What Would Lisa Suennen Say?
This last week marked the one-year anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also known colloquially as Obamacare. Depending on who you are and where you stand, you might not be sure whether to celebrate or mourn the occasion. I looked up what gift one is supposed to give on such an […]
I remember that I once won a radio contest where you had to call in and tell a joke to the DJ that made them genuinely laugh. The joke I told was one where the VP of Marketing at Starbucks approaches St. Peter at the Pearly Gates of Heaven and says that the company proposes […]
There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it. ~Chinese Proverb Nobody ever thinks their kids are ugly, but it is especially gratifying when you get independent verification that they are, well, awesome. As a venture capitalist, my portfolio companies come to feel like my kids. I am invested in […]
There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it. ~Chinese Proverb Nobody ever thinks their kids are ugly, but it is especially gratifying when you get independent verification that they are, well, awesome. As a venture capitalist, my portfolio companies come to feel like my kids. I am invested in […]
Start Every Day with a Smile and Get It Over With–W.C. Fields We have all heard the old adage that frowning takes more muscles than smiling. Sometimes it’s 2 times as many muscles, sometimes it’s as many as 5 times, but either way, it’s the annoying thing people say when you look less than happy […]
As I have mentioned before, I co-teach a class at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business on healthcare venture capital. One of the lectures is used to discuss how venture investment relationships start, and especially how they mature and end. As I reflected on the class after the first time I taught it, I […]
On February 9, 2011 in Fortune’s online newsletter called The Term Sheet (required reading for us venture/private equity folk) there was a story written by Dan Primack entitled, “Private equity is a man’s world… seriously.” In the article, Dan chides: “Are you a woman who wants to succeed in private equity? Here’s some free advice: […]
I’m really looking forward to this coming Friday, February 4th, as I get to moderate a panel on “The Impact of Health Reform on California.” The panel, which was organized by UC Berkeley’s Institute for Governmental Studies is being held in Sacramento and will take place before a sold-out crowd of nearly 200, in large […]
Imagine you are sick, really sick. You need a liver transplant. Here are your choices: Hang on as long as you can hoping a healthy liver shows up before it’s too late; or, If you just can’t wait, you might be able to get one from Keith Richards (slightly used, if you know what I […]
President Obama got two big laughs in his State of the Union speech this week. One came as the result of his description of the federal bureaucracy through the eyes of a salmon. He described how different departments have oversight responsibility for salmon in different conditions, specifically stating, “the Interior Department is in charge of […]
Lisa Suennen is a venture capital investor and the managing partner of Venture Valkyrie, LLC, which publishes the Venture Valkyrie blog and co-produces the Tech Tonics podcast. She is also co-founder of CSweetener, a women's healthcare mentoring organization.