Dwolla
Money is one of the fundamental underpinnings of the economy, yet we largely take it for granted. When we pay for our morning cup of coffee (or tea) with cash or a credit card, we tend not to stop and marvel at what just happened. Someone gave us a delicious steaming hot beverage - clearly something of value - for either a worn piece of paper or for some information from the swipe of a card - neither of any immediate value. Once you start to think about it that way, you realize what an amazing innovation money actually is...
ContinueWhat comes next
Now is a great time to be an internet entrepreneur. While much of the global economy sputters, tech companies post growth numbers other industries haven't seen in years. Their success hasn't gone unnoticed, and the pace of tech-company creation has quickened. There's more than me-tooism going on. It is, for example, easier to start a tech company than ever before - it's easier to access startup capital, procure basic infrastructure and tools at lower prices, find and cultivate mentors, and join an accelerator program. Accelerator programs that focus on early-stage technology companies have grabbed headlines recently. The programs are designed...
Continue- Christina Cacioppo
- 28 Nov 2011
Help Protect Internet Innovation
We have previously written about why the Protect IP Act (PIPA) is bad for innovation. The same is true of the House version of this bill which is called the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). In fact, SOPA goes beyond PIPA in several important ways. For instance, SOPA contains anti-circumvention language that would essentially allow for government control over essential privacy software such as VPNs, proxies, and even something as fundamental as SSH. SOPA also provides for an incredibly broad right of private action that would allow content owners to interfere with the operations of payment processors and social media...
Continue- Albert Wenger
- 16 Nov 2011
Codecademy
A few weeks back, Ryan Bubinski, who co-founded Codecademy with Zach Sims, said to me that he thought learning how to code should be a fundamental skill on par with learning how to read or write or do arithmetic. And, that the Internet was the ideal platform to create the largest community learning to program. So it's no surprise that Ryan and Zach built a service explicitly designed to be "the easiest way to learn how to code." Indeed, a few days after I had this conversation with Ryan, I watched my 12 year old daughter complete, in real...
Continue- Andy Weissman
- 28 Oct 2011
Analyst hiring update #2
A few weeks ago, we announced we're looking for someone to join the USV team as an analyst. We accepted applications for two weeks, until October 14, using Take The Interview. We hoped 14 days was enough time for potential applicants. That might've been true, although it turns out most people preferred to wait until the end of the two-week period to apply. We received about 65% of applications in the last two days and over 40% in the final day alone. We've spent the last week watching the video responses, visiting the links, and getting to know applicants. It's...
Continue- Christina Cacioppo
- 24 Oct 2011
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Hacking Education
Hacking Philanthropy - The Transcript
Union Square Sessions 3: Hacking Philanthropy
Sessions
Union Square Sessions 2 - Public Policy and Innovation
- Innovation in Education
- A Threat to Startups
- Open Spectrum is Good Policy
- Internet for Everyone
- Through the Looking Glass into the Net Neutrality Debate