The collective you likes Barack Obama. You really, really like him (well, at least in comparison to John McCain). Over 2,200 readers participated in our final presidential poll before the election, and Obama topped McCain by a margin of 54% to 35 percent. This is a massive jump from our prior poll in July, when Obama led just 41% to 40% among decided readers, and 50% to 48% when leaners were included (leaners this time split evenly). It is also a much wider gap than we saw back in 2004, when readers narrowly picked George Bush over John Kerry (note: yesterday’s reader sample favored Kerry in that election by 2 percentage points). Before getting into the nitty-gritty, let me stress that this poll is totally unscientific. It’s a self-selected snapshot of Wire/peHUB readers who, on average are: Men between the ages of 18-49, who make between $100,000 and $350,000 per year and who live in major metropolitan areas. But, to reiterate, we polled the same demographic back in July, and it was much, much closer. Get full results after the jump.
2 min read · 30 October 2008
* No more free lunch at Google. Literally. * John Doerr offers 11 ways for companies to stay afloat in hard times. * Where did all of AIG's cash go? Probably down a dark hole that was much deeper than most of us peons ever knew. * Morning Call: Gains expected at the open, but it will all end up being about the GDP numbers. * Is Dick Grasso the voice of reason on Wall Street bonuses? * Bob Woodward speaks at the Turnaround Management Association's annual convention, and compares the Bush Administration to a distressed company.
1 min read · 30 October 2008
There’s been some news of late about Martin Tobias, the onetime venture capitalist who last December quit as CEO of Seattle-based biodiesel maker Imperium Renewables. Katie, Eric and others report that he’s launched Kashless, a stealth startup that melds software with cleantech. I’d hate to just cite their work without adding anything, so how about: Kashless recently raised $5 million in Series A funding led by RRE Ventures. Stuart Ellman, co-founder and managing partner of RRE Ventures, will join the board. Tobias declined to comment on the company or the funding when I rang earlier today, but there are some clues on his personal blog. Specifically, he recounts difficulties in buying and selling
1 min read · 29 October 2008
1 min read · 29 October 2008
Greetings from the home office, where it’s good to be back after a 30-hour whirlwind to Quebec City, for the North American Venture Capital Summit. Just as beautiful as it was on my last visit – 24 years ago when all I would eat in the French restaurants were bread and cheese (on the upside, I learned to say fromage and pan at a very young age). My primary role in Quebec was to conduct a pair of keynote interviews: One with Alan Patricof of Greycroft Partners and one with David Rimer of Index Ventures. Both seemed to go well, with Patricof stressing a “back to basics” mentality, and Rimer discussing how fast technology trends can shift (Rimer also put together a slideshow that included a wonderfully-obscene faux Economist cover). But this morning I want to briefly discuss the presentation I was not a part of. That would be the lunchtime keynote address by Steve Schwarzman of The Blackstone Group. Suffice to say, it prompted much discussion at the closing cocktails and on the plane-ride back to Boston. I’ve had an evening for reflection since live-blogging the speech, so here goes: It was either one of the laziest keynote speeches I have ever seen, or one of the most condescending.
4 min read · 29 October 2008
* Michelle Leder on how banks are spinning their participation in the Fed rescue. In short: They're only doing their patriotic duty. * Henry Waxman to banking honchos: Justify your pay. * Morning Call: All eyes on another Fed rate cut, but U.S. futures point to early losses. * McCain and Palin sit down with Maria Bartiromo. * Five months ago, George Bilicic left Lazard to launch an infrastructure group (and dedicated fund) for KKR. Now he's back at Lazard. * How to ruin your weekend, in three easy steps. * Gossip Girl name-drops Warren Buffett. Does that mean both of them have jumped the shark?
1 min read · 29 October 2008
3 min read · 28 October 2008
1 min read · 28 October 2008
1 min read · 28 October 2008
2 min read · 28 October 2008
