Joanna Glasner

Cities with limited parking and mediocre public transit tend to attract two kinds of people. First, there are those who own cars and complain about parking tickets, monthly payments and the wasted time spent circling for a spot every time they go out. Second, there are those who do not own cars, and lament the […]

Remarkable founders don’t come across as “silvery tongued devils,” says Michael Moritz of Sequoia Capital. Rather, they’re often shy, quiet and rather withdrawn. That was one of the observations Moritz made last night in a one-hour Q&A at startup incubator Kicklabs. The Xconomy-hosted event was provocatively titled “Michael Moritz Unplugged,” but the star VC didn’t […]

Private markets continue to attach soaring valuations to top-ranked Facebook app developers. But public markets, at least in the case of SNAP Interactive, have been quite punishing. While SNAP is best known for its “Are You Interested?” matchmaking application, the New York-based site has another claim to fame: It also happens to be one of […]

My take on various PE and VC-related events and news last week. On Bubbles: Are seed stage valuations for hot Internet startups getting out of hand? That’s been the subject of raging debate across the venture pundit-sphere in recent weeks. Connie Loizos and Mark Boslet added their takes on the topic this week, looking at […]

Every time there’s a big, lucrative flood of IPO exits in venture space, someone gets bragging rights for being early to the party. More often than not, it’s Sequoia Capital. Lately, I’m wondering if the presence of Sequoia as a major shareholder in so many companies that have just gone public or filed to do […]

Will it become a “real” asset class? Or will it remain merely something that well-intentioned people aspire to turn into one? That’s been the long-running debate around the sector broadly known as socially-conscious venture capital, or double- and triple-bottom line investing. And while adherents may argue that a plethora of dedicated funds, endowments and family […]

I have a distracting habit when watching TV. Anytime an actor mentions a brand name as part of the script, I wonder if it’s a product placement. And if so, how much did it cost? This week, I took action, following the latest episode of “Glee,” which featured what I thought had to be a […]

Why aren’t many monstrously successful venture companies trying to go public? Because if they did, they’d be forced to make money, rather than continue spending furiously to crush the competition. That was one of the more upbeat responses I’ve heard to date in response to the standard question posed to VCs about when the IPO […]

Have you noticed how many “old timer” companies are raising their first round of funding lately? In researching Venture Capital Journal’s November cover story, “Growth Spurt,” I came across 16 companies aged 4 to 14 that raised Series A rounds in the past 12 months. VCJ subscribers can read the story here. Edison Ventures participated in three of those deals -- and another three in the previous 12 months. Less than two weeks ago ...

Whether it’s reporting a broken streetlight or trying to get that pothole on your street filled, most people can agree on one thing: dealing with local city governments is apt to be a hassle. Yet unlike many other of life’s irritations, the Internet has generally not made things much easier when it comes to government […]