrinda.com/moscow-kiev/): I am off to Moscow and Kiev on business for 10 days. If any of you are there and/or have suggestions, let me know!
- [Top ten geek business myths](https://fabricegrinda.com/top-ten-geek-business-myths/): Ron Garret, an LA based venture capitalist, recently posted a hilarious and very true analysis of the top 10 tech entrepreneur myths:
- [The Departed is awesome](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-departed-is-awesome/): This is Martin Scorsese’s best movie in years. With an all star-cast that includes Jack Nicholson, Leonardo Di Caprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg and Martin Sheen, the movie was amazing. It builds such palpable tension that a mere phone call between two characters puts you on the edge of your seat. It’s dark and gloomy and feels so real and gritty. In case you need a reminder of why not to be an undercover cop or a criminal, this is it :)
- [Hollywoodland is good if a bit dark](https://fabricegrinda.com/hollywoodland-is-good-if-a-bit-dark/): I was pleasantly surprised if a bit shocked to see that Ben Affleck can actually act, showing sensitivity and vulnerability instead of being the invulnerable action pretty boy he usually plays. He may have just revived his career with this movie! Adrien Brody is great as always.
- [The Illusionist is great](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-illusionist-is-great/): I might be on the way to earning the reputation as the nicest amateur movie critic in the world – not a single negative review – but you need to realize this is due to selectiveness – I only see movies I think I will enjoy. Moreover, my standards are different from most critics – if I am entertained, I will give the movie a good review regardless of its cinematographic quality and plot intelligence.
- [The past, present and future of French Internet entrepreneurship!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-past-present-and-future-of-french-internet-entrepreneurship/): With apologies the French Internet Entrepreneurs I have not met yet.
- [Paris, je t’aime is amazing!](https://fabricegrinda.com/paris-je-taime-is-amazing/): This movie consists of a collection of 16 short films about life, love and love of Paris in Paris. It is well done and touching because it feels so real.
- [Lessons in life: the humbling transformation of Andre Agassi](https://fabricegrinda.com/lessons-in-life-the-humbling-transformation-of-andre-agassi/): I just read Gary Smith’s amazing mini-biography of Andre Agassi in Sports Illustrated. The story of his rise to the top, his fall and rebirth is fascinating and humbling. Few people are able to change fundamentally who they are and yet Agassi went from being the man who stood for “Image is everything” to the one who stands for “Humanity is everything.”
- [Red Doors is delightful](https://fabricegrinda.com/red-doors-is-delightful/): Red Doors is a dark comedy about a dysfunctional Chinese-American family coming of age in New York. The film has been described as American Beauty meets Joy Luck Club. The movie is agreeable and keeps you on edge by alternating between cheeky humor and darkness. If you live in New York, go see it! If not, I hope it will get a larger distribution soon!
- [Live long? Die young? The answer is not in your genes](https://fabricegrinda.com/live-long-die-young-the-answer-is-not-in-your-genes/): My last posting showed how deliberate practice overwhelms differences in natural ability to explain the success of top performers which led to the conclusion that you have to do what you love and love what you do!
- [A Star is Made](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-star-is-made/): If like me you loved the inquisitive mindset in Freakonomics where the authors ask numerous unrelated questions of how the world works, you will find the following article fascinating. Stephen Dubner and Stephen Levitt, the Freakonomics authors, start by analyzing the birth-month soccer anomaly to conclude that two people’s innate genetic differences in doing any task is often overwhelmed by how much practice each person had had at the given task.
- [The Long Tail](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-long-tail/): If you read this blog, chances are you know what the long tail is, but just in case, I felt like reiterating it.
- [The state of sleep research](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-state-of-sleep-research/): Recent developments in sleep research are extremely interesting. The two most interesting findings are on the importance of non-REM sleep in memory formation and studies on Modafinil and CX717 in promoting wakefulness and quality sleep.
- [Rent … unless you want to buy :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/rent-unless-you-want-to-buy/): However, very few people connect with those arguments and reiterate: “when I buy a house I am building equity” or “rent payments go down the drain, at least when I buy I am paying towards ownership of the house.” I will explain why those assertions are wrong.
