peHUB First Read

* Mark Suster: How to cold call a venture capitalist. * Blackstone vs. Blackrock: How to tell them apart. * We spend way more on our moms than on our dads. * Morning Call: U.S. futures point lower, London falls early, European shares drag, the Nikkei climbs and both China and Hong Kong post gains. * Jack Welch lends his name and cash to an online university being run by the guy who brought us Grand Canyon Education and Bridgepoint Education. The MBA program will be named after Welch. * The fund management sector is poised for a wave of mergers. Will private equity step up? * Maybe VCs have been doing it all wrong. Instead of waiting for the IPO window to reopen or for an opportunistic M&A exit, perhaps they should just sell their stakes on a private market exchange like SharesPost. After all, if Tesla can get an absurd $1 billion valuation...