Journalist Peter Delevett Leaves the Newspaper Biz

Peter Delevett
(Image: twitter.com) 

I didn't realize journalist Peter Delevett had left journalism this past week. I had followed him -- and still follow him -- on Twitter, LinkedIn, and until the third week of March, silicon valley.com and the Mercury News. His sayonara to his profession appeared on redroom.com with a March 19, 2014 dateline. The heartfelt piece contains some inconvenient truths about about the "evolving" media biz that are transforming bona fide American journalism into an endangered species. Delevett's well-written, reflective article also discusses his reasons for becoming a journalist and the many positive experiences he gained from his first career choice.

Whether one involuntarily leaves a career or changes it on one's own terms, such a departure represents a personal milestone from which there is rarely any turning back. Delevett presented his move with grace and wisdom. He also has a new job, a fresh career, an exciting opportunity. He's among the fortunate few who can say so. Delevett also wondered with far less optimism about legitimate journalism. "Tough" would only soft-sell what is a challenging, often unappreciated profession. I admire those of my friends and acquaintances who have pursued it. While I understand why someone with Delevett's experience and stature would "move on," as Americans like to say, I wonder how legit news will be developed and offered to our public.

NFL Star Joe Montana's Investment Firm: A Cautionary Tale

Joe Montana
Image:profootballhof.com

If you were to ask what Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, and Harris Barton have in common, most Bay Area residents and pro football fans would say "San Francisco 49ers." And that would be a correct answer, but not the only answer. The NFL trio also founded a tech investment firm called HRJ Capital during the go-go days of the initial Internet stock boom. (We are experiencing the second, equally feverish Internet IPO wave now.) According to the interesting reporter Peter Delevett's story in siliconvalley.com, Joe Cool and his pals at their zenith managed two billion dollars in assets. However, when the Internet gold turned to dust, HRJ Capital encountered severe financial issues. Given that two of HRJ's clients were Barry Bonds and Peyton Manning, the firm's fiscal crisis must have generated some interesting conversations (particularly with the notoriously surly Bonds). In 2009, Lott, Harris, et al., sold the business to a Swiss enterprise called Capital Dynamics. (Montana had jumped ship in 2005.)

Apparently, the yodelers did not perform sufficient due diligence. The Swiss ended up on the wrong end of expensive litigation. Recently, the opposing sides reached a settlement that cost the European mountain men a mere nine million dollars. As was often the case during the 49ers run to glory, Montana and his two teammates were not penalized, not even for holding.

Venture Capital's Sharp Funding Drop Raises Start-Up Eyebrows

Peter Delevett
(photo: Twitter.com)

Technological innovation's lifeblood includes funding. Typically, a significant source of that revenue comes from venture capital sources. The funding tends to come from institutional firms or VC firms who work with wealthy individual investors. These groups' financial commitments offer a very useful window into the "smart money's" perceived perspective on high tech's growth prospects.

According to a story by the excellent Mercury News reporter Peter Delevett, the view from VC is not rosy at all. Venture capital firms, he noted, invested twelve percent less than in the prior quarter. "That's a troubling sign," Delevett wrote, "considering that 2012 was the first time since the Great Recession that venture capital investment fell year over year."

In the absence of appealing venture capital opportunities, where will this "smart money" go? Inquiring minds would like to know.

Keith Rabois Resurfaces at Silicon Valley VC Firm

I blogged on February 11th about how Silicon Valley looks the other way when one of its anointed wizards violates ethical, legal, or moral boundaries. The case noted in my post involved allegations of sexual harassment levied against Square's now-former COO Keith Rabois. He happens to have been among the early key employees and investors in PayPal and LinkedIn. That status gives him entree into just about anywhere in the Valley.

Keith Rabois

Rabois played his cards well. According to a story by the fine journalist Peter Delevett in today's siliconvalley.com, Rabois has just joined Khosla Ventures, one of Silicon Valley's premier venture capital operations. While Valley hotshots have made it a point to praise the move, not one has uttered a syllable about the circumstances that led Rabois to look for a new job. The rules apparently don't apply to the stars, at least not in star-struck Silicon Valley.

How Reddit Got Obama Interview

Reddit icon
(from Forbes)

Barack Obama made Internet waves earlier this week when he participated in the news-sharing site Reddit's "Ask Me Anything" segment.

Siliconvalley.com's interesting reporter Peter Delevett wrote a brief story noting how 44 and Reddit got together. While Obama held center stage on the web, Mitt Romney's acceptance speech was overshadowed by Hurricane Isaac, Paul Ryan's speech (for better or worse), and Clint Eastwood's rambling endorsement performance.

Do You Know "Pinger"?