- [Deathstyles of the Rich and Famous](https://fabricegrinda.com/deathstyles-of-the-rich-and-famous/): The recent Slate article on the deathstyles of the rich and famous is hilarious. I suppose, I found it all the more amusing as I am an adventure traveler who in the past 12 months explored the Sahara on foot, stayed with locals in Morocco, hiked, biked and rafted through Patagonia, ice climbed glaciers, snorkeled with sharks, explored Mayan ruins in Belize, extreme skied and snowmobiled in Jackson Hole and flew a balloon in Turkey. Oh, and did I mention I am learning to fly? :)
- [Miami Vice is dark, fast paced and fun](https://fabricegrinda.com/miami-vice-is-dark-fast-paced-and-fun/): I am usually not a fan of Colin Farrell, but I actually like him in this movie. The movie and gun battle never reach the heights of Heat, but is very enjoyable nonetheless. I am happy they did not resort to campy remakes with cameos, etc. and instead went with a completely new and dark story line.
- [The Video History of Amazon by Jeff Bezos](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-video-history-of-amazon-by-jeff-bezos/): In the video, Jeff presents the history of Amazon and its vision with lots of fun anecdotes. The one about the Bulgarian who sent a floppy disk with $200 in cash hidden inside of it with a note saying: “The money is in the floppy disk. Custom officials steal money but don’t read English” is priceless :)
- [Scoop is enjoyable light summer fare](https://fabricegrinda.com/scoop-is-enjoyable-light-summer-fare/): After the masterful Match Point, I was intrigued to see what Woody Allen would do for his next movie. I was slightly disappointed, but Scoop is nonetheless enjoyable light summer fare. Like Match Point, this is a murder mystery and Scarlett Johansson plays one of the main characters. This is where the similarity ends. While Match Point was a tense drama that kept you at the edge of your seat, Scoop has a tongue-in-cheek and frivolous tone. Every time the movie goes in investigative mood the music from Swan Lake goes on. It’s silly but cute. Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johansson act well. I am also happy to report that for once Woody Allen plays the father figure instead of the lead man. His jokes are a bit rehashed from his earlier works but still enjoyable. Go see it, you will be entertained.
- [I am almost ashamed to admit it, but I liked My Super Ex Girlfriend](https://fabricegrinda.com/i-am-almost-ashamed-to-admit-it-but-i-liked-my-super-ex-girlfriend/): I suppose it’s all a question of expectations. I was overworked and needed a bit of respite so I went to see the movie expecting it to be completely ridiculous and over the top. Guess what? It did not disappoint – it was even more ridiculous and over the top than I expected – and the stage was set from the very first scene. It’s completely predictable, but oh so much fun :)
- [Window to the future](https://fabricegrinda.com/window-to-the-future/): People are notoriously bad at predicting the future further than a few years down the line. We think geometrically and have a really hard time dealing with exponential growth. As a result it’s hard for us to imagine what the future will be like in 25 years with the continued doubling of processor power every 18 months.
- [Electrify your brain](https://fabricegrinda.com/electrify-your-brain/): You can read the full article in New Scientist at: http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/mg19025471.100-electrify-your-mind--literally.html
- [Parkinson’s law is so true!](https://fabricegrinda.com/parkinsons-law-is-so-true/): Parkinson's Law states that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”
- [I’m back :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/im-back/): I am not back to the U.S. yet – I probably won’t be back for another month as this business trip keeps getting extended – but I am back to blogging :) Not that I ran out of things to say – quite the contrary – but I got so busy with work that I no longer had time to blog. To give you a foretaste of what’s to come, upcoming posts will cover how Chinese farmers are funding U.S. consumption, travel recommendations for Turkey, discussions on renting versus owning, the state of the U.S. economy and the usual posts on movie and book reviews.
- [A more sophisticated take on nature vs. nurture](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-more-sophisticated-take-on-nature-vs-nurture/): http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/23/magazine/23wwln_idealab.html?pagewanted=all
- [Yet Another Entrepreneurship Quote](https://fabricegrinda.com/yet-another-entrepreneurship-quote/): "An entrepreneur to me just means someone who thinks out of the box and they're on a different beam. 1 + 1 doesn't equal 2. 1 + 1 equals 5 to them somehow."
