Collaborative Blog http://collaborativefund.posterous.com Most recent posts at Collaborative Blog posterous.com Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:55:00 -0800 New Home http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/new-home http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/new-home

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We've moved! For on-going Collaborative Fund content click here.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/939218/Type-1-Green-Gradient-Box-_no-shadow_.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/f9MgpICCK Craig Shapiro Craig Craig Shapiro Thu, 20 Oct 2011 06:47:00 -0700 Mary Meeker's Report http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/mary-meekers-report http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/mary-meekers-report

Mary Meeker's annual Internet Trends report

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/939218/Type-1-Green-Gradient-Box-_no-shadow_.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/f9MgpICCK Craig Shapiro Craig Craig Shapiro Thu, 29 Sep 2011 06:31:00 -0700 Shareable: Trust is Currency For Peer-to-Peer Marketplaces http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/trust-is-currency-in-peer-to-peer-marketplace http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/trust-is-currency-in-peer-to-peer-marketplace

Excerpt:

"eBay has proved how the trust we typically form face-to-face can be built and assigned online by creating the grandfather of reputation systems, the Feedback Forum. After any transaction, buyers and sellers can rate each other using a simple points system (1,0,-1). Once users reach a certain number of points, they receive a star attached to their screen name, indicating their trustworthiness. The "silver shooting star" indicates the highest rating.

With around 98 to 99 percent of trades receiving positive rating the eBay approach seems to work and has been copied and adapted to a lot of other projects. One of the most common complaints with eBay is the use of nicknames instead of real names, and this is where the use of social network profiles can be a handy extra in the reputation system"

Link to full article

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/939218/Type-1-Green-Gradient-Box-_no-shadow_.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/f9MgpICCK Craig Shapiro Craig Craig Shapiro Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:53:00 -0700 FastCo: Collaborative Consumption Leader And Unlikely VC Rachel Botsman Will Convince Us All To Share http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/collaborative-consumption-leader-and-unlikely http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/collaborative-consumption-leader-and-unlikely

Excerpt:

"Collaborative Fund has been operational for less than a year, but is investing in some of the hottest startups that use a collaborative consumption business model, including most recently, RentCycle. Companies come to Collaborative Fund, Botsman notes, because they want to be part of a community and portfolio that believes in the same business approach.

 A depth of market knowledge among the investors and advisers at Collaborative Fund--their advisers include founding team members of Kiva, Meetup, OpenTable, and YouTube--makes it distinct from traditional VC firms, she says. Entrepreneurs know they can rely on Collaborative Fund for help in understanding competition and market opportunities, but also feel that backing from this fund is a seal of approval in their industry."

Link to full Fast Company article

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/939218/Type-1-Green-Gradient-Box-_no-shadow_.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/f9MgpICCK Craig Shapiro Craig Craig Shapiro Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:30:00 -0700 Stewart Butterfield, co-founder of Flickr, kicks off the first CreativeMornings Vancouver http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/stewart-butterfield-co-founder-of-flickr-kick http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/stewart-butterfield-co-founder-of-flickr-kick

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/939218/Type-1-Green-Gradient-Box-_no-shadow_.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/f9MgpICCK Craig Shapiro Craig Craig Shapiro Tue, 06 Sep 2011 10:03:58 -0700 Jessica Livingston http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/jessica-livingston http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/jessica-livingston Y Combinator partner Jessica Livingston tells GigaOM what they look for in an entrepreneur.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/939218/Type-1-Green-Gradient-Box-_no-shadow_.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/f9MgpICCK Craig Shapiro Craig Craig Shapiro Thu, 01 Sep 2011 09:31:18 -0700 Foundation 10 (in NYC) http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/foundation-10-in-nyc http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/foundation-10-in-nyc
Kevin Rose interviews Dennis Crowley, co-founder of FourSquare

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/939218/Type-1-Green-Gradient-Box-_no-shadow_.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/f9MgpICCK Craig Shapiro Craig Craig Shapiro Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:13:00 -0700 A First Look at BankSimple http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/banksimple-card-in-action http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/banksimple-card-in-action

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/939218/Type-1-Green-Gradient-Box-_no-shadow_.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/f9MgpICCK Craig Shapiro Craig Craig Shapiro Fri, 05 Aug 2011 14:03:32 -0700 Welcome Tim and the Rentcycle Team http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/welcome-tim-and-the-rentcycle-team http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/welcome-tim-and-the-rentcycle-team If you haven't heard of Rentcycle yet, it's a simple platform connecting consumers with small rental businesses to make renting online as easy as shopping online. We see Rentcycle as a game-changer for the rental industry, and by changing that game, it could be a game changer for the entire way we think about shopping and ownership.

Here's why we invested in Rentcycle: the mission, the team, and the founder. Rentcycle promotes sustainable commerce and reuse by making it easier for people to gain access to the experiences they want, without the burdens of ownership. If anyone's going to disrupt this industry, it's going to be this all-star team at Rentcycle whose passion for the business is only rivaled by an undying determination to be the ones to make it happen. It also doesn't hurt that they have Marc Randolph (cofounder of Netflix) and Chuck Templeton (founder of OpenTable) supporting them.

