"The thing I like to see is three personality types at the beginning of a company.  A director of engineering to build a demoable product.  A CTO who can expound on a vision.  And someone who is focused on building the company, selling the vision of the company, and marketing the company."

George Zachary

George does a pretty good job of defining a "good team" for an early stage technology startup.  He made this statement in a panel entitled "20 Questions for VCs" at TechCrunch50 which I stumbled upon prepping for Meet the VC.  You can watch the entire panel below.  Lots of the same issues on the West coast as the East coast is my key takeaway.

Update:  I threw out the video because the autoplay feature is annoying.  You can view the video here.

"The key issue is will the global war on terror ultimately achieve the objective."

Andrew Bacevich

Bacevich has a unique background.  He is a Professor of International Relations and History at Boston University.  He is also a West Point graduate who served in the Army during Vietnam and and former Lieutenant Colonel with experience in the Persian Gulf.

He made the above statement In an interview by Terry Gross on Fresh Air, the award winning NPR show, yesterday.  It is a fascinating discussion well worth the 40 minute listen.  You can do so here.  Bacevich believes that United States foreign policy should be at the center of the debate in the presidential election.  His rational discourse is refreshing.  Bacevich lays out a fairly compelling argument that the US should adopt a containment strategy like that used in the war on communism to fight terrorism.  He may be right.

Listen to the interview and decide for yourself.

"What venture capitalists should do is start taking more risks again.”

Judy Estrin

Commenting on her new book “Closing the Innovation Gap” to The New York Times. 

Given all the thrashing that has been going on regarding venture capital in the Southeast recently it is interesting to note that she is referring specifically to Silicon Valley.