Michael Crooke, President & CEO, Patagonia, Inc.
- [Bad government policy, poverty and Kirchner’s folly!](https://fabricegrinda.com/bad-government-policy-poverty-and-kirchners-folly/): According to an OECD report bad governance is the number 1 cause of poverty around the world – further reinforcing my analysis that governments rarely help the people they supposedly serve and can often cause terrible damage.
- [It pays to be lucky – part 2](https://fabricegrinda.com/it-pays-to-be-lucky-part-2/): As I mentioned in a previous post, I had gotten lucky once as a company I had helped in its early days ended up going public and doing very well.
- [The Devil Wears Prada is delightful](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-devil-wears-prada-is-delightful/): The movie is a lot of fun, light hearted and entertaining – just as expected. Meryl Streep is as amazing as usual. Very enjoyable summer fare!
- [The world needs Superman!](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-world-needs-superman/): In this post-modern globalized world where everything seems to be in shades of grey, it’s easy to wonder whether Superman – and his invulnerability, perfection and undeterred optimism - still has any appeal. Having seen the movie last night, I can answer with a resounding yes!
- [Narcissistic Leaders: The Incredible Pros, The Inevitable Cons](https://fabricegrinda.com/narcissistic-leaders-the-incredible-pros-the-inevitable-cons/): I thought many of you would enjoy the irony of my posting this :)
- [And then there were 8 business selection criteria!](https://fabricegrinda.com/and-then-there-were-8-business-selection-criteria/): A few months ago I wrote about my 9 business selection criteria for evaluating business ideas. After some deliberation, I have decided to relax the selection process. Specifically, as long as the idea has massive mass market appeal, I am now willing to start businesses where the business model may not be clear and understood from the get go.
- [Marley and Me is fun, very touching and a must read for dog lovers!](https://fabricegrinda.com/marley-and-me-is-fun-very-touching-and-a-must-read-for-dog-lovers/): This is a must read for all dog lovers and owners – especially, if like me, you have a large crazy yellow lab retriever who might very well take over Marley’s title as the world’s worst dog :)
- [OLX Launch Debrief](https://fabricegrinda.com/olx-launch-debrief/): OLX aspires to become the leading free local classified site on a global level. The company was created in March 2006, the site launch announced on this blog on April 1, 2006 and we started marketing it in May 2006.
- [The Psychology of Happiness](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-psychology-of-happiness/): I recently came across an amazing article on happiness. It is well researched, written and presented. Interestingly, maybe even ironically, it is written by analysts at an investment bank!
- [Allmydata Update](https://fabricegrinda.com/allmydata-update/): Allmydata is an online virtual drive with backup, storage and sharing services.
- [Hypomanics to the rescue :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/hypomanics-to-the-rescue/): “Hypomania is a mild form of mania, often found in the relatives of manic depressives. Hypomanics are brimming with infectious energy, irrational confidence and really big ideas. They think, talk, move and make decisions quickly. Anyone who slows them down with questions “just doesn’t get it.” Hypomanics are not crazy, but “normal” is not the first word that comes to mind when describing them. Hypomanics live on the edge, between normal and abnormal.”
- [Speaking of The Economist](https://fabricegrinda.com/speaking-of-the-economist/): I think many people don’t realize how funny it actually is. Their closing sentences for most articles are usually very sarcastic and they use a very ironic tone in many articles.
- [In praise of The Economist](https://fabricegrinda.com/in-praise-of-the-economist/): Economist readers are easily recognized as they often talk about events happening in Eritrea, Uganda and other locales largely ignored by the traditional press. It’s actually somewhat amusing to see two people talking about a topic for which their only source material was the same magazine :)
- [Russian Dolls (Les Poupées Russes) is great, light hearted fun!](https://fabricegrinda.com/russian-dolls-les-poupees-russes-is-great-light-hearted-fun/): This is the rare sequel that much surpasses the original. L’Auberge Espanole was ok, but confusing and not that much fun. Russian Dolls’ exploration of life and love for the 20 and 30 something in Europe today is both charming and greatly entertaining. Highly recommended!
