Archive: Startup Recommendation

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The first Ford car was sold on July 23, 1903 — a little before my time. Over the years, cars and trucks have become faster, sleeker and safer. But the vehicle my grandfather drove in the 1920s… the one my father drove in the 1940s… and what I drove when I finally got my driver’s license (first time around I failed!) in the 1960s were basically the same.  Then — about 25 years ago — a…
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I love companies that make me think, “Why didn’t I think of that?” These are almost never pure technology plays because the technology is already there. It’s merely waiting for a clever company with a clever idea to make profitable use of it.  The technology-in-waiting here…
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Most people who grew up in the 1960s cite two events they can vividly remember. The first is when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. The other is when the U.S. landed on the moon in 1969. I will never forget the day Kennedy was killed.
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New Pick: A Trustworthy Gig Workforce

By Andy Gordon on August 25, 2022

Great investment opportunities come in all shapes and forms. Some startups are solving the world’s biggest problems — like climate change and the global pandemic. They focus on the scary problems that can do great harm. These problems get the most attention. But I greatly appreciate…
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Our broken healthcare system has no shortage of startups trying to fix big stubborn problems.  The opportunities are plentiful. That’s the upside. But the reason there is so much opportunity is that healthcare in the U.S. has been so resistant to change. And that’s the downside. …
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New Pick: Rapid, Eco-Friendly Lithium Production

By Andy Gordon on July 25, 2022

Everybody is worried about soaring oil prices. But I’ve been watching another resource that’s in high demand: lithium.  Its price has shot up 434% year over year, leaving oil in the dust. Users are beginning to panic. In April, Elon Musk tweeted…
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Robots are just beginning to make their presence felt in modern life. Surgery, prosthetics and warehouses are just some of the areas where robots have found a foothold in recent years. There will be many more. These are early days.  But it’s not too early for…
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A few months ago, a founder pitched me on an interesting idea. It involved drinking and a form of bribery, so naturally I was interested. Her company increased attendance to a business event by sending a bottle of wine to invited participants. She claimed that attendance shot up…
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My first and last surgery was a couple of years ago. I’m glad I didn’t know then what I know now. My surgeon told me the risks were low and a favorable outcome was high. He didn’t mention that he’d be using instruments that would burn or at…
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There will never be a “next” Facebook or Google or Airbnb. Companies are a product of a specific time, place, technology know-how and need. It’s as if the universe wills them into existence.  Of course, founders play an important role. But there are a lot of…
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In a slightly less broken world, Enosi Life Sciences would not exist as is. Enosi is a tiny drug research and development company. And that is the only ordinary-sounding thing about it. Its technology is not ordinary. Its rockstar founders are far from ordinary. And its…
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Seattle in the early 1990s was booming. And no sector was growing faster than aerospace. But Seattle was also midwifing the birth of a new kind of coffeehouse. Starbucks reimagined the experience of a damn good cup of coffee. It struck a deep and broad chord. Starbucks stores…