tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post7263324756081283169..comments2024-03-18T17:28:44.693-07:00Comments on Rondam Ramblings: Five things Paul Graham is wrong aboutRonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11752242624438232184noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-18173987336673131392010-10-30T14:48:49.951-07:002010-10-30T14:48:49.951-07:00> Sure, with a *huge* sample, returns might not...> Sure, with a *huge* sample, returns might not be bi/multimodal, but for an investor who's only done a few dozen or so investments, that's quite possible.<br /><br />Of course. Sampling distributions can look very different from the underlying distributions, especially for small sample sizes. So?<br /><br />> Are there actually datasets with *all* the points that one could study Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11752242624438232184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-35654287828646683242010-10-30T14:19:58.271-07:002010-10-30T14:19:58.271-07:00'thanks for writing this
'two of the most...'thanks for writing this<br /><br />'two of the most dangerous "falsisms" in startup land today are the idea that startup returns are bimodal and valuations don't matter'<br /><br />Sure, with a *huge* sample, returns might not be bi/multimodal, but for an investor who's only done a few dozen or so investments, that's quite possible. Are there actually datasets M. Edward (Ed) Boraskyhttp://borasky-research.net/about-smartznmeb/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-12858141324346584042010-10-29T16:01:39.962-07:002010-10-29T16:01:39.962-07:00Thanks Fred and Dave for the kind words.Thanks Fred and Dave for the kind words.Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11752242624438232184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-52685799808192766422010-10-29T14:33:11.609-07:002010-10-29T14:33:11.609-07:00Very good post. I'm from the Founder side of ...Very good post. I'm from the Founder side of things and it is great to see thoughts from the investment side.Dave W Baldwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15772022057784113588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-42380261818278406572010-10-27T08:58:01.145-07:002010-10-27T08:58:01.145-07:00thanks for writing this
two of the most dangerous...thanks for writing this<br /><br />two of the most dangerous "falsisms" in startup land today are the idea that startup returns are bimodal and valuations don't matterfredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18147637007594619150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-26804413667262365882010-10-26T20:10:01.658-07:002010-10-26T20:10:01.658-07:00That's news to me. Do you have a reference?That's news to me. Do you have a reference?Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11752242624438232184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-20815768860106152392010-10-26T19:40:07.757-07:002010-10-26T19:40:07.757-07:00You got misconception about note taking. Several d...You got misconception about note taking. Several different books about learning tell its just a sure way to FORGET things. Sure it activates different parts of brain, but that part is not about memory, more likely secondary task that takes away your attention from memory and real processing of input in away that helps memory.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-51377645477293930222010-10-26T17:06:50.517-07:002010-10-26T17:06:50.517-07:00> Sorry, but the numbers are what the numbers a...> Sorry, but the numbers are what the numbers are. Spectacular failures can't be "written off" as "learning experiences" or "outliers."<br /><br />If you're going to count all my outliers, I have one on the positive side of the ledger as well. If you count that one then my "spectacular failure" was a moderate loss, and everything else I've Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11752242624438232184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-3012419546329949782010-10-26T16:34:24.876-07:002010-10-26T16:34:24.876-07:00"I'd much rather have a 10x return in one..."I'd much rather have a 10x return in one year than a 100x return in three"<br /><br />You should prefer $100,000 over $1m 2 years later, only if you can achieve a 10x return in 2 years, in other investments of comparable risk.CurmudgeonlyTrollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02004282752334460717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-16917415043680063132010-10-26T15:58:50.350-07:002010-10-26T15:58:50.350-07:00"I have a net negative return because of one ..."I have a net negative return because of one spectacular failure (from which I have learned a lot but that's another story). But if you discount that as an outlier, my net return is positive, and all of my winners so far have been small: 10x return or less."<br /><br />Sorry, but the numbers are what the numbers are. Spectacular failures can't be "written off" as "M. Edward (Ed) Boraskyhttp://borasky-research.net/about-smartznmeb/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-4596175156853863512010-10-26T14:17:21.497-07:002010-10-26T14:17:21.497-07:00The point about non-commital sheep-like angel inve...The point about non-commital sheep-like angel investors asking you to come back to them to fill out the round is actually in his essay. He refers to them as jerks instead of assholes in the essay. Your 5th item on note taking is just a really lame point, almost as if you desperately needed to come up with a 5th point for your link bait post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-12586086243661965742010-10-26T14:09:04.851-07:002010-10-26T14:09:04.851-07:00I'm with you on the notes, there's a world...I'm with you on the notes, there's a world of difference between reading a transcript and writing your own notes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-46657369774035755812010-10-26T13:46:11.741-07:002010-10-26T13:46:11.741-07:00My most critical factors, when designing a platfor...My most critical factors, when designing a platform, are speed of implementation, availability of talent, and the ability to swap out the slow parts later.<br /><br />The reality is that servers are cheap, and people are expensive. As such, it often makes sense to use slow languages to start and it often makes financial sense to keep using them for quite some time.<br /><br />And if your Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-61744061783611684922010-10-26T13:29:54.556-07:002010-10-26T13:29:54.556-07:00"That lasting impression is what will motivat..."That lasting impression is what will motivate you to go research what the speaker said, and to find ways to integrate it into your own work and life"<br /><br />Interesting view, however in that case I would expect such a talk to be really rather short. Generally however, most speakers who give this kind of talk like to spend some time on the subject and will often relate interesting Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03154710122768214936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-49544431410088540722010-10-26T13:27:00.340-07:002010-10-26T13:27:00.340-07:00I don't think any of the above criticisms is s...I don't think any of the above criticisms is severe enough to detract much from the huge positive contribution Paul has made overall.<br /><br />Regarding note-taking, it depends on what kind of learner you are. I never took notes as an undergraduate and always scored #1 in the class.<br /><br />Now I'm a college professor and I'd say about 80% of my students take notes (even if Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06873501610477076216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-66717704701469514532010-10-26T13:23:51.078-07:002010-10-26T13:23:51.078-07:00Remembering facts isn't the point of listening...Remembering facts isn't the point of listening<br />to this sort of talk. The point is immersion in<br />the thought process of the speaker, to leave<br />a lasting emotional impression. That lasting<br />impression is what will motivate you to go<br />research what the speaker said, and to find<br />ways to integrate it into your own work and life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-54274945619463019162010-10-26T13:15:36.374-07:002010-10-26T13:15:36.374-07:00From my intro psych class, I remember a learning s...From my intro psych class, I remember a learning study where they had one group of students take notes and another set of students study an outline provided by the instructor. The latter group scored higher!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5592542.post-46719978551719595272010-10-26T12:58:17.073-07:002010-10-26T12:58:17.073-07:00"Taking notes serves not only to make a non-v..."Taking notes serves not only to make a non-volatile record of what was said, but the act of writing helps you remember what was said"<br /><br />As a university student I can safely say never has a truer word been said. It frustrates me so much when some lecturers and peers ask you why you're making notes when they are making the information available online.<br /><br />On a note Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03154710122768214936noreply@blogger.com