Greek Complexity

Naren Gupta: For a CEO, Passion, Courage Trump Experience

http://blogs.wsj.com/accelerators/2013/03/22/naren-gupta-for-a-ceo-passion-courage-trump-experience/

Naren Gupta of Nexus Venture Partners opines on the characteristics and behaviours that make for a good CEO and when an entrepreneur might decide to step down and bring in a CEO from the outside.

Why are terms of investments or acquisitions often not disclosed?

Here are some reasons why: http://www.linkedin.com/e/-86igng-hh88okw6-47/nua/s1445610994/http%3A%2F%2Fgoo%2Egl%2FN7U7i/XCnT/5744416305931382784/EML_nus_share-F1-2/?hs=false&tok=18PjV4Wwjgl5M1&trackinfo=updateId%2C5744416305931382784

In our part of the world, a few more reasons for not disclosing the terms of a sale include:

1. Cultural preference for keeping one's cards close to one's chest, not just in business but in life in general. The nail that sticks out, etc
2. A tendency for many entrepreneurs to see selling out as, well, selling out
3. Not wanting the neighbours, not to mention the taxman, to be aware of the details

Data really is scarce on the ground in Asia, much more so than in the US. The consequence of this, of course, is that people not in the know end up making poor estimates and assumptions, some downright stupid. When those assumptions start to spread in the market, it gets very hard for the original parties to correct the now prevalent misapprehensions.

Two wheels are better than four

Car drivers need to stop trying to apply their standards (not to speak of their sense of entitlement) to cyclists. Here's why:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/05/opinion/sunday/if-kant-were-a-new-york-cyclist.html?_r=1

The power problem: what’s with the obsession with the watts?

Excerpt: "“How did it go?” I asked a young Frenchman when he’d finally retrieved something akin to a normal breath after the 7.2kilometer individual time trial at the recent Tour of Friendship race in Thailand."

More here: http://crankpunk.com/2013/05/22/the-power-problem-whats-with-the-obsession-with-the-watts/

This is an auto-generated post from my reading list courtesy IFTTT. See http://ifttt.com

Can the Internet Replace Big Banks?

Excerpt: "We've seen digital technology disintermediate everything from record companies to university curriculum. Yet banking has remained rather immune to all this disruption. Sure, ATMs and online banking may threaten the bank teller's union, but central banking's monopoly over money has hardly budged. Just like we have to get our food from real plants and animals, we have to get our money from real banks. Or at least it appears that way to most of us."

More here: http://mashable.com/2013/03/24/douglas-rushkoff-digital-economy/

This is an auto-generated post from my reading list courtesy IFTTT. See http://ifttt.com

Rajat Gupta’s Lust for Zeros

Excerpt: "Late one Friday morning, Rajat Gupta was rushing through security at Philadelphia International Airport, carry-on in tow, when his cellphone rang. When Gupta heard from Goldman Sachs, on whose board he sat, it was often from its chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein."

More here: http://wap.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/magazine/rajat-guptas-lust-for-zeros.html

This is an auto-generated post from my reading list courtesy IFTTT. See http://ifttt.com

Sogou uses Chinese input method to expand its search footprint

Sogou is a company that is best known for its software that helps people use a standard QWERTY keyboard to type Chinese characters. They recently integrated search results into their typing software interface and a Tech in Asia blogger writes that, "I think this move has the potential to change the way Chinese users search, and maybe even the way they interact with their computers on a more fundamental level."

He says further that:

"Sogou’s current implementation of input method search is limited to specific kinds of searches, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. In fact, it doesn’t have to stay search-oriented at all. Imagine simply typing the name of a brand’s product and then purchase that product directly from the desktop in the input method GUI. Or typing the name of a friend from inside any program to bring up a video chat with them, or even share your screen with them. The possibilities are virtually endless, and in moving into input method search, Sogou may have taken us one step closer to a world where users interact much more quickly with the web by not using a browser at all."

Removing the need for a browser is one of the things apps do. Still, he is right that Sogou's method makes the process of interacting with one's device even easier. For one thing, you don't need to search for, download and use a dedicated app -- that just replaces the browser with an app.

I'd like to see whether some Western company picks up this idea and runs with it. Imagine seeing search results while you were writing an email in Outlook or composing a blog post. Yes, it sounds messy and reminiscent of Microsoft's "Smart Tags", but done right, I think it could be quite a useful addition to all computers. All you'd need to interact with your computer or phone would be one simple empty text box into which you typed in commands, friends' names, things to shop for, places to search for, whatever, and it would pull up the appropriate application, search result, map, video-calling service... No more folders, icons or browser tabs to open.

I certainly wouldn't have appreciated why this Sogou development was important if not for taking Chinese language lessons myself.

More: Why Sogou’s Input Method Search Could Change the Chinese Internet (and More)

The CEO’s Weekly Checklist

What should CEOs of young businesses do every week? Here's a great list. Not only for tech companies.

Excerpt: "As a first time CEO, there were times when I would sit at my desk and think, “What should I be doing today?” This feeling was especially strong after every financing round closed. After our seed round, we had defined the product and the engineers were coding it. I didn’t code."

More here: http://scott.a16z.com/2012/05/14/the-ceos-weekly-checklist/