Raising money in DC last quarter was an example of the rich getting richer. The first 5 companies of the 30 companies raising money in Q1 2013 represented 83% of the 6M raised. Company     Amount $K    Market LivingSocial, Inc.   $        110,000   Consumer Intrexon Corporation   $          64,409   Biotech Vapotherm Inc   $          26,400   Med Device XG Health Solutions   $          25,000   Software FiberZone Networks   $          10,942   Ntwrk Eqpt High... Read More

If you compared the important traits of every leader, you would have as many traits as the big box of Crayola crayons. You know that box, that the spoiled kid down the street had with 120 different color crayons. Unfortunately us humans don’t have 120 crayons in our box. We’re more... Read More

VC Firm Name State Deals DC Deals Early/Seed Abs Capital Partners LP  MD  1 0 0 Blue Heron Capital LLC  VA  1 1 0 Camden Partners  MD  1 0 0 CIT GAP Funds  VA  3 3 3 CNF Investments LLC  MD  1 0 0 Columbia Capital  VA  1 0 0 Core Capital Partners  DC  4 0 0 Edison NJ 2 1 0 Envest Ventures  VA  1 0 1 Fortify Ventures LLC  DC  8 5 8 Grotech Ventures  MD  1 0 1 In-Q-Tel, Inc.  VA  1 0 0 JMI Equity  MD  2 0 0 Kinetic Ventures LLC  MD  1 0 1 Medimmune LLC  MD  1 0 0 Monumental Venture Partners VA  1 0 1 New Atlantic Ventures  VA  3 1 1 New England Partners  VA  1 0 0 New... Read More

How much does it cost to be wrong? Talk to a member of a Vistage group and they’ll tell you that they avoid 2 or 3 costly mistakes a year. Mistakes that would cost their businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars. How much does it cost when a critical hire goes... Read More

DC has a list of speaking head panel regulars, most have something to say, yet few of us have much more than our 15 minutes of patter. We are not dropping new knowledge every time we yet again speak multiple times on yet another panel after panel.  I mean really, how... Read More

Most people are of good character. Most are upright, standup folks. Most but not all. Some people are short sighted. These people play the short game. They are transactional and weigh each decision as if it stands alone leaving no legacy. We see these transactional short term players every day in business... Read More

It’s an old parable. The scorpion asks a frog to carry it across the river. The frog declines saying that he’s afraid he’ll get stung. The scorpion replies that he is unable to swim and if he kills the frog he will also die. The frog agrees and in the... Read More

I joined my first startup right out of college in 1978. 35 years later my son is graduating from college and leaving for Northern California to join a startup. Here's 10 things I wish my dad told me before I decided I wasn't going to be a plumber.  For every step... Read More