Well, I would certainly not have claimed it, but BusinessWeek has when putting together this list of usual, and not so usual, suspects that includes yours truly.
You see, what always troubles me having investors being “celebrated” is that our job is to help and support entrepreneurs, and make sure that the attention is focused on them, not us. Like I said when the list of 13 Web 2.0 Kingmakers was published, I feel that I have been extremely lucky to work with a number of really smart entrepreneurs, some (5) who sold their companies in early yet very profitable exits, a few (4) who failed, and a lot (close to 40) who are still working very hard at it at different stