Articles by: Yung Wu

OpEd: A lesson from Canada: Startups can lead the economic recovery | VentureBeat

OpEd: A lesson from Canada: Startups can lead the economic recovery | VentureBeat

Yung Wu OpEd VentureBeat Big Tech has generally done well in this pandemic. Zoom, Slack, Netflix, Amazon – these are the COVID economy’s big winners. But the experience for startup tech companies, on the other hand, has been altogether different. Venture capital is drying up. Silicon Valley companies have laid off thousands of workers in a reckoning The New York […]

by × June 24, 2020 × 0 comments
Anti-Black and Systemic racism – the need for change

Anti-Black and Systemic racism – the need for change

For weeks, we’ve been grappling with a pandemic — one of the greatest health challenges humanity has ever faced. Now we are being pulled into historic political challenges, too. Many people in our community are grappling with racism, inequality and a lack of diversity and inclusion. It’s vitally important that we raise these issues with our kids, our friends and […]

by × June 3, 2020 × 0 comments
Vintage illustration of an 'electronic car of tomorrow' driving on a city highway, with electronic display and guidance, 1950s. Screen print. (Illustration by GraphicaArtis/Getty Images)

OpEd: Cities must plan ahead for innovation without leaving people behind | TechCrunch

Transparency, data privacy and collaboration are critical to urban innovation Yung Wu OpEd (TechCrunch)  8:30 pm EDT•July 21, 2019 From Toronto to Tokyo, the challenges faced by cities today are often remarkably similar: climate change, rising housing costs, traffic, economic polarization, unemployment. To tackle these problems, new technology companies and industries have been sprouting and scaling up with innovative digital solutions […]

by × July 21, 2019 × 0 comments
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