Bloomberg TV Appearance

Yesterday, I did a fireside chat with my friend David Kirkpatrick at his Techonomy Conference in NYC. On my way out, a Bloomberg camera crew asked me if I would talk with Emily Chang and I did, for about ten minutes. It aired yesterday evening.

Here it is:

#VC & Technology

Comments (Archived):

  1. JimHirshfield

    That Trump question seemed totally out of place/context.

    1. jason wright

      they’re obsessed.

    2. Mark Date

      Agreed – Emily certainly threw a few ‘banana-skins’ in there….which Fred deftly avoided!

    3. LE

      Fred does the interview for marketing purposes. A 9 minute commercial. Not because it’s a favor for Bloomberg TV. Not to help them out. Not because he is friends with John Heilemann https://twitter.com/jheil [1]Bloomberg is televising Fred to sell advertising. Not to make Fred feel comfortable or to be fair or what not.If there are no ground rules set in advance, then they are free to make the interview as interesting as possible for their audience. It’s reality tv. It’s fair game.[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wi… – I just had this idea. Twitter should embark on a mass campaign to embed twitter handles in wikipedia profiles. Getting it into the top portion where the other bio info is….https://uploads.disquscdn.c

    4. JLM

      .Really? I can’t imagine an interviewer today not asking at least one Trump question.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

    5. JamesHRH

      I’m w @JLM – every public figure should likely be asked “how does Trump affect what you do?’He’s historically significant, regardless of what becomes of his Presidency.

      1. JLM

        .He’s the flavor of the day and he’s got a thumb on the scale. The impact on energy, coal, lumber, steel, the military-industrial complex, homebuilding is just beginning, but it is going to be huuuuuuuuuge.He has Canada, Mexico at the table to re-cut the NAFTA deal. Just think about that. He sticks a tariff on Canadian lumber and the furor lasts for 2 days.Why?Because the only customer for Canadian lumber is American homebuilding which is accelerating. He told the Canadians — yeah, contemplate being in the lumber biz with no American market. I dare you.He has China understanding that trade and North Korea are connected.He will move the needle on the economy.I don’t think GDP just magically jumps to 4% as the absolute number is so big, but there is damn sure a chance which did not exist six months ago.Now is the time to be long long.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

        1. JamesHRH

          I agree with the Flavour of the Day comment.When Obama was in charge and enacting his policies, surely asking ‘How does _____ or Obamacare affect your business?’ was a valid question for public figures…..

  2. Chimpwithcans

    Your blog seems like an excellent aid for handling pressurised live interviews like this. The consistency of thoughts and ideas from the blog to the interview is cool. Great stuff. Stupid Trump question well handled.

    1. fredwilson

      Thanks

      1. Jim Peterson

        Yes. Straight shooting answers. Any cryptic answers given got the point across loud and clear- no dribbling on needed. Thanks for what you do.

    2. JamesHRH

      Trump question not stupid.Trump exists, just like FB, whether you like him or not.Both impact the culture and the business ecosystem.Fred’s choice to ignore them is obviously totally valid….but its still a good question, even just for the fact that it prompted such an interesting answer.

      1. Chimpwithcans

        Fair enough, he exists. Question just seemed out of context, and stood out from the rest of the interview – which was more interesting and relevant to Fred, imo.

  3. Vendita Auto

    Liking the quick fire replies only possible when one is honest refreshing to see, you do look tired though

    1. JimHirshfield

      I thought the short answers were a sign of impatience. Like, “is she REALLY asking me this?”

      1. Vendita Auto

        Clearly the diplomatic corpe is not your calling : )

        1. pointsnfigures

          Diplomats should be more like this.

          1. awaldstein

            dream on my friend,

          2. Pointsandfigures

            I never think they will-but it would be nice if they did. When I was on the trading floor, seconds counted. Believe it or not, responses were shorter than Fred’s. But, honest like Fred. You knew exactly where everyone stood. I like that but it doesn’t work in the real world and comes off as abrupt or brusque.

          3. awaldstein

            communications is a complex business outside of basic commands and instructions.

      2. fredwilson

        Not really. I just thought I could answer them crisply and concisely

        1. JimHirshfield

          Yes

        2. JamesHRH

          That’s how I read it – ‘How can I answer this in as few words as possible?’PR 101, BTW.

    2. fredwilson

      I am slightly sick and slightly exhausted.

