Spacer We’ve considered Kira Noodleman elemental to Team Bee since she joined us as an intern after her first year of Berkeley Haas in 2016. This fall, diploma in hand, she returned and became a Bee investor. Our resident blockchain and ag-tech expert, she also works in dealflow interviewing dozens of potential Bee portfolio companies … Read more
Opportunities Abound, Discipline Not Forgotten Introduction The year 2017 strangely feels reminiscent of 1993, as we are living in the dawn of the next internet, or Web 3.0: a new paradigm where applications, users, and connected devices interact directly with each other. “Bitcoin became the first decentralized digital currency in 2009, and is an entirely … Read more
It’s pretty great around Bee HQ these days. … We’ve got a fully engaged, enthusiastic team. The pipeline of opportunities is full of new innovation and disruption. And every single day, we do the work we love with Founders we deeply respect and learn from. And, as of last week, 60 percent of companies Bee Partners invested … Read more
Steadfast. Resolute. Full of grit and in the grip of a passion. These are the words that come to mind when thinking about Bee Founder (and Cal grad) Nikita Bier whose company, tbh, was acquired by Facebook on October 16. See the story on TechCrunch here. Bee Partners invested with Nikita and his team in May of 2013. On … Read more
Ask anyone who knows me—my capacity for optimism is off the charts. As a newborn I had a “baby bottle half-full” frame of mind. And yeah, there’s a substantial feedback loop in my career that has nurtured and supported that. Who would want a pessimistic venture capitalist, even if such a thing were possible? Especially … Read more
The financial valuation of any company—any deal, any enterprise—is prominent in Bee Partners’ thoughts as we consider, plan, and proceed with investment decisions. But what’s less understood is how much of our thinking is driven by a set of other values we hold deeply. We express these values in both business and human terms on … Read more
Moving to the Edge for Speed and Autonomy Making Decisions at the Edge WHAT IS EDGE COMPUTING? How quickly what’s new becomes commonplace. Cloud computing has been one of the biggest conduits for innovation over the past 10 years and will remain an important part of the computing infrastructure for the foreseeable future. But as … Read more
Since mid-2015, investments into Seed-stage companies have been decreasing with the reduction in transactions (40 percent drop) outpacing the reduction in dollars (24 percent drop). Early funding is critical for founders to quit their day jobs to go full-time, build out the initial product and team, and attract first customers. Without the capital at the genesis, there … Read more
Since the advent of human computer interaction (HCI), technologists have striven to remove friction between user and machine. Each layer of technology or software that sits between the user and the end requirement she seeks forms a layer of abstraction and increases complexity of use. These layers sit on top of each other to form … Read more
It never gets old. Every year, I attend several college graduation events. And yes, there’s a certain sameness to them – flip the tassel, “Pomp and Circumstance,” and mortarboards in the air, not necessarily in that order – but I swear they never get old. There’s really nothing like the convergence of those two powerful … Read more