Paul Kedrosky

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• Do startups really need to be in the valley to be successful?

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    Of course not, but it helps. The reality is that the Valley is full of experienced people, from entrepreneurs to services providers, who make it so much easier to get the job of creating a company done. At the same time, many M&A exits are friends selling to friends, so having someone to sell to makes exits much easier. At the same time, there are clusters elsewhere, like Boulder, that are doing wonderfully. The trick is to get over the idea of selling Region/CIty X as cheaper. No-one buys cheap. They buy exits.

• You have big followings on your blog and on Twitter. Have your social media properties helped you get exposure to new, cool companies, or do you simply use them to share insights on the industry?

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    Both. They are both fantastic ways of getting access to interesting people and companies I can invest in. I often write about companies I wish I could find, and almost inevitably someone will steer me to such a company, or even create one. It also lets me share my ideas and views with a critical audience, which makes me smarter, and hopefully doesn’t drag down everyone else at same time.

• What do you think of the new "super angel" investor trend?

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    I’m on record as saying it’s a bubble. So, I agree with me. Having said that, the idea of professionalizing/democratizing angel investing is overdue, and super-angel investors are a disruptive force in consumer technologies in terms of their impact on traditional, institutional VCs. Will they change clean tech, bio tech, etc., too? No, but the idea of simplifying things, making them more entrepreneur-friendly, etc., will carry over.

• Are mobile tech startups here to stay, or are they just a fad?

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    Mobile a fad? You must be mad. (Oh, that rhymes.) No, mobile isn’t a fad. Mobile is like wireless networks, or horseless carriages: It’s what we call something that will soon be the new normal, by referring to what has gone before.

• I need help generating traffic to my website. What are some good tools, books, articles, etc?

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    Sorry, not really my thing.

• What companies have you seen lately that have really made you stop and take a second look?

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    Rapportive. Founder blew me away. Idea got me completely by surprise. Layering apps on email and creating tacit professional-ready social networks created by people’s behavior is so perfect and so timely. Love ideas like that.

• You speak at a lot of events. What advice do you find yourself giving to entrepreneurs most often?

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    Answer the questions: Why me? Why now? Why this? Entrepreneurs get bolloxed up in a billion other things, when those are the questions investors are asking themselves as they listen to the pitch.

• You’ve invested in over 50 companies. Are there any features that many had in common? What initially attracted you to them?

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    Passionate founders who seemed a little unhinged. I"m a sucker for that every time. After that, a market where we could bust up an incumbent, turning a $10-billion market into a $1-billion one.

• What do you consider your biggest investment success (doesn’t have to just be based on money)?

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    Tough to say. Most recent one I’m proud of is seeding Dabble DB, which was recently picked up by Twitter. Great Canadian success story, against the odds.

• How did you get involved with the Kauffman Foundation, and what has it taught you about entrepreneurship?

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    Kauffman is the biggest and most interesting thinks on venture capital, entrepreneurship and growing the economy. Also among largest investors in VC. Both were hugely appealing perspectives.