Category Archives: Uncategorized

Fred Destin

Shame on France : the Yahoo – DailyMotion debacle



 I was on the board of DailyMotion for many years, starting with the first round of financing in 2006 and ending with my resignation off the board in January 2013. We made many mistakes along the way but we survived …


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Fred Destin

Zombie VCs Take II – How to Spot an Active Firm



An entrepreneur called Danielle Morrill just kicked up a bit of a shitstorm with a nicely titled “Zombie VC” post.   It’s a nice pendant to her recent Zombie Startups post in which she deals with her own fears of …


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Fred Destin

LunchBeat Boston #1



 We’re all heads down building our startups and sometimes we forget to have fun.  No more.  Edition 1 of LunchBeat Boston got 150 odd people dancing at the HackReduce space, and with that massive endorphin rush I bet we upped …


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Fred Destin

The perspective of a gun owner



 I don’t own guns and do not know much about them.  I received a mail from my fellow startup investor John Gargasz who is someone I rate and respect, which I thought I might share with you to re-center this …


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Fred Destin

Children, Risk and #Newtown: don’t let Fear win



 I have 3 kids, aged 5, 7 and 9.  I cannot even pretend to relate to those who lost their kids, but I can picture what an obliterated classroom would do to them and me. After the shooting news broke …


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Fred Destin

Gun control : do something



 America considers it the right of its citizens to bear firearms.  So be it.  If you don’t like it, you don’t have to live here.   America has however been lobbied for a long time by a powerful and well …


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Fred Destin

Engaging with the press – a @MassTLC #unconf



 Courtesy of MassLTC Unconference, I wanted to share a few tips on how to get famous fast through efficient interaction with the press.   Not all of us can go for the ultimate shortcut a.k.a. the Cort Johnson “Killer Smile” …


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Fred Destin

Techstars Boston 2012 – The Startup Forge



 Today is TechStars Boston Demo Day and as usual you can expect a spectacular display of pitching bravado and entrepreneurial glitz.   For a view of who’s pitching at #tsdemoday, head over to BostoInno.  My twitter stream is currently full …


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Fred Destin

On historical returns and venture capital flavours



Story of of the last few years in Venture Fund Land : large institutional investors concentrate money with fewer managers and flagship brands AND / OR find emerging managers. Since VC offerings have generally been undifferentiated, LP’s had little choice …


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Fred Destin

#Geonpi: the bizarre case of an ever shrinking France



The excellent Jean-David Chamboredon a.k.a. Chambo, arguably the best e-commerce venture guy in France, wrote a hard hitting column in La Tribune last week attacking an “anti-startup” fiscal law. Since then there has been an explosion on twitter about the …


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