Doug Speight

5X Tech Founder, 3X Tech Commercialization, 2X EIR, CEO of @AxNano and playful dad. Opinions are my own.

[Doug Speight @DougSpeight]

So no one has ever asked how many of Epstein's victims were former Trump pageant contestants? Interesting.

[Doug Speight @DougSpeight]

@NBA @ESPNNBA, Stephen A is exhausting. Get @SHAQ, @TheJetOnTNT, @_CharlesBarkley and @TurnerSportsEJ under contract immediately.

[evan loves worf @esjesjesj]

How long does it take for companies to build factories in America, a couple days or so?

[James Tate @JamesTate121]

Great job MAGA you voted to raise your own taxes.

[Doug Speight @DougSpeight]

Caste (noun): a system of rigid social stratification characterized by hereditary status, endogamy, and social barriers sanctioned by custom, law, or religion.

Castes are a big deal.

[Doug Speight @DougSpeight]

Culture flows from the top, which is why people of character are so important.

We were all adequately warned.

[Doug Speight @DougSpeight]

Let's be clear: bullies know their audience. Fear is and will always be their greatest weapon. They know how precisely to exploit and manipulate people's insecurities. It's a shame that those insecurities are so predictable. This literally happens every four years like clockwork.

[Liz Cheney @Liz_Cheney]

I’m a Reagan conservative. I have never voted for a Democrat, but this year, I am proudly voting for @KamalaHarris. Donald Trump is too dangerous ever to hold power again. We must put love of country above politics and unite to defeat him on Nov 5.

[Doug Speight @DougSpeight]

From the simplistic voter preference explanations I'm hearing, clearly no one understands economics. Thus, they don't understand that an elected official can't promise one.

[Arlan 👊🏾 @ArlanWasHere]

Yeah, I figured.

I “met” JD a few years ago in DC when he was working for a diversity fund (of all things!) led by Steve Case, where I was speaking at their summit.

I’ve tweeted about this before, but I’ll never in my life forget the steely, almost evil look he gave me when I went to introduce myself to him. I said it then—before I knew he had any political aspirations—and I’ll say it again: he looked at me like he HATED me with every fiber of his being. And then he walked away from me without saying anything. It felt like a racist encounter, though I know many won’t believe that. But iykyk.

[Doug Speight @DougSpeight]

@DNC @harrisonjaime @JoeBiden @KamalaHarris
I sincerely hope you've honed your messaging for the next five months. Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 is quite concerning. Scary, if I'm honest.
https://t.co/l9hsiiimQT

[Joe Pompliano @JoePompliano]

Andre Iguodala is retiring from basketball to run Mosaic, a $200 million venture capital fund that he recently raised, per @dealbook.

In addition to 4 NBA Championships, Iguodala has been one of the most active investors in sports over his 20-year career.

Investments include:
• Zoom
• Robinhood
• Coinbase
• Cloudflare
• Leeds United (EPL)
• Bay FC (NWSL)

Congrats on a great career, @andre!

[Doug Speight @DougSpeight]

@oregonfootball has over 400 uniform combinations. Don't tell me that you dislike @DeionSanders because he's flashy...

[Doug Speight @DougSpeight]

Amazing experience this morning ringing the #nasdaqopeningbell at @NasdaqExchange

[Doug Speight @DougSpeight]

I actually thought that America's conscience would last longer than 36 months. The values Americans claimed in 2020 were a lot different when all the sexism, racism and classism lay fully exposed. It didn't take much for society to do a 180.

Castes are a big deal, people.

[Chris Heivly @chrisheivly]

Push through the barriers of creating change. #entrepreneurship #leadership #motivation

[Doug Speight @DougSpeight]

@jayyeh Great summation. I look forward to receiving it.

[Doug Speight @DougSpeight]

@RonDeSantis is the new Senator Joseph McCarthy, and diversity is the new communism. Does the @GOP know ANY new strategies or just remix old ones? Fear has been your greatest currency, since... well, forever.
https://t.co/SdfcqFjHEk

[Doug Speight @DougSpeight]

@davemcclure @christenobrien Aaarrggh. Me votes fer Pirate Ventures

[Dave McClure @davemcclure]

reflecting: it’s so much easier to discuss non-traditional (aka “crazy”) VC investment strategies with 15 yrs of data / 2,000+ co’s in the rear view mirror.

back in 2008-10, i spoke with hundreds of (smart & experienced) VCs & LPs who said i was insane… and when I said the firm name was going to be called “500 Startups” (thx for that domain @hnshah 🙏🏼❤️) they literally laughed in my fucking face.

fundraising was hell for many years because nobody thought it made any goddamn sense (and tbh, i was scared shitless it might not work). even after we were on our 3rd fund and >1,000 investments, ppl still thought we were crazy and it wouldn’t work.

but i was very lucky a few folks gave us a shot in the early days (@foundersfund @Redpoint @accel @bluerunventures @JoshKopelman @pmarca @mkapor @fredwilson @marcusogawa among many others)… the checks were small but they were enough to get started, and we never looked back.

today i have a lot of sympathy for rookie VCs and founders aspiring to try out their “crazy investing ideas” — especially in such a tough market, altho 2009-10 was pretty similar in a lot of ways.

it’s a GIANT pain in the ass starting a company or a VC fund, and it takes a lot of support and believers, AND a lot of hard work & persistence.

and even then, many many times we will fail. and try again. and fail again. and try again. and fail again.

but i want to let people know — keep working on your crazy ideas!

because one time, a few times, sometimes… you will SUCCEED.

and that makes all that failure and doubt and persistence worthwhile.

https://t.co/6ZNnEnENFj