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bfeld

bfeld

Brad has been an early stage investor and entrepreneur for over 20 years. Prior to co-founding Foundry Group, he co-founded Mobius Venture Capital and, prior to that, founded Intensity Ventures, a company that helped launch and operate software companies and later became a venture affiliate of the predecessor to Mobius Venture... more »
  • Boulder, Co, USA
  • member since December 6 2006

Reviews

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  • The Architecture of Happiness
    • Rated 4 stars

    Alain de Botton did a superb job of mixing text, photos, and concepts about architecture and the philosophy of life and happiness. Little known “Feld fact” – I “minored” (we didn’t really have minors at MIT – they call them “concentrations”) in art and architecture (course 4) and love buildings. I’m sure I’m an architect in a parallel universe.

    bfeld wrote this review Saturday, March 31 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • Venture Capital and the Finance of Innovation
    • Rated 4 stars


    Venture Capital and the Finance of Innovation started off strong. Andrew Metrick – an associate professor of finance at Wharton – has written 50% of a must read book for any analyst or associate at a venture capital firm (and most principals and partners, but I won’t presume to suggest what would be helpful for them.) Part 1 and Part 2 are a superb, detailed overview of the “history, terms, and math of venture capital.” (the first 50%.) Part 3 is an academic section on “partial valuation” – really just finance theory on VC term and exit scenarios (not terribly practical, but probably fun for some business school students.) Park 4 is section on “the finance of innovation” that has the practical utility of 1 over infinity. Hint to entrepreneurs – if your VC starts talking about game theory during your term sheet negotiations, run. Look for a deeper review on AsktheVC. Criticism notwithstanding, the first half of this book is outstanding.

    bfeld wrote this review Saturday, March 31 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Penguin Book of Curious and Interesting Numbers: Revised Edition (Penguin Press Science S.)
    • Rated 5 stars

    Curious and Interesting Numbers was also fantastic. It starts with -1 and i, patiently takes us through 117 pages before breaking the number 100, and then accelerates into some really interesting numbers. We end with 1^billion (a “gigaplex”), F23471 (the largest known composite Fermat number), 10^10^10^34 (Skews’ number – that was a new one to me) and then Graham’s number (the world champion largest number.) After reading it, 3, 9, 27, and 42 are still my favorite numbers.

    bfeld wrote this review Saturday, March 31 2007. ( reply | permalink )
    • Rated 5 stars

    It’s the story of Lt. Belenko, a Russian MIG pilot who stole a MIG on 9/6/76, flew it to Japan, and defected to the US. As I was reading it, Amy grabbed it and said “a real life 24, huh?” World politics was very different before CNN and the web.

    bfeld wrote this review Saturday, March 31 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • 24 Declassified: Operation Hell Gate
    • Rated 4 stars

    24: Vanishing Point was much more satisfying to me than this season’s 24 has been. I think 24 has reached the “Alias point” for me (where I know what’s going to happen before it happens so I’m not that interested anymore, although it was pretty cool when Martha stabbed Charles.) Vanishing Point is another “in the past” books which helps build the 24 backstory. If you are a 24 fan, read them all.

    bfeld wrote this review Saturday, March 31 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • Consulting Demons: Inside the Unscrupulous World of Global Corporate Consulting
    • Rated 4 stars

    If you’ve ever been a management consultant you’ll love Consulting Demons by Lewis Pinault. My first company (Feld Technologies) did a lot of work for and with a major east coast consulting firm between 1988 and 1993 and I got to see the consulting industry from the inside. In addition to writing all of their back office software (stuff like accounting, recruiting, expense management, time tracking) we worked with them on a number of their client projects as their “IT specialists.”

    Pinault’s book totally nails the life, the industry, and the experience of management consulting. It’s cynical and not that pleasant, but it’s a classic confessional that – if you identify with the business – is enthralling. BusinessWeek had a short review when it came out titled First, Let’s Kill All the Consultants and CIO Magazine had an except on one of the great sections titled The Devil You Don’t Know.

    At the end of the book, Pinault steps off the consulting treadmill in 2000 to go follow his dream (getting a JD with an emphasis on Space Law and working toward a PhD in Planetary Geosciences and Future Studies.) A short trip on the web determined that he got back on the treadmill at some point, establishing himself as a “Guru” (there is a hysterical chapter on this – Chapter 10 – The Great Centurion) via his book The Play Zone: Unlock Your Creative Genius and Connect with Consumers. He’s chairman of BOX and is a Senior Client Partner in Korn/Ferry’s Leadership Development Solutions practice.

    The book – plus Pinault’s trajectory through his consulting career – helps reinforce any cynicism one might have about management consulting.

    bfeld wrote this review Monday, March 12 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • Toilets of the World

    Toilets of the World

    by Morna E. Gregory, Sian James
    • Rated 4 stars

    I'm fascinated with toilets. This book was beautifully done - magnificent pictures, a wide range of toilets, and some good potty history to go along with things.

    bfeld wrote this review Monday, March 5 2007. ( reply | permalink )
  • The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't
    • Rated 3 stars

    The No Assholes Rule weighed in at 186 pages - about 100 pages too long. Like Ego Check, it wasn’t a bad business book, but it was too long for the simple point that it was making.

    bfeld wrote this review Monday, March 5 2007. ( reply | permalink )

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