Articles by: Yung Wu

OpEd: Talent will determine the world’s next tech investment hubs | VentureBeat

OpEd: Talent will determine the world’s next tech investment hubs | VentureBeat

Image Credit: Shutterstock Yung Wu OpEd VentureBeat August 29 2018 For years, Silicon Valley wasn’t the main place many venture capitalists looked for deals — it was the only place. But the Bay Area is beginning to lose its once vice-like grip on talented workers, and its startup investment market is looking dangerously overheated. Now VCs are lifting their gaze from California and […]

by × August 29, 2018 × 0 comments
Is Venture Capital right for you?

Is Venture Capital right for you?

I often get asked about the venture financing process by entrepreneurs who are seeking venture funding for their companies.  And the thing that I always emphasize is that venture financing IS NOT for everyone.  Depending on the entrepreneur and the stage of the business, sources of financing can include family, friends, banks, angel investors, vendors, customers, strategic partners, venture debt […]

by × April 13, 2015 × 0 comments
Parsing the Venture landscape

Parsing the Venture landscape

I have been searching for a practical breakdown of the various sources for venture capital, in a way that can be easily digested by typical entrepreneurs as they navigate through each of the major breakpoints in the life cycle of their ventures.  This post by Manu Kumar from K9 Ventures, probably does the best job I’ve seen of making this […]

by × March 13, 2015 × 0 comments
Dying professor’s words to live by …

Dying professor’s words to live by …

I’m just back from dinner with three very close friends, KenP, PeterT and PeterC, in a sort of “guys night out” evening. Over drinks, we started talking about various inspiring experiences that might be relevant to entrepreneurs who are out there, fighting the good fight, and they pointed me towards this “last lecture” by Dr. Randy Pausch, a Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie-Mellon, who is dying of pancreatic cancer

by × May 15, 2014 × 5 comments
The fallacy of the BIG IDEA …

The fallacy of the BIG IDEA …

On many occasions, I’ve been approached by friends, associates, acquaintances, who want to know what the “secret sauce” is for building a great business. Most of the time, the questions center around “how do I come up with the one, big idea?”. I’ve come to the conclusion that most people who think that they would like to become entrepreneurs, don’t end up doing so because they waste so much

by × April 20, 2014 × 0 comments
Here Is What Is

Here Is What Is

Entrepreneurs are different–people who see possibilities where others see limitations. But best ideas seldom win, and paraphrasing my friend Daniel Lanois in his film “Here is What is”, people would be surprised how much Creativity comes from Shit. Put into the context of how startups evolve into successful companies, it has become clear to me that the key to later […]

by × February 26, 2014 × 0 comments
Plan for the Worst … Hope for the Best !!

Plan for the Worst … Hope for the Best !!

Most entrepreneurs that I have met have the innate gift of being able to “Hope for the best”, to suspend disbelief and to trust in their personal ability to build successes out of their ideas. Their belief in their ability to turn “perceived limitations” into “enabled possibilities” is a key trait that fuels entrepreneurs to travel where others fear to […]

by × January 29, 2014 × 0 comments
Enterprise innovation cycle (the next “wave” on a Rising Tide)

Enterprise innovation cycle (the next “wave” on a Rising Tide)

Most Enterprises have taken their medicine over the past 4 years, since the big crash of 2008, and don’t have much more room to optimize performance through cuts and austerity measures alone. Our bets are that Enterprises are cautiously and selectively starting to explore CAPX and strategic investments — especially in areas that can drive customer acquisition and growth. New […]

by × August 26, 2011 × 0 comments
Long live entrepreneurs !!!

Long live entrepreneurs !!!

Perhaps a contrary point of view, but I believe that the current market and economic turmoil makes it a very exciting time to be an entrepreneur and to bet on entrepreneurs, and will eventually be quite beneficial to their businesses. Gone are the days, especially in the B2B environment, when customers can afford to ignore a “better mousetrap” (especially where they drive in-year cost reductions or productivity improvements), or make

by × April 14, 2011 × 8 comments
NFQ Entrepreneur’s Playbook

NFQ Entrepreneur’s Playbook

We hold these truths to be self-evident” — well maybe in the case of the US Declaration of Independence, but not necessarily in the case of what it takes to start, build and scale-up companies to reach critical mass.  Why is it that in most cases, that entrepreneurs that found companies rarely make the transformation into being the CEOs that grow the enterprises to critical mass?  Or that so many start-ups fail, after tremendous initial growth?  After going

by × January 14, 2011 × 2 comments