- [X-Men III is entertaining but ultimately disappointing](https://fabricegrinda.com/x-men-iii-is-entertaining-but-ultimately-disappointing/): Ah, the problem of high expectations… I may have liked the Da Vinci code more than it deserved to be as I had low expectations in light of all the bad reviews on Rottentomatoes.com. For X-Men III the trailer was so good and the reviews so glowing that I was eagerly awaiting the movie. Surprisingly, I did not connect to the characters as well as I had in the previous movies – possibly because the plot surrounding the cure overwhelmed the rest of the story line. It’s all the more surprising as the writers took more creative liberties than I would have expected by killing off or disabling several of the main characters (though maybe not forever in light of the last scene and the short clip after the credits are played). Ultimately the movie is entertaining, but not as good as the first two installments.
- [The Da Vinci Code is entertaining despite all the negative reviews](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-da-vinci-code-is-entertaining-despite-all-the-negative-reviews/): Yes the pace is a bit slow at the beginning, yes Audrey Tautou and Tom Hanks are terribly miscast (I would much have preferred Clive Owen, Matthew Fox – the Lost lead, a younger Harrison Ford or Pierce Brosman or an older Christian Bale), but ultimately the experience is satisfying. Ian McKellen is brilliant. The dialogues are good and the movie is faithful to the book. I can’t wait to see the movie adaptation of Angels & Demons!
- [The Hardest Lesson for Startups to Learn](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-hardest-lesson-for-startups-to-learn/): Paul Graham, an essayist, programmer and programming language designer, just wrote a very interesting essay on the hardest lesson for startups to learn. You can read the entire essay here.
- [Startup Kit](https://fabricegrinda.com/startup-kit/): You have a brilliant idea for a product and may even have found the technical resources to build it. You are almost ready to get going – now you need to create a company.
- [More Great Quotes](https://fabricegrinda.com/more-great-quotes/): Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.
Joel A. Barker A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success.
Bo Bennett Business opportunities are like buses, there's always another one coming.
Richard Branson I believe in benevolent dictatorship provided I am the dictator.
Richard Branson Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.
Les Brown Every failure, obstacle or hardship is an opportunity in disguise. Success in many cases is failure turned inside out. The greatest pollution problem we face today is negativity. Eliminate the negative attitude and believe you can do anything. Replace 'if I can, I hope, maybe' with 'I can, I will, I must.'
Mary Kay Ash
- [The power of gestalt](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-power-of-gestalt/): I am a big believer in gestalt. A gestalt is what you get when you absorb varying and often seemingly unrelated tidbits of information and then take a leap beyond the pattern that emerges. The important point is this: no individual bits of information or any combination can adequately describe the final conclusion. The gestalt is by definition greater than the whole.
- [Padel: the future of tennis?](https://fabricegrinda.com/padel-the-future-of-tennis/): While traveling in Argentina and Spain, I came across an amazingly fun racquet sport called padel. Not to be confused with the American paddle or platform tennis, this fast paced game is a mixture of tennis and racquetball and mostly played in doubles. It’s a lot easier to pick-up than tennis, requires a smaller area and costs only $25,000 to install a court. Most importantly, while in a tennis match only a few points are truly intense and fun in an entire set, with well balanced teams every point is heavily disputed in padel!
- [Mission Impossible III is tons of fun](https://fabricegrinda.com/mission-impossible-iii-is-tons-of-fun/): It’s fast paced and tense. Philip Seymor Hoffman makes a surprisingly effective villain and, whatever you may think of him, Tom Cruise is the perfect actor for the part. The movie is a bit predictable and the second half and a little more conventional and slow paced than the first half, but overall the movie is great fun – the best in the series so far by far!
- [Match Point is riveting](https://fabricegrinda.com/match-point-is-riveting/): This most un-Woody Allenesque of Woody Allen movie is gripping. I was at the edge of my seat the entire second half of the movie wondering what was going to happen. To be seen by all regardless of whether you are a Woody Allen fan or not!
