I picked up running for all the wrong reasons. My boss and his wife ran the New York marathon to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. I figured if they could do it then it would be a breeze for a young man like me. I hastily declared at out office Christmas party that I was … Continue reading Running saved my life…

In the days following George Floyd's death and the subsequent protests, a lot of my friends have reached out to me – each in their own unique style – to check on how I feel about the situation, to extend solidarity, and to express that they understand that racism is morally wrong. These gestures have … Continue reading Building Alliances – Reflections on recent events following George Floyd…

At the end of 2015, I randomly came across a PBS special that was debating the value of the growing number of entrepreneurship-based learning programs at Liberal Arts Colleges. I learned about the MiddCore program at Middlebury College from this special. MiddCore is a mentor-driven, experiential learning program where students build solutions to real life … Continue reading Entrepreneurship is when Liberal Arts hit the pavement

Many years ago on rainy night in East Village I decided to flag an empty cab that was passing by. As soon as the driver spotted me, he quickly switched off the “available” light. He stopped a few meters down the road and picked up a group of four white guys who were quite drunk … Continue reading Uber was my idea…

Yesterday, Pitchbook published a series of charts summarizing the state of private equity in the US. The basic message was how cutthroat the industry is becoming. The key points I picked up from the article are summarized in my somewhat gloomy tweet below: I haven’t delved into the full report, but I’d be interested to … Continue reading Growth equity – The base case doesn’t cut it anymore

Private equity is an apprenticeship. As a young practitioner at a start-up, I spend a decent amount of time picking the brains of the many grey-haired executives that have made their mark in the industry. I try to ask variations of the same questions to each investor so I can tally their responses. Below is … Continue reading Carpentry, Masonry, and… Private Equity

I intended to share this post closer to the beginning of the year. I wasn’t able to because my post marathon recovery and subsequent planning for 2017 took much longer than expected. However, better late than never. In 2007, I adopted a framework to reflect on the previous year and to (sort of) assess the … Continue reading Reflecting on 2016 – Gifts, lessons and opportunities

A few weeks ago, my brother completed high school! His graduation was the culmination of a personal “no-sibling-left-behind” mission that I set to help my siblings attend college. My brother moved in with me “fresh-off-the-boat” right after I graduated from business school. I assumed guardianship of a teenager when most of my friends were setting … Continue reading Startups & Teenagers – The curious case of Benjamin Button

Recently, I was considering investing in a business whose brand I really like. The capital structure was unique because although young, the company had been funded through a very low-interest loan from an angel investor. Maturity for the loan was approaching in six months and the investor refused to extend the term. The company desperately … Continue reading Hurdle rates – If the bar is too low it might be a trap

Starting in 2004, I spent a few years tracking the promising story of Freddy Adu. Freddy, then a “14” year old phenomenon, and widely tipped to be the next big thing in soccer, became the youngest athlete ever to sign a professional soccer contract. He was drafted by D.C. United. United made a bet that … Continue reading Scalability – Just because it’s small doesn’t mean it will grow