Greg Woock (left) and Joe Sipher,
Pinger's co-founders
(photo from Forbes)

Until this evening, I had no idea what "Pinger" was. It's still a little fuzzy to me, but millions of people are familiar with the firm and grateful for its eponymous product. As I understand it, Pinger essentially enables iPod users to text for free. The company makes money from mobile advertising displayed to its customers. The enterprise is not exactly small potatoes. According to Forbes, Pinger is the seventh largest phone carrier in the United States.

The brains behind the operation is Greg Woock. His background is a little different from the characteristic Silicon Valley profile, in that he's not an engineer nor does he have an MBA. If you're unfamiliar with Woock and with Pinger, take time to read the brief interview the interesting San Jose Mercury News reporter Peter Delevett recently conducted with Woock. You'll find, as I did, Woock is a breath of fresh air in the Valley's hothouse environment.

Venture Capitalist Cali Tran Reflects on His Background

Cali Tran at Harvard Business School

What makes a young venture capitalist tick? In the case of Silicon Valley investor Cali Tran, it's all in the challenge.

The 36-year-old Tran came up the hard way, as the son of Vietnamese refugees living in California. His intellect and drive earned him a scholarship to Bowdoin, positions as a Wall Street analyst, and entry into Harvard Business School. Eventually, he heard venture's siren song. He currently is a principal at North Bridge Venture Partners, specializing in wireless and Internet innovations.

Tran's story and interests and related in his recent interview in siliconvalley.com by journalist Peter Delevett. It's a brief, yet very interesting piece, touching on the immigrant experience, the fascination with VC's promise, and an insight into how challenges are considered and mastered.

Venture Capital Funding of Bay Area Firms/Second Quarter 2011

Here's a quickie Sunday FYI. Chart about VC funding via the San Jose Mercury News. If you're interested in VC, the landscape of tech innovation, and the horizon where ideas and practical (well, sort of) applications intersect, you'll want to explore this information. I admit it's not for everyone.

A Mercury News article on the same subject, by Peter Delevett, fleshes out the charmless Excel-style chart and adds details about affected industries and national trends.

Search for Women-Run Venture Capital Firms In the US Nets A Grand Total of One

Venture capital is a realm where typically those with big ideas in technology roam. In many ways, VC is America's leading incubator for putting remarkable ideas into practice. When they hit big, VC investors make a fortune. However, at its highest reaches, venture capital is a man's world, something the with-it tech crowd doesn't really like to publicize. (The movie The Social Network hints at tech's rampant, aggressive sexism.) For every Meg Whitman, there are hundreds of "cool" guys blessed with ideas, ego, and drive (both professional and sexual).

Therefore, I was intrigued when a story in today's San Jose Mercury News focused on what is most likely the only female-run VC firm in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. The article, by the interesting journalist Peter Delevett, interviewed the firm's two managing partners. Their business acumen convinced them to invest in Pandora, which turned out to be a winner. The two women -- Cynthia Ringo (photo) and Nancy Pfund -- also believe in taking environmental and social issues into account in their business decisions.

Vator.tv includes a thumbnail biography of Ringo. The website was founded by Bambi Francisco Roizen, a Silicon Valley journalist who knows just about everyone involved in the area's tech and VC communities. She still runs Vator and retains a strong interest in emerging enterprises.

It's refreshing and important that women such as Roizen, Ringo, and Pfund (sounds like a law firm) are marking their territory in tech's boy's club. However, they only have a toehold in the merciless commercial and entrepreneurial jungle known as Silicon Valley. More women are needed in impact positions in VC and innovation. Men don't have a monopoly on brains; in fact, they let the wrong head do their thinking. It's time for greater gender balance, for everyone's benefit.

SEC Docs Reveal Zynga Deals with Facebook, Investments by Google and Peter Thiel

Zynga, an 800-pound gorilla in the online gaming room, recently submitted a revised SEC filing for its planned IPO. While Zynga's relationship with Facebook has been common knowledge, the SEC documents reveal the depth of the corporate coziness with Mark Zuckerberg's firm, as well as with other major Silicon Valley players. The San Jose Mercury News covered the story, and the article is a good one.

Why would one care? Well, Zynga, according to Peter Delevett's Mercury News piece, is "the largest maker of games played on Facebook," among them the popular "FarmVille" and "Mafia Wars."

What adds spice to the Delevett's article are the other VIPs at the Zynga ownership party. The SEC documents confirm rumors (such as those reported on Tech Crunch earlier this month) that Google has a piece of Zynga's action. So does former Pay Pal and current venture capital zillionaire Peter Thiel, whose depiction in The Social Network took some tarnish off his well-burnished, calculated public image.

The Zynga IPO story is a little complicated, and one should take the time to read Delevett's piece.