Community Value
This week is one of my favorite of the year (and not just because my birthday is this week). This week we hold the First Round Capital CEO Summit in San Francisco. To kick off the event, we had a dinner last night for CEO’s and some friends of the fund at Perbacco. Silicon Valley Bank was nice enough to supply the wine and there were over 70 people in the room. I got to have a fantastic dinner with some amazing people including Dave Morin, Joshua Schachter, and Gina Bianchini.
We talked about the state of the social web and debated the long-term prospects for Groupon. The thought process behind building great product was discussed and specific examples of controversial product decisions were shared and appreciated. We also got to pass around pictures of our dogs, argue over when and how to react to hyper-growth in your business and establish that women are in fact the social hub of meaningful networks.
When I pitch entrepreneurs on the value of First Round Capital, one of the things I stress is the value of the First Round Capital community. We have a page on our website that describes this community and the tools we have created to support it. Last night was one of the many moments that I have been able to experience the community first hand and see the value that is created when amazing people come together and share their expertise. It reinforced my appreciation for this community, reminded me of the value it provides to its members and made me super grateful to have a seat at the table.