Here's how it works: Say you're throwing a kids birthday party and need one of those bouncy houses and a cotton candy machine. Unless your name is Bozo the Clown, it makes no sense to own these things. Rather than call around to different party shops checking if they rent out these products, you can now visit Rentcycle which shows the shops around you that carry what you're looking for on the date you need.  You can arrange delivery, pick-up and pay through the platform, all without leaving your couch.   

The idea for Rentcycle came to founder Tim Hyer while he was training for a triathlon. After learning it would cost $600 to ship his bike cross-country for his race, Tim turned to renting, finding a sweet road bike rental for 1/10 the cost. The only problem was, it took him 2 days to track down the right bike at the right store on the right date. The week following the race, Tim wrote the business plan for Rentcycle to solve this problem. 

Rentcycle wasn't Tim's first business idea. He had been thinking of collaborative consumption ideas for quite some time--only to sit back and watch others do something about it. In a recent interview, Tim offered a piece of advice to fellow entrepreneurs: "seize the moment." Taking this to heart, when the Rentcycle opportunity presented itself to Collaborative, we decided to stand behind Tim and his team 100%. We believe this is Rentcycle's moment and we're happy to be seizing it together.

So, we're excited to welcome Tim and the entire team at Rentcycle into Collaborative's portfolio of dynamic companies. Just as thrilling are the partners that accompany Rentcycle, including like-minded co-investors (Andreessen Horowitz, SV Angel, Founder Collective, Amicus Capital, Max Levchin, and Farhad Mohit). We're looking forward to working together and changing the way people consume.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/939218/Type-1-Green-Gradient-Box-_no-shadow_.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/f9MgpICCK Craig Shapiro Craig Craig Shapiro Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:21:22 -0700 Creative Mornings with Jason Fried http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/creative-mornings-with-jason-fried http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/creative-mornings-with-jason-fried

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/939218/Type-1-Green-Gradient-Box-_no-shadow_.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/f9MgpICCK Craig Shapiro Craig Craig Shapiro Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:22:54 -0700 Shepard Fairey Urban Roots Documentary Poster http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/shepard-fairey-urban-roots-documentary-poster http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/shepard-fairey-urban-roots-documentary-poster
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Goes on sale this Friday July 29, 2011 at a random time.

18 x 24″ Screen print signed and numbered edition of 450  

$60 - Limit 1 per person/household

Proceeds from the poster go towards funding farms in schools.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/939218/Type-1-Green-Gradient-Box-_no-shadow_.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/f9MgpICCK Craig Shapiro Craig Craig Shapiro Tue, 19 Jul 2011 06:59:00 -0700 SV Angel David Lee Highlights Collaborative Consumption on Bloomberg http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/sv-angel-david-lee-highlights-collaborative-c http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/sv-angel-david-lee-highlights-collaborative-c

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Link to video

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/939218/Type-1-Green-Gradient-Box-_no-shadow_.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/f9MgpICCK Craig Shapiro Craig Craig Shapiro Mon, 18 Jul 2011 10:35:00 -0700 First Annual Founders Summit http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/first-annual-founders-summit http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/first-annual-founders-summit

Last Friday, we invited some of the investors and portfolio companies in The Collaborative Fund to meet up at IDEO's New York office in SoHo. 

This was the first time a lot of the people involved with the fund met one another and, frankly, I was not sure what to expect. My hope was that by simply introducing people in a comfortable setting, the founders could tap into the collective wisdom of the gathered crowd, exchanging ideas and sharing experiences with their fellow entrepreneurs and investors. 



It worked. We asked each attending portfolio company to present some brief updates and talk about the challenges they were facing, after which they would field questions. But the real magic was in the informal conversations that followed as founders and investors shared experiences and knowledge. 

The conversation ranged from next steps on strategy, to community development and growth, to building a really great product that stays true to culture, and to revolutionizing the way that stories and products are shared. The founders did a phenomenal job fielding questions from a smart and—at times—tough crowd, and I remain convinced that our entrepreneurs are disrupting their respective industries.  

Reflecting back to the morning afterward over lunch and Honest Tea, it was great to see everyone in the room connect, offering advice, sharing stories, and asking each other for help. I’m pumped to see what’s in store for this year, and look forward to the next Collaborative Founders Summit.

Many thanks to all those who made it happen: the Collaborative Fund team, Alix, Heather, Ryan over at IDEO, Tina Roth Eisenberg, Malcolm Ong, Zach Frechette, Jesse Pickard, and all those who attended.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/939218/Type-1-Green-Gradient-Box-_no-shadow_.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/f9MgpICCK Craig Shapiro Craig Craig Shapiro Thu, 07 Jul 2011 05:43:00 -0700 $21,000 = ave amount a new yorker makes per year renting their space on Airbnb http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/21000-ave-amount-a-new-yorker-makes-renting-t http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/21000-ave-amount-a-new-yorker-makes-renting-t

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See the full gallery on Posterous

The first in a series of new content initiatives from Collaborative, our cut-out-house was featured in Fast Company.

