Thor’s Well, Oregon
Looking Back: How Did I End Up at Opendoor?
It’s been almost 2 years since I joined Opendoor and what an incredible ride it’s been. Looking at my notes from Nov-Dec’16, here’s the story. Starting things is my default, whether it was thinking about how to capitalize on the fish wire craze in middle school or starting companies with friends after college. So… Continue reading Looking Back: How Did I End Up at Opendoor?
Transparency at Startups: My Experience at Opendoor
When on vacation a few weeks ago I was reflecting on what are some things I love about Opendoor and Transparency as a value rose to the top. Transparency has always seemed like one of those things that’s a no-brainer to follow and I'm grateful to see the steps we’ve taken at Opendoor to put… Continue reading Transparency at Startups: My Experience at Opendoor
BCC Protection
At Opendoor, there’s a healthy default towards transparency. While we are a Slack-heavy company, we still use email a good amount--especially for communicating with external parties. However, email and transparency aren’t something that goes hand-in-hand, unless you’re Stripe I II. Luckily, BCC can be used to build openness and keeping relevant internal parties in the loop… Continue reading BCC Protection
DBX’s S-1: Bottom’s Up SaaS
The first companies that come to mind as one thinks about users as the gateway into an organization are Dropbox and Slack. While their individual mechanics are different, they’re very good at getting users to join orgs that then pay. In addition to building a 10x better product, they have the strong brand & community… Continue reading DBX’s S-1: Bottom’s Up SaaS
Keyboard Shortcuts: The Blue Bubbles of Apps & Websites
iMessage is a default messaging service on top of SMS on the iPhone where your messages to a sender appear in blue bubbles as long as the other person has an iPhone (yes, even if you don’t sign into your iCloud). If you message a sender who doesn’t have one, DISASTER occurs--your messages are now in… Continue reading Keyboard Shortcuts: The Blue Bubbles of Apps & Websites
Catching Up Doesn’t Have To Suck
One of the hardest things for me to do is playing catch up. This doesn’t refer to something new that I am curious about or want to become good at--it’s about catching up on things that I used to be good at or something I have lost momentum on. I have always felt a… Continue reading Catching Up Doesn’t Have To Suck
Experience of the Week: Wells Fargo Card-Free ATM
A few weeks ago, I saw an interesting billboard by Wells Fargo near one of the first few exit ramps of the freeway after crossing into San Francisco via the Bay Bridge. The billboard illustrated Wells Fargo's latest consumer experience/offering - Card Free ATM Access. I was excited because this was one of those product ideas… Continue reading Experience of the Week: Wells Fargo Card-Free ATM
What If You Had Bought $AAPL instead of Apple?
I could barely sleep last night so I decided to head to my desk and do a fun project: How much money would you have today if you had purchased the $AAPL stock instead of buying the Apple Product? I do recognize the bias of picking the company that has generated the more shareholder value… Continue reading What If You Had Bought $AAPL instead of Apple?
Experiment: Personal Finance
Congratulations to some startup at Battery and Pine on the new round. — Parker Thompson (@pt) September 3, 2016 There were some really fun/good replies to this tweet that was referring to how recently funded startups but super expensive chairs. The one reply that stood out to me was a link to this post written by Tren… Continue reading Experiment: Personal Finance
Not In Control
In the world of startups and entrepreneurship, we, almost religiously, believe that if we work hard, work with talented people, and get traction, then we'll come out "victorious". Given the general optimistic nature of being a founder, when looking forward, we tend to brush the uncertainty under the rug and assume that outcomes are fully in our… Continue reading Not In Control
Early Stage Startup Recruiting
Last September, I had the opportunity of spending a few hours with a family friend who had been in the banking industry for over twenty years. I think I met him a once growing up but this particular trip to New York allowed me to spend quality one-on-one time with him. He shared lots of… Continue reading Early Stage Startup Recruiting
Bruin Entrepreneurs: Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
Two night ago, I attended the 2nd UCLA Student + Alumni Entrepreneurs Dinner. Last time I was here, a year ago, the event was my baby at Bruin Entrepreneurs for which we had raised some money from, the ever supporting, UCLA VC Fund, to host! The only difference was this year, I was back as… Continue reading Bruin Entrepreneurs: Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
Selling Textbooks at UCLA
Earlier today, I tried to sell a few textbooks that had been lying on my desk to see if I could make a few bucks for them before I move up to Mountain View. The process turned out to be harder than I expected. Given, the incentives of the system don't encourage reselling of books… Continue reading Selling Textbooks at UCLA
Learning From Passes
Diagram. 1 In the last year, I have been quite lucky to have had the opportunity to spend time being on the VC side and the startup side. Particularly, learning about the other side when not being in that role! However, while it is definitely too early to say that I can view things from both… Continue reading Learning From Passes