- [Belize: the next Costa Rica](https://fabricegrinda.com/belize-the-next-costa-rica/): In many ways Belize reminds me of Costa Rica 15 years ago when it was only known by adventure travelers. Since then Costa Rica has been fully developed – you can’t find a tract of land greater than 1,000 acres. That said Costa Rica has retained most of its charm and still ranks as one of my favorite destinations in the world.
- [Thank You for Smoking is great!](https://fabricegrinda.com/thank-you-for-smoking-is-great/): I have been waiting for a long time for such a politically incorrect movie. I laughed out loud the entire movie! Great dialogues and tons of fun – go see it!
- [Inside Man is slick!](https://fabricegrinda.com/inside-man-is-slick/): The premise did not seem that appealing and the previews were not very good, but it’s actually a great movie. It’s well written, fast paced, well acted and tons of fun. Clive Owens is awesome in this movie. I guessed what was being stolen in the bank in the first few minutes of the movie, but it did not matter, I enjoyed the ride all the way! Highly recommended.
- [Communication Philosophy: Part 2](https://fabricegrinda.com/communication-philosophy-part-2/): In my previous post on the topic, I decided I was going to speak more openly about what I am actively doing. Recently, I found myself venturing off the topic of entrepreneurship as I talked about labor reform in France and immigration in the U.S.
- [More Great Entrepreneurship Quotes](https://fabricegrinda.com/more-great-entrepreneurship-quotes/): The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity.
Peter F. Drucker I wanted to be an editor or a journalist, I wasn't really interested in being an entrepreneur, but I soon found I had to become an entrepreneur in order to keep my magazine going.
Richard Branson When I finished school, I took my entire life savings - $5,000 - and invested it in a business. I was young. I was inexperienced. But I was an entrepreneur, and I was proud. And in six weeks, I was broke.
Mark Warner My success was due to good luck, hard work, and support and advice from friends and mentors. But most importantly, it depended on me to keep trying after I had failed.
Mark Warner
- [Immigration and the lump of labor fallacy](https://fabricegrinda.com/immigration-and-the-lump-of-labor-fallacy/): I have been appalled recently by the low quality of the debate on immigration from politicians throughout the political spectrum. Immigration defenders have claimed that immigrants do jobs Americans don’t – as if cities with few immigrants did not have garbage men. Immigration critics have said that immigrants steal American jobs. They seem to believe that the number of jobs in the economy is fixed and that one person must be getting the job at the expense of the other.
- [Great Quote!](https://fabricegrinda.com/great-quote/): Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage.
Niccolo Machiavelli
- [The cat is out of the bag, the curtains have been pulled :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-cat-is-out-of-the-bag-the-curtains-have-been-pulled/): As made explicit by my April 1 “press releases,” I am now co-CEO of OLX (www.olx.com) and Chairman of Allmydata.
- [Allmydata Announces Worldwide Predictive Data Storage and Partnerships with Google, Dell and Microsoft](https://fabricegrinda.com/allmydata-announces-worldwide-predictive-data-storage-and-partnerships-with-google-dell-and-microsoft/): "By continually enhancing your data stored on the G-drive, Google-search will provide users with new documents instantly and seamlessly from anywhere" said Google's founder Sergey Brin. "Making the consumer and business user's life easier is always at the forefront of our minds. By not only providing worldwide access to your data, but actually providing more data itself, Microsoft takes storage and retrieval to a new level and removes the need for user input altogether." said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. "We have painstakingly researched millions of users and their documents, images, and videos. Our patented algorithms of data generation are statistically proved to match the user's next step, whether it is giving you the next picture you were about to take, touching up your Monday Powerpoint presentation for you, or just drafting a quick email to your mom, Allmydata aims to make data storage and retrieval safe, reliable, and worry-free." said Allmydata CTO Peter Secor from an undisclosed location.
- [OLX acquires eBay and Craigslist](https://fabricegrinda.com/olx-acquires-ebay-and-craigslist/): NEW YORK - Apr. 1, 2006 - OLX, the new leader in online classifieds and auctions, announced today that it acquired eBay and Craigslist.
