A historical collection of our writing.
Brad BurnhamWe have said many times that we believe in emergent, decentralized, start-up innovation. Institutions public and private, no matter how well intentioned, tend to protect their institutional interests, whether is it a current revenue stream, or a position of market power. That makes them inherently […] Read more
Brad BurnhamThere has been a lot of talk recently about the Internet of Things. Some analysts estimate there will be 9 billion connected devices, from parking meters to thermostats by 2018. By then, that will be roughly the number of smartphones, TVs, wearables and personal computers combined. There has been a […] Read more
Brad BurnhamAmerica’s idea of itself is inextricably tied to the opening of the American West. In the 19th century America embraced the entrepreneurs, and rugged individuals who sought to reinvent themselves by going west. Joe Manchin seems to have forgotten who we are. He seems to have forgotten that it was […] Read more
Brad BurnhamJoi Ito likes to say the Internet is a belief system. At Union Square Ventures, we believe in the Internet. We spend a lot of time thinking about how the Internet enables young companies to radically transform markets. We try to understand what it is about ubiquitous connectivity and permissionless […] Read more
Brad BurnhamBill Gurley wrote a wonderful post last summer that detailed the differences between creating engaging user experiences on smart phones and on the web. He pointed out that these differences are not superficial and that in the past major differences in applications platforms, like the transition […] Read more
Brad BurnhamYahoo announced today that they will acquire our portfolio company Tumblr. In September of 2007 we, together with Spark Capital, invested in a 3 person start-up founded by David Karp, a 21 year old coder who had not finished high school. At the time, our biggest challenge was convincing David to […] Read more
