As a founder and one of the leaders of Intel Capital, one of the world’s most successful corporate venture groups, I am frequently approached by entrepreneurs seeking advice on securing investments from strategic investors. Strategic investors primarily invest to bolster their strategic objectives. For example, during my tenure as Corporate Vice President of Business Development … Continue reading
Category Archives: Venture Capital
Ethernet at 50, an Important Through Line in my Career
We are celebrating the 50th anniversary of Ethernet. Bob Metcalfe is considered the inventor of Ethernet, which happened at Xerox Research Center in Palo Alto in the 70s. It was there that Metcalfe wrote a memo describing Ethernet. At that time, many competing technologies intended to connect computers in the same physical space. The concept … Continue reading
Living longer better
I have not given this blog much attention since I started writing my book, The Flight of a Wild Duck, four years ago. It was published in September of 2021. I have a lot more that I want to write, but frankly, the effort of writing a 340-page book dampened my enthusiasm for writing. Now … Continue reading
Goodbye Michael Johnson, you were one of a kind
This has been a year of lost. Four of my friends and former colleagues have died, way before their time. A remarkable man left us last Sunday. My friend, Michael Johnson, died at his home in South Africa. I attended a memorial Tuesday evening on Zoom. I think there were 20 or more attendees, friends … Continue reading
about business / Avram's Past / broadband / Business Managment / Intel / Microsoft / Venture Capital
My book in the making
Below is a description of sorts about I book I am working on. It is actually a great deal of work as I have to conduct a lot of research and assure its accuracy. Now, I need some feedback. I am concerned that the companies, people and events may not be relevant to today’s readers. … Continue reading
Drinking the kool-Aid (how billions were lost creating PDAs)
As I try to decide if I should write a book, I have been reading or rereading various books about the computer industry. I just finished Jerry Kaplan’s Startup, written in 1995. Jerry founded GO Corporation in 1987 to develop pen-based computers, and I still think the book has value today for those starting technology-based … Continue reading
Venture Capital and Sexual Abuse
There has been a lot of discussion in the press about sexual abuse by venture capitalists. As frequent readers of this blog will know, I am not very positive about the venture capital industry which really means I am not very positive about venture capitalists (with some important exceptions). Since I was one of the … Continue reading
The Future History of Technology
The book I am probably not going to write From time to time, I think about writing a book on the evolution of information technology. I am designing it in my head. Sometimes it is divided into three sections, which are simply the past, present and future. Frankly, I am not that interested in the … Continue reading
QSBS Permanent: The end of year madness is no more.
I am always surprised that many sophisticated investors do not know about QSBS. Since 2009, there has been a 100% exclusion of all capital gains on the first $10 million of gain or 10 times the investment up to $50 million dollars, whatever is larger. This was put in to stimulate investments in early stage/small … Continue reading
How I evaluate early stage companies
My blog originated when I realized that I was writing the same things to different people over and over again, only at different times. For instance, I found myself giving advice about Prostate Cancer to many men because I had been diagnosed and treated for this. Once I began blogging about prostate cancer, I could … Continue reading
Two Thirds Done 