- [France or the Imaginary World :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/france-or-the-imaginary-world/): There is something highly ironic about seeing hundreds of thousands of students in France demonstrate against the CPE “contrat de première embauche”, a more flexible labor contract for those under the age of 26 with more flexible redundancy rules for two years after which full job protection kicks in.
- [Entrepreneurs or the invisible men of the economy!](https://fabricegrinda.com/entrepreneurs-or-the-invisible-men-of-the-economy/): As an economist at heart and by training, I found the following article in The Economist fascinating as economists are finally starting to measure to value of entrepreneurs.
- [DineroMail or starting to pull back the curtain](https://fabricegrinda.com/dineromail-or-starting-to-pull-back-the-curtain/): While summarizing my trip in Argentina in January, I did not mention that I spent 10 days in Buenos Aires investing in one company and building the tech team for another.
- [Time Allocation Philosophy](https://fabricegrinda.com/time-allocation-philosophy/): Life is essentially a large prioritization exercise – how much time you allocate to work, your significant other, your friends, your family, etc. Even within companies as there is only so much a team can do, a manager’s single most important task may be setting the right priorities for the people reporting to him.
- [Communication Philosophy](https://fabricegrinda.com/communication-philosophy/): To date, I have not really talked about what I am working on – partly because I was figuring it out and partly because I felt it was better to have something substantive to talk about before going public with an idea – e.g.; a product launch. However, as the community can bring significant value in shaping the products and ideas, I have decided to change that philosophy and will shortly start describing what I have been up to in the past few months - other than traveling for fun :)
- [California Calling](https://fabricegrinda.com/california-calling/): I spent the past two weeks in the Bay Area. I am happy to report that the spirit of entrepreneurship is alive and well. I mostly met new startups that were just getting off the ground and was fascinated by the passion, intelligence and vision of all the entrepreneurs I met.
- [Sometimes it pays to be lucky!](https://fabricegrinda.com/sometimes-it-pays-to-be-lucky/): My Chinese Internet stocks are also doing extremely well so I guess I am currently batting 1.00 in Internet investments. Sometimes it pays to be lucky!
- [In Praise of Premium Services](https://fabricegrinda.com/in-praise-of-premium-services/): The point I am making is that there is a market for premium services. In certain markets, charging improves quality. Listing fees decrease the amount of "junk" items on eBay. By charging, Match eliminates all the people who think finding the right date is not worth $24.95 per month. More importantly, there are many markets where charging allows the sites to provide a much improved quality of service.
- [The Power of Introspection and Detached Analysis](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-power-of-introspection-and-detached-analysis/): The very act of writing down the options helps me think through them. I rarely reach the right conclusion while writing the e-mail to myself, but usually find it a few weeks later – sometimes after using the e-mail as a discussion tool with my close friends and trusted advisors.
- [Entrepreneurship: The Game](https://fabricegrinda.com/entrepreneurship-the-game/): As a champion of entrepreneurship, I can only applaud the charitable Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, headed by Carl Schramm, which gives away $70 million per year to promote entrepreneurship around the world.
- [Two more interesting quotes…](https://fabricegrinda.com/two-more-interesting-quotes/): Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.
Oscar Wilde The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius.
Oscar Wilde
- [Moments (incorrectly) attributed to Jorge Luis BorgesMoments (incorrectly) attributed to Jorge Luis BorgesMoments (incorrectly) attributed to Jorge Luis Borges](https://fabricegrinda.com/moments-by-jorge-luis-borges/): Moments
- [A Eulogy to Rong Yiren](https://fabricegrinda.com/a-eulogy-to-rong-yiren/): While I never knew him, I would much have liked to. Rong Yiren was a true entrepreneur. Rong’s family had created one of the largest businesses in China. When his family fled from China in 1949 as the communists took it over, Rong stayed to run the 24 flour mills, and various dyeing, printing and textile factories he owned employing some 80,000 people. He presented himself as a patriotic capitalist who had remained to help China end its poverty. He astutely handed over large stakes in his family’s business in exchange for becoming the vice-mayor of Shanghai and in 1959 vice-minister for the textile industry. He used his guanxi, or personal connections, to survive the Cultural Revolution. His companies were confiscated and he was reduced to doing medial work, but his connections shielded him from further terror.