"collaborative consumption - a fundamental cultural change."

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/939218/Type-1-Green-Gradient-Box-_no-shadow_.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/f9MgpICCK Craig Shapiro Craig Craig Shapiro Tue, 05 Jul 2011 09:40:00 -0700 Biz and Evan announce Obvious Corp at The Aspen Institute http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/evan-williams-announces-obvious-corp-at-the-a http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/evan-williams-announces-obvious-corp-at-the-a

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/939218/Type-1-Green-Gradient-Box-_no-shadow_.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/f9MgpICCK Craig Shapiro Craig Craig Shapiro Mon, 20 Jun 2011 06:51:00 -0700 CreativeMornings http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/creativemornings http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/creativemornings

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In the winter of 2010, I met Tina Roth Eisenberg. One year earlier, Tina had launched CreativeMornings in New York City, wanting to create an accessible, inspiring morning event. Some have called it "TED for the rest of us."

What initially started in her design studio has now grown into a monthly 300+ person breakfast lecture series. Nothing makes Tina happier than seeing an engaged crowd of creative types on an early Friday morning. She believes in our increasingly digital lives that meeting people in person is more important than ever.

Besides running and growing CreativeMornings, Tina is the editor of swiss-miss.com, inventor of TeuxDeux, founder of Studiomates and creator of Tattly.

I was immediately taken by her and CreativeMornings and jumped at the opportunity to support it.

Two things I witnessed at GOOD that drew me into CreativeMornings:

  1. There is a new breed of entrepreneurship and it is based on using creative facilities to solve big and small problems.
  2. Bring like-minded (creative) people together and magic happens. New projects; job and business opportunities; friends and much more.   

CreativeMornings is quickly becoming a dominant player in this space.
It is grass-roots, inclusive, global, and free and open to anyone who is interested in joining. The potential is limitless.

When I first got involved there were chapters in New York, Los Angeles, and Zurich. In the last five months, San Francisco, Chicago and London all came on board with several more planned in the near future.

So now it is official - Tina and CreativeMornings are part of the Collaborative family. I am excited to support the team and help them reach its full potential.

Come see for yourself this Friday (June 24th):

-Craig

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/939218/Type-1-Green-Gradient-Box-_no-shadow_.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/f9MgpICCK Craig Shapiro Craig Craig Shapiro Mon, 23 May 2011 21:18:00 -0700 Join the Collaborative Team http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/join-the-collaborative-team http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/join-the-collaborative-team
Did you hear about Kickstarter, FFFFOUND, and Square before all your friends? Are you constantly reading Techcrunch and Hacker News? Looking to learn more about investing into startups? If so, we're looking for a superstar like you to join our team.

Collaborative aims to be the leading source of capital and strategic support for creative entrepreneurs who want to change the world. We're looking to hire an apprentice, which will work directly with the Founder/CEO on everything from ground level administrative work to the most fun stuff (due diligence on startups and new business development) and everything in between.  

We're looking for a creative problem solver, but more importantly, someone that can roll up their sleeves and hustle everyday. Bonus points if you:
  • worked your way through college, 
  • appreciate graffiti art, 
  • can setup a bank account without any assistance, 
  • can explain node.js, 
  • traveled around the world (cool points for Latin America and/or Asia), 
  • have read What's Mine is Yours or The Rise of the Creative Class, 
  • or used any of our portfolio products (Kickstarter, Skillshare, etc).
If you have done any or all of the above, please apply today!

The entry-level position is FT and based in New York City.

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]]> http://posterous.com/images/profile/missing-user-75.png http://posterous.com/users/hesWgVginGkm6 mikekarnj mikekarnj mikekarnj Wed, 11 May 2011 07:39:54 -0700 New Collaborative Fund Spokesman http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/new-collaborative-fund-spokesman http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/new-collaborative-fund-spokesman
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Here is to investing in the future!

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/939218/Type-1-Green-Gradient-Box-_no-shadow_.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/f9MgpICCK Craig Shapiro Craig Craig Shapiro Mon, 02 May 2011 12:27:40 -0700 What is Skillshare? http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/what-is-skillshare http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/what-is-skillshare

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/939218/Type-1-Green-Gradient-Box-_no-shadow_.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/f9MgpICCK Craig Shapiro Craig Craig Shapiro Fri, 29 Apr 2011 08:32:00 -0700 The Sharing Economy (FastCo) http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/the-sharing-economy-fastco http://collaborativefund.posterous.com/the-sharing-economy-fastco

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"Access to goods and skills is more important than ownership of them" -Rachel Botsman

Link to article

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/939218/Type-1-Green-Gradient-Box-_no-shadow_.jpeg http://posterous.com/users/f9MgpICCK Craig Shapiro Craig Craig Shapiro