      1. Vendita Auto

        Digging into the core energy leaves the immune system down warning Will Robinson

      2. JimHirshfield

        Yet, ever so crisp and concise. 😉

      3. Lawrence Brass

        time.sleep(more)

      4. jason wright

        you look it, and more than slightly. seriously, you should take a break and/ or do something to tweak your regime. it’s obviously not agreeing with you at the moment. knackered, as we say in England.how about a bike you can take wherever you go;https://ritcheylogic.com/br…or the swanky carbon version;https://ritcheylogic.com/br…you might have to sell some of your ether stash to finance it, but at this stage in your career what’s now more important, your wealth or your health? really dude…..gyms are for rats.

        1. fredwilson

          i am taking the month of June offmakes for a busy May though

  4. Simon Edhouse

    very bold prediction about Ethereum.. might come to pass, unless another major vulnerability is found, which is probably just as likely.

    1. jason wright

      a self fulfilling mass media driven ‘prophecy’?i note Fred didn’t contextualise the prediction. he didn’t say “i own a lot of Ethereum stock”.

      1. Simon Edhouse

        Ethereum doesn’t have ‘stock’ as such.. I guess you are thinking of ‘Ether’ the token?

        1. jason wright

          yes i am. it’s a parody of Fred’s eternal Twitter declaration. He should get a tattoo of it on his forehead.

      2. fredwilson

        I don’t own a lot. Something like $50k in USD

        1. jason wright

          thanks.the transition to PoS is scheduled for Q4. changing the technical foundation of an ecosystem after it has already formed is a bit tricky. i’m anticipating some disruption to normal service.

          1. fredwilson

            Yupp. Maybe a good buying opportunity

          2. jason wright

            after they’ve hosed away the blood

        2. falicon

          we have drastically different definitions of “A LOT” 🙂

        3. Mark

          Personally, I’ve noticed something interesting between Bitcoin and Ethereum. Friends and family are much more interested in Ethereum than they ever were in Bitcoin. Part of it is likely where we are on the hype curve, but IMO the fact that Ethereum is much more than a currency seems to make it less ideologically provocative.

    2. Lawrence Brass

      The Ethereum organization has shown to be resilient, it hit the DAO iceberg and now it seems to be in very good condition. At the time I thought it wouldn’t survive.Technical deficiencies can be fixed but organizational deficiencies usually can’t without a full overhaul.

  5. awaldstein

    Re: TrumpI’m there with you except that as a communications expert, the shifting in control around the narrative is a case study I can’t avoid.

    1. fredwilson

      Great marketer. Shitty person

      1. awaldstein

        Ugly human being and I admire your ability to move on to what you can control.At times i’m challenged with that.

        1. pointsnfigures

          I think Fred gave a great answer on Trump. Obama didn’t affect startup investing, neither did Bush etc. The only President that really matters to a company you invest in today is the one that is in office 10-15 years from now. The media is unhinged when it comes to Trump. I love how Fred instructed her on the basics of supply and demand at the outset.

          1. awaldstein

            Agree with you on his answer and the smartness of the tutorial.

          2. Lawrence Brass

            Obama tried with JOBS act III, but I guess the core idea got lost in translation, somewhere in one of these 685 pages! Sad. :)https://www.sec.gov/rules/f…

          3. JLM

            .The JOBS Act was the real deal until it took the SEC a century to write the rules. Passing a law is nothing until the implementing rules are written.It is, arguably, the best piece of legislation of the Obama era, but the SEC sunk it.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          4. Lawrence Brass

            I wonder if existing crowdfunding platforms do comply with the rule details, or if they bypass most of it with the concept of paying for something in advance. Something that doesn’t exist yet.

          5. ZekeV

            What I’ve seen is most (equity) crowdfunding platforms are *prepared* for JOBS Act – inspired structures, and market that they are… BUT when I actually see a deal they have, it invariably is a vanilla Rule 506 offering, not real crowdfunding unless you consider investments limited to accredited investors to be legit “crowdfunding”. I think we’ll get there eventually, but I will probably be retired by then.

          6. ZekeV

            JOBS Act is currently useless for early-stage finance due to the regs. Good ol’ Rule 506 (now 506(b)) remains the only reasonable option for 90% of securities issuances not involving a public offering.

          7. JLM

            .The non-onramp regs were and are still powerful. Everybody got so enamored of crowdfunding, they overlooked the simple stuff.I suspect you mean public but not registered or exchange traded offerings.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          8. ZekeV

            No such thing as public offering of unregistered securities! You can have a public company, ie, has at least one class of securities registered, that also conducts a private offering e.g. under Reg D. That is a PIPE, right?I don’t know anything about the onramp. I would guess it could very well be helpful for a particular stage of development, deferring some serious costs. Not my area though.That is also kind of the problem with Congressional attention to early-stage finance — they think early-stage means IPO. For me, that is late stage. True crowd-funding thus remains below the radar of Congress, and the SEC is aware of the need but thinks any investment in a development-stage business is probably a bad idea per se.

          9. JLM

            .I think we are close. A PIPE — hate them because they are grossly overpriced as a rule — is a private investment in public equity. The company is already public and its existing securities are traded on an exchange.These new securities may be unregistered. Even when the new securities are identical to the existing securities (common stock).I am talking about a Reg D deal with a privately owned company issuing securities to accredited investors — investors they did not know before the offering. That is the context within which I am describing it as “public”.It is not an IPO.Under the new rules you can now solicit investors BEFORE qualifying them as being accredited. You have to qualify them as accredited before you close the deal.You can also advertise.These securities are both not exchange traded and unregistered.I agree — an IPO is at the end of the funding food chain. It is an exit for the existing investors.The SEC hates anything but Exxon issuing first mortgage bonds.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          10. ZekeV

            I’m sure no one here is terribly interested in the details, but I believe I should win this Internet argument.A Reg D, Rule 506(b) offering (whether to all accredited investors or not) is NOT a public offering — by definition. The old Rule 506 (now 506(b) after JOBS) is a safe harbor that establishes your offering as “not a public offering” under 4(2) (now 4(a)(2) post-JOBS). Thus it is unlike every other Reg D exemption, past and present. It is also unique in its preemptive effect over conflict state law under NSMIA, which arguably is even more important than its impact under federal law. You cannot advertise your offering if you want to use this. As a practical matter high-growth companies do not include non-accredited investors in 506 offerings b/c of heightened info requirements, though it is in fact permissible.The new Rule 506(c), ie, an old 506 offering but one with newly allowed public solicitation — which, by the way, very few companies use intentionally — is a public but unregistered offering. Very few companies choose this approach b/c of the heightened requirements. Thus I exaggerate only slightly in saying it is useless.

          11. JLM

            .I see no daylight between what you and I are saying. I was using the term “public” only in the context of where and how a company finds its investors.The blue sky provisions of Fed law are critical if a company is a national company.The issue of non-accredited investors is a red herring as there is an ocean of accredited investors out there. The burden for the issuer is to get rid of non-accredited investors which is easier now since they can do that after they have solicited them.I will send you your T ball trophy but you have to buy your own ice cream.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          12. ZekeV

            Ha, typical example of arguing from two different contexts. I will accept your trophy, and put it up on my shelf next to the AYSO participation certificates from 6th grade.

          13. JLM

            .The only time I ever got an award for “participation” it involved overseas service. “Been there” badges.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          14. JLM

            .When one is in the business of disruption, the best President is the one who does the least to create moats and barriers.In the short term, more economic activity will be created by dismantling regulations than new legislation.Canadian lumber is a perfect example. Gov’t subsidized and their only real client is US homebuilding. Trump fixed that with a single stroke of his pen.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          15. Stephen Palmer

            You really have no clue. All that is doing is doing is raising the price of homebuilding here.

          16. JLM

            .The lumber component of a single family home — stick bilt — is less than 10% of the total cost and declining. A ten percent increase in a ten percent component isn’t even the selling commission for a new home.All of the big N American lumber companies — Weyerhaeuser, Georgia-Pacific, West Fraser, Sierra Pacific, Interfor — have had American and Canadian sawmills for decades.The Canadian sawmills saw this coming a decade or longer ago and went on a buying spree in the US.They are all selling at the same prices to the American home market. It is difficult to see how this impacts prices in the short term as many of the homebuilders — the big ones — buy futures for delivery locking in dips.They are all sitting on enormous stands of lumber — witness Weyerhaeuser’s Plum Creek acquisition which was a sawmill operation with tons of timber land. All it did was add capacity to the largest lumber company in N America.You have to remember they are cutting 20-year old S Pine which can regrow itself in that time period. As they own more timberland, they cut 5% per year with more diverse products including pulp, chips, and pellets.The long term outlook is for timber prices to go down as the big guys and the little guys cut and lumber more and more timber, as they own more and more timber.The big winners will be the American sawmills (even those owned by Canadian companies).JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          17. Stephen Palmer

            This says nothing about how Trump helped anything. Prices go up a little bc of this. Then they go up bc of labor shortages bc immigrants are too scared to show up to work.

          18. JLM

            .You are aware the Trump admin put a tariff on Canadian softwood, right?I think that has … something … to do with Trump, no?I don’t see prices going up.I do see lumber ETFs (WOOD, CUT) doing well since the Canadian softwood tariff. This was a good trade though I am not typically a commodity guy.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          19. Stephen Palmer

            Prices always go up for the consumer when there are tariffs!

          20. JLM

            .Tariffs hit imported goods which makes domestic products more attractive.We have tons of Southern Pine in the US. All this will do is shift demand from foreign suppliers to domestic suppliers.The Canadians get this and have been buying sawmills in the US for decades.We have enough sawmill capacity to meet the US home building demand. US sawmill capacity is growing.We have enough timber standing to be cut into lumber to meet the US home building demand. The ownership of standing timber (stumpage) by the right companies — lumber companies — is growing.The US timber lands are being cut at less than 5% per year for a renewable resource which regrows itself every 20 years. If we were at equilibrium, the supply is growing faster than demand.US lumber is now more cost effective than Canadian softwood + tariff.So, no, prices do not go up for the consumer when there are tariffs. Source of product change.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          21. sigmaalgebra

            Just because VCs have dry powder doesn’t mean they will invest it.Likely the $120 B or whatever is not in the bank accounts of the VCs but is just money VC can call (whatever the terminology is) when they want to make an investment.If Ford has a lot of cars built and sitting on a lot, then, sure in terms of simple economics 101 there is a lot of “supply” they want to sell, and that can lower prices until they lay off workers for a few weeks and sell off the supply. That $120 B of VC on call money is different.The VCs could increase the $120 B to $500 B tomorrow if the investment opportunities they could see justified that. Really, there’s essentially no limit to how much VCs can invest; the limit is on the good looking opportunities they see.So, really, Emily was doing the usual for newsies: Looking for headlines via something shocking, e.g., claims of froth, boom times, easy money, markets going wild, etc. Sorry Emily.

  6. Nick Hencher

    Fred, less fence sitting – tell us what you really think about Facebook 😉

    1. fredwilson

      I don’t think I’ve ever held back on that. But I also don’t talk about Facebook much. I don’t think about Facebook much. I don’t use it much

      1. Nick Hencher

        I was teasing – i thought it was an honest answer – a rarity in today’s climate…Ditto – i try to avoid as much as possible as well

      2. creative group

        fredwilson:Because of your financial commitments in other social media spaces (portfolio companies) is that the reason you engage in the other mediums? Is one of the reasons you don’t think about or use Facebook is because they are a competitor to your portfolio companies or the unethical stealing others innovation and integrating it?We feel about all social media that monetizes off our information for free the same. A waste of time. Face to face is the best way to communicate.This is the only medium we engage besides sports related comments.#UNAPOLOGETICALLYUNEQUIVOCALLYINDEPENDENT

      3. JamesHRH

        And therefore its not a big deal? #RelativeReality?FB is awesome and horrible at the same time….mainly b/c people are that way.

  7. Tom Labus

    I thought TWTR was “cheap” in the high 20’s on the way down but in holding pattern for now. They are still paying the price for being at 70 post IPO. Their cultural importance is through the roof and at some point the stock price will follow suit.

    1. fredwilson

      I sure hope so

    2. JLM

      .Twitter is an enigma. It is an incredible presence in our society and it is not monetizing that awareness. It literally elects Presidents and it can’t move the stock price needle.I am bowled over by the power of Twitter and perplexed as to why it isn’t clicking financially.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

      1. Lawrence Brass

        They are restraining themselves to run ads on the streams, which in the long run I think is wise. If they are doing some, it doesn’t bother. I ignore FB because every 5 of my friends’ posts is really an ad, so called native advertising, for me that is cheating to the senses.Is advertising the only way to monetize social networks?

        1. JLM

          .Two sides of the same mirror.Side one — advertising salesSide two — a fee not to have to see adsThe publishing racket has been around for a long time. The only new idea in years is paying for traffic from one site to another. Counterintuitive because you’re decreasing your stickiness.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

        2. cavepainting

          Twitter needs to provide new capabilities for power users to reach their followers and other target audiences.Twitter needs to make it easy for people to transact on the site.Twitter needs to provide the equivalent of Linkedin Inmail, but with user control and preference.All these are monetizable opportunities. Just not sure why they are slow to experiment on these. Or maybe they are doing these in control groups, and we do not see them.

      2. ZekeV

        Twitter users tend to be people who are doing interesting things, whereas Facebook is for everyone. Twitter has a fraction of the users, but they are more influential. But the way you make money has to be different. I got an email the other day with Twitter’s new privacy update. It was rather disconcerting to see all the fingers they have into my private info. Frankly I would love to move to Mastodon or some other federated universe. Problem is I still rely on TWTR for breaking updates on things that interest me.

      3. Jim Peterson

        Twitter has so many benefits. All those benefits are free. Its also a firehouse- where much is not valuable. When I advertise I get lots of the non-valuable part. That’s just my experience.

        1. JLM

          .Therein lies the problem — it can allow one person to go around the media to the voters, but it can’t simultaneously sell a product to the same customers.Maybe the answer is to get Putin to pay for it?I hope you are well, Jim.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

    3. creative group

      Tom Labus:We are forced to agree with logic of TWTR being a cultural importance. Disagree that at some point the stock will rise. Wrong leader and direction. Needs a head totally concentrated on running it.Jack Dorsey is brilliant but no Elon Musk in running multiple going concerns.#UNAPOLOGETICALLYUNEQUIVOCALLYINDEPENDENT

      1. JLM

        .Elon Musk is no Elon Musk.It is impossible for me to believe a Board of Directors would ever approve this arrangement of CEO sharing.I think Dorsey is more than equal to the task, but he needs to pick a pony and ride one.I regret to inform you, we appear to agree on something.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

        1. creative group

          JLM:This is the issue. When you discuss business and particularly business operations we listen as in EF Hutton. When you make an attempt to impersonate Hannity, O’Reilly and Limbaugh you incarnate into the devil himself.It is like you have some unflattering photos of Progressives on this blog with pets. They refrain from stating what is obvious. They are unable to fend for themselves, Pathetic actually. Will be attacked for being Captain Obvious but we are cut from a very different cloth.That being duly noted we agree with your business related post.#UNAPOLOGETICALLYUNEQUIVOCALLYINDEPENDENT

          1. JLM

            .OK, so now I wish I hadn’t agreed with you, Grandma.Save the lectures for someone who cares.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          2. Lawrence Brass

            I saw a dove flying up high and carrying an olive branch. . . for a second.

          3. JLM

            .You have to lead a dove just a little. Learn to swing your shotgun as they are moving.They are good baked with a couple of strips of bacon around them to keep the meat moist and from drying out. Be careful not to break a tooth on the bird shot.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          4. Lawrence Brass

            Can’t expect any less from the guy that shot Bambi’s mother. :)The olive branch can be used for decoration.

          5. JLM

            .I shot her and her aunts and her uncles. Ate all of them.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          6. Chimpwithcans

            With Doves on the side as a ‘salad’?

        2. creative group

          JLM:would enjoy reading the rationale (cough, excuse) for this failing arrangement. If it was sucessful it would still be hard to justify it.Jack Dorsey is better at Square.When discussing TWTR board it becomes sensitive as we have been repeatly made aware we hold no position in TWTR and we are attacking board members income.TWTR board is failing in their fiduciary duty to shareholders not demanding a change based upon performance and the inability to head two companies.DISCLOSURE: NONE TO DISCLOSE. No position in TWTR.#UNAPOLOGETICALLYUNEQUIVOCALLYINDEPENDENT

    4. JamesHRH

      Twitter is not a mainstream social media platform.FB & Instagram are, maybe SNAP will get there ( it may never take in the 25+ demo tho).

      1. Tom Labus

        Neither is Bloomberg and they do pretty good financially

        1. JamesHRH

          They have targeted vertical information for a the world’s most dynamic, high value marketplace.Twitter is almost the exact opposite – its a town square of people yelling at each other while BLOOM is the transcription from the quiet rooms where money moves.Just a really bad analogy.FB is huge because everybody has friends.Twitter is less so, because, it turns out, most of us don’t have the need to share our opinions (even tho I am in that subset, that doesn’t make it the majority).

          1. Tom Labus

            Depends on your feed

          2. JamesHRH

            I’d ask you to explain that but I’m not sure its worth our while.No version of Twitter is Bloomberg.That’s not a controversial statement. People pay for Bloomberg information.

  8. David C. Baker

    Give you a hoodie and this could have been an interview after a Patriots game. 🙂 “I have no more fucks to give.”

    1. fredwilson

      Hehe

    2. JimHirshfield

      Best comment of the day!

    3. Nicholas Osgood

      great analogy!

    4. JamesHRH

      On the other side, Emily did a really nice job on this, which is not a compliment I give out often.Professional, prepared and polished…..even if she got a little Hoodie now & then.’I only track things I am interested in’……’not at all’…..’ as soon as possible’……’very’And if I had Etherreum, Id be bailing like crazy 😉

      1. David C. Baker

        Yeah, me too. Got out of BTC and ETH entirely two weeks ago. Scared shitless. Will buy again later, but I’d made so much money that I didn’t want to leave it on the table. In the end I’m a chicken-shit. 🙂

        1. ZekeV

          Whenever I get greedy, I try to remember the story about Isaac Newton and the South Sea Bubble. Got in, made a modest profit, got out. Became jealous of friends who stayed in longer — bought back in and went broke. Newton was a genius, but also a gambler without proper feel for risk it turns out.

        2. Mark Essel

          With profit. Don’t forget with profit part.

      2. Girish Mehta

        I had the same thought – that Emily Chang did a good job. Many interviewers struggle with pithy/laconic responses. She handled it very well.That was an interestingly phrased (hedged) prediction – one way that Ethereum overtakes Bitcoin’s USD market value is if BTC USD value drops very materially and ETH does not.

        1. Mike Cautillo

          Please note that Fred said market cap, not price which other crypto’s can surpass easily considering the amount of tokens they have or can supply. Ripple market cap is gaining very fast…yet the price of 1 XRP is $.35.

          1. Girish Mehta

            I am not saying unit price and understood what Fred said. I just don’t like the term market cap applied to cryptocurrencies and have commented here in the past that I don’t understand how the market value of all BTC can be called market capitalization (understand the math, but not the terminology).I especially didn’t like it when Fred referred to Bitcoin and ETH as startups and to their market capitalization. A company’s market capitalization is different to what is called Bitcoin’s “market capitalization”.So, am referring to it as USD market value for want of a better term. I realise that over the last 24-odd months it has become common to refer to this as “market cap” (I still remember a time it was not common).Maybe in the future calling Bitcoin a startup will also become common and I will be wrong about my discomfort there as well. Again – seems like Bitcoin is whatever you want it to be :-).

          2. Lawrence Brass

            I don’t like the term either, but think crypto currencies have common properties compared with equity markets and forex markets.What would be a more accurate term: market participation, market volume?

          3. Girish Mehta

            Market Value or Total Market Value sounds better to me, but I think the train has left the station on this and Market Cap has become common usage for cryptocurrency.

          4. Mike Cautillo

            This was an interesting thread regarding crypto. market cap started by Naval Ravikant.https://twitter.com/naval/s

          5. Girish Mehta

            Yes, I remember that one..Thanks.

          6. jason wright

            i think we got that distinction. supply side varies from token to token. he said Ethereum , and not… Ripple. The Japanese can become mesmerised by Ripple if they want to. i’m sure the price hike is a function of insider knowledge in elite circles in Tokyo’s financial and regulatory framework. did i say that? Yes.

        2. Lawrence Brass

          I don’t share that prediction. BTC has 49% of the market cap in a market the theoretically has a low entry cost. That can be considered healthy. I bet that it is solid too.Maybe in the future, but not this year.

          1. lhl

            Just as a fact check, as of right now, the Bitcoin Dominance Index is at 46.1%. When you posted Friday it was wat 48.2%. The week before that it was at 56%. Basically, it’s been collapsing dramatically (from a solid steady 85% or so) since March. Today marked the first time ETH POW pays more (has more $ security) than BTC POW and ETH/BTC is 45% and rising. Flippening in 2017 seems like a not so far out prediction (we’ll see if this Segwit+HF thing turns out, but if UASF happens, it will be mayhem).

      3. Matt A. Myers

        I agree, everything was great – even with the snapsnock snafu.

    5. Dan

      Was thinking a “Fred Popovich” vibe myself, but I’m more of an NBA guy 🙂

    6. Matt A. Myers

      He did look a bit blue in the face..

  9. falicon

    This thing turned into a Belichick-esque interview pretty quick!

  10. pointsnfigures

    Agree on crypto big time. WLV just held a security event in Chicago. The panelists spoke briefly about blockchain, private blockchains, sidechains etc. It’s coming. The great news for average people is they probably won’t notice a lot of it. How often do you look at your plumbing?

    1. Vendita Auto

      intuitively not convinced, thinking what would a new cyber Dirac’s thoughts be with access to D-wave probabilities – indeterminacy ref block-chain. I accept out of my comfort / knowledge zone but I keep banging the drum re cyber security for any institution / company without access to D-Wave systems ?

  11. Nick Terzo

    Fred, this is truly the greatest interview I have seen in ages!

  12. Nick Terzo

    Popovich has nothing on you.

  13. bfeld

    “Prices go up and returns go down. Then capital leaves the market and prices go down and returns go up.” 15.001 and 15.412 served you well … Love it.

    1. bfeld

      And the short answers near the end (Re: Trump – “Not at all”) are priceless.

    2. creative group

      bfeld:The market was heavy loaded with exuberance anyway. A correction was imminent. This is a buying opportunity.Commentators and Monday Night Market Quarterbacks always make the narrative after the fact. Always looking for an excuse chasing perceived problems.This is a great time in the market for bargin hunters.If the blame will be put on Trump then when he was elected the market should have corrected to 8000. He was incompetent then and the same stands. The Manchurian POTUS.#UNAPOLOGETICALLYUNEQUIVOCALLYINDEPENDENT

      1. bfeld

        I was talking about Fred’s comment at the beginning about the VC funding market.I don’t pay any attention to the public markets.

        1. JamesHRH

          Its neat how ultra successful people are self-isolating and, in a way, complete lopsided…..that’s a Warren Buffet reference, FWIW.

    3. Richard

      Fred’s reply would have made oscar wilde smile. Fred pulled it off brilliantly brilliant on a the nations leading business shoe and did so without a smirkThough Fred’s style with his Facebooks remark sounded like a Trumpian populist wine. He should stick to his thesis that the game is about execution.

      1. fredwilson

        i think you mean whine, right?

        1. Richard

          Ha! Whine, yes though maybe Arnold will start a Trumpian Wine to help people get through the next four years.You said that Facebook has no innovate ideas and works to put innovative companies out of busiesss by copying them.Think about they for a minute, if Facebook truly is unable to innovate, the last thing Mark would want to do is put the niche companies like Snap out of business, thereby killing the golden goose for a quick lunch.

        2. Matt A. Myers

          Your Facebook counterpoint was beautiful – loved it, 10/10, would watch again – and I’ll do just that right now.. Gold.

    4. JamesHRH

      Its stunning how much of life is understanding how your environment operates and what state it is currently in.

    5. fredwilson

      MIT FTW

  14. creative group

    CONTRIBUTORS:OFF TOPIC ALERT!Elephant in the room……Twitter tweet from POTUS”With all of the illegal acts that took place in the Clinton campaign & Obama Administration, there was never a special councel appointed! This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!”Freudian slip. With all of the illegal acts. His and minions.Liar! Kenneth Star…Monica Lewinsky, etcLock him and his band of currupt minions. The usual lie, lie, deflect to other unrelated topics from the Trumpetes will surely follow.PS: Twitter notified users they will collect and store users offline data for one month in response to Facebook being fined in European countries for not disclosing the same collection of data.#UNAPOLOGETICALLYUNEQUIVOCALLYINDEPENDENT

  15. Claire Heaslip

    “How important do you think that is?””Very”……Love this blog!

  16. creative group

    CONTRIBUTORS:OFF TOPIC ALERT!ASOP FABLETHE MOUSE AND THE FROGMOUSE in an evil day made acquaintance with a Frog, and they set off on their travels together. The Frog, on pretence of great affection, and of keeping his companion out of harm’s way, tied the Mouse’s fore-foot to his own hind-leg, and thus they proceeded for some distance by land.Presently they came to some water, and the Frog, bidding the Mouse have good cour age, began to swim across. They had scarcely, however, arrived midway, when the Frog took a sudden plunge to the bottom, dragging the unfortunate Mouse after him. But the struggling and floundering of the Mouse made so great commotion in the water that it attracted the attention of a Kite, who, pouncing down, and bearing off the Mouse, carried. away the Frog at the same time in his train. Inconsiderate and ill-matched alliances generally end in ruin; and the man who compasses the destruction of his neighbor is often caught in his own snare._________Not for one moment should you Progressives overlook the campaign of lies, deceit and promotion of Alternative Truth (lies) published knowingly by the usual suspects. The Kumbaya posts and flattery isn’t cutting it for one New York millisecond.

  17. Lawrence Brass

    Very sharp until Ms. Chang began to corner you, then wise. I laughed at some of the last answers. You are the boss.

  18. markslater

    loved your comment about trump! great answer! #stealing….

  19. LE

    Fantastic! Especially at the end.Security?Your vulnerability is someone’s opportunity. [1][1] What a grand and profitabile exploitation of business people’s and politicians inability to fully grasp anything in the black hole of computers and technology.

  20. Evan Van Ness

    Interesting juxtaposition: “crypto is frothy” and “Ethereum will surpass Bitcoin.”I agree with both though. The fun part is finding the parts of the crypto market that are relatively and absolutely undervalued.

  21. JLM

    .Aces. Well played.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

  22. craigarmstrong

    1. TWTR is “getting the band back together.” Yay! Is Biz the “Steve Crocker” in this?2, My students will be copying Fred’s answer to the whole supply-and-demand question. Hopefully Bloomberg is hiring.3. Posting a nine-minute interview where Fred has no script or talking points in advance for the world to comment on points strongly to David Baker’s (@ReCourses) hoodie observation above… :0

  23. Frank W. Miller

    lol. I’ve never heard anybody answer questions about Trump and politics better.

  24. creative group

    CONTRIBUTORS:OFF TOPIC ALERT!Breaking News.Car plows into crowd in New Yorks Time Square, kills one, over twenty-two injuries.(Updated)7th Ave West 42nd St.No indication an act of Terrorism per NYPD Commisioner O’Neill.https://www.rt.com/usa/3888

  25. creative group

    CONTRIBUTORS:AT 9:28 Fred snarkily said you shouldn’t listen to my predictions.Fred’s winners is all we want. Will accept the consequence of a few misses.

  26. creative group

    CONTRIBUTORS:OFF TOPIC ALERT!Chris Cornell (born Christopher John Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 17, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist, primary songwriter and rhythm guitarist for Seattle rock band Soundgarden and as lead vocalist and songwriter for the group Audioslave. He was also known for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions since 1991, and as founder and frontman for Temple of the Dog, the one-off tribute band dedicated to his late friend Andrew Wood. He died from reportedly suicide 17 May 2017 Wednesday.____https://mobile.nytimes.com/…____SoundGarden-Black Hole Sunhttps://youtu.be/efc7njKAfgo

  27. creative group

    CONTRIBUTORS: (William Mougayer)If Freds prediction is correct what reason will be pinned to justify BTC drastic price fall from $1600.00 this year?#UNAPOLOGETICALLYUNEQUIVOCALLYINDEPENDENT

  28. Max Yoder

    This was fun to watch. Thanks for doing it.

  29. DJL

    Nice. I appreciate the “I am ignoring Trump” stance. First, I am glad that you are not joining the 24×7 bandwagon to destroy him. I don’t think that serves anyone. Second, in my opinion that is the most rational response given your (our) business of tech and finance. Very little any US president does is going to swing the financials of a tech startup. We have had bubbles and busts through all kinds of administrations. Let’s focus on the leading technologies of the day and how they can transform the world.

  30. creative group

    CONTRIBUTORS:Liars, deceitful, munipulators, enablers, traitors, Russian surrogates are at it again with no push back from the Progressives.The falling on deaf ears chant of the self-inflicted issues POTUS and band of criminals and traitors (Flynn) these brainwashed feeble minded people labeling this as they want to destroy him. He is destroying himself.The most incompetent POTUS (Manchurian POTUS) in history. Not smarter than a fifth grader and neither are the wannabe junior. At least we are confident senior is intentionally misleading, this other misplaced firecracker doesn’t know what he doesn’t know.Any political postings by this character is like reading Hannity, Limbaugh, O’Reilly or Maddow. Their talking points and commentary is based upon opinions.Firecracker doesn’t have the ability to decipher a Journalist from a Commentator. Talking about a peanut gallery.These crackpots were in their underwear yelling at a Television in obscurity. Now incompetent POTUS made this madness mainstream with the Progressives wanting to play silent night. Wanting to retreat passively in a corner. A respected VC blog being fertile ground for what was surely laughed at while attending the Upper Eastside, Greenwich Village and SOHO cocktail parties eight years ago. Pathetic.#UNAPOLOGETICALLYUNEQUIVOCALLYINDEPENDENT

    1. JLM

      .OK, glad you got that out. Yeah, the Russians.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

  31. Kirsten Lambertsen

    What’s wrong with Uber is that the snake is rotting from the head.You have a really authoritative and grounded camera presence. Well done.

  32. Geoff Jones

    Excellent technique Fred a joy to listen too and a good interviewer too 🙂

  33. Jennifer Horn

    Hiring a woman partner ASAP and its very important- kuddo’s! I am a business owner who sits around the table often with VC, investment bankers, etc discussing exit and I am ALWAYS the only women!

  34. george

    I was pretty interested with your take on Twitter…hopeful.My take: Bringing back yet another founder is another negative indication – they are still struggling with developing an effective growth strategy. i would suggest, Twitter sources for growth now appear limiting based on their aging product-platform and rivals gaining exponentially.Are they really winning/capitalizing in the marketplace? Are they driving any significant new innovations? I guess it’s more wait and see…

  35. MickSavant

    re: the female partner question at USV – I’m betting there will be an announcement of the first female partner soon. I was surprised to see you so tight lipped on that, makes me think something is in the works. If it weren’t I would have thought you’d have said more–some kind of honest mea culpa “it’s time for us to put our Partnership where our mouth is” kind of thing. Very enjoyable interview.

  36. Paul Azous

    Nice interviewing job.ThanksPaul AzousCEO, Prospectus.com

  37. Lawrence Brass

    Bitcoin dominance in the crypto currency total market cap has been going down, not necessarily its value.

  38. Lawrence Brass

    Cryptocurrency market capitalization exploded this year, it is a clear sign that it is not an experiment anymore, it is a revolution. If you spread a position among the leading cryptos it seems hard to go wrong.https://uploads.disquscdn.c…Source: https://coinmarketcap.com/c