- [Patagonia](https://fabricegrinda.com/patagonia/): One cannot but be in awe at the amazing beauty and diversity of Patagonia. From the Perito Moreno Glacier near Calafate to the “Seven Lakes” of Bariloche, Patagonia offers an incredibly rich and diverse scenery and ecology.
- [Investment Banking Fees](https://fabricegrinda.com/investment-banking-fees/): My post praising the value of investment bankers led to a number of e-mails asking for the parameters for investment banking fees for M&A. Here is the retail M&A price list from a first tier investment bank:
- [Morocco](https://fabricegrinda.com/morocco/): My trip to Morocco was magnificent. There was palpable energy in the air and the attitude of many of the people in the street reminded me of China in 1994!
- [In Praise of Investment Bankers](https://fabricegrinda.com/in-praise-of-investment-bankers/): Investment bankers have often decried as adding little value and adding complexity to otherwise simple sale processes. I strongly disagree.
- [Fund Raising 101](https://fabricegrinda.com/fund-raising-101/): Looking back, I realize how little I really knew about fund raising when I started Aucland. It seemed to me all you had to do was write an amazing business plan, send it to a VC, organize a management presentation, do a brilliant job and all your problems were going to be solved. How little did I know :)
- [St. Moritz](https://fabricegrinda.com/st-moritz/): After a few more meetings with entrepreneurs in Paris including Fotovista (500 million euros in revenues!), oodrive and esearchvision, it was time to take a few days off for a real vacation. I headed to St. Moritz for 3 days to take advantage of the abundant snow that had already fallen.
- [Inspiring Quotes](https://fabricegrinda.com/inspiring-quotes/): I recently came across an amazing site – BrainyQuote.com - with quotes from thousands of people from all walks of life. Here are a select few I often turn to when in need of inspiration:
- [Advertising Creativity](https://fabricegrinda.com/advertising-creativity/): I have always been in awe of creativity in advertising. The first ad that profoundly moved me was Apple’s 1984 Think Different ad. While at Aucland, I did my best to provide creative freedom to our advertising team at CLM/BBDO. They ended up creating an amazing ad that was both creative – so much so that it won the Silver Lion in Cannes in 2000 - and commercially successful.
- [Entrepreneurs Everywhere :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/entrepreneurs-everywhere/): The guiding theme of my current vacation is to meet entrepreneurs from the world over. As my travels take me from New York to Paris, London or even Buenos Aires, I am meeting entrepreneurs to hear their stories, aspirations, dreams and be inspired by their passion.
- [If it’s in the press it must be official :)](https://fabricegrinda.com/if-its-in-the-press-it-must-be-official/): The founder of one of the best-known players in the high-flying ringtone business has left the company he started. Fabrice Grinda, who started mobile-content company Zingy in 2001 and sold it to Japan- based For-Side.com last year, left the company on Wednesday. Chief Operating Officer Andy Volanakis is serving as interim chief executive.
- [Inspiring Speeches](https://fabricegrinda.com/inspiring-speeches/): I suppose the concept of inspiring people through great oration is particularly appealing to me and when I am in need of inspiration I turn to reading or listening to amazing speeches.
- [International Idea Arbitrage](https://fabricegrinda.com/international-idea-arbitrage/): An international idea arbitrage is a concept I coined in the mid-1990s (apologies in advance to whomever might have said it before me). It’s the concept of taking an idea from one country and duplicating it and adapting it to another country.
- [9 Business Selection Criteria](https://fabricegrinda.com/9-business-selection-criteria/): As I am entering a new stage of my life, the time has come to pull from my shelf my trusty old 9 business selection criteria.
- [The End of a Journey, the Beginning of a New One](https://fabricegrinda.com/the-end-of-a-journey-the-beginning-of-a-new-one/): Over the past four and half years, I have had the pleasure to share a wonderful journey with all of you. Thanks to your passion, dedication, grit, commitment, tenacity, and to some sheer luck, we have succeeded where many have failed. I am indebted to all of you for this wonderful experience, and I am proud to have been part of this remarkable team.

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