A few thoughts

Thinking about COVID-19

What if under 30 people start self-quratining at home prior to even getting tested?

$5k Angel Investments: Uber Seed

Yes, $5k checks existed even on Uber’s cap table.

For some time there have been Indian companies building SaaS products and selling it across the world (Zoho/Freshworks/etc.) but we’re now starting to see global companies thinking about how to sell and price their products in India. While India’s nowhere near the next top destination for selling SaaS in terms of short-term revenue opportunities, rough…… Continue reading Crossborder SaaS

Switching from Audible to Scribd…^ Some Links Related to Audio

When somebody mentions “audiobook” there’s a high probability you’d probably think of the Amazon-owned entity, “Audible”. I, too, did for the longest time. I didn’t even think anyone else offered audiobooks. Plus, I’ve been on an Audible annual subscription for about two years now. Tweeting on something related to this, Jackson tweeted back basically saying:…… Continue reading Switching from Audible to Scribd…^ Some Links Related to Audio

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…… 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

Product 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 Product 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 Griffin…… Continue reading Experiment: Personal Finance

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

Category: A few thoughts