Many artists stick to making and hire a manager to focus on their business. Artists that build websites and mobile apps can do that, too.

Customers are a great way to finance a business for many reasons. First, customer financing is typically non dilutive. They want something from you other than equity in your business. Customers also help you fit your product to the market. And customers will help debug and improve the quality of the product.

Not only do you have to put yourself in harms way in service of your country, you have to leave your families at home. It is a great sacrifice.

My venture investing career has three phases, all roughly 6-8 years long. The first, at Euclid, was software to Internet. The second, at Flatiron, was Internet to bubble. And the third, at USV, has been web 2 to mobile. I have always used a new firm to denote a new investment phase for me. Throw away the old. Start with the new.

Profiles aren't journalism.

Facebook is not an unstoppable juggernaut. There are a lot of other things people can do on the web.

It's upsetting to me that you have to be a millionaire to invest in your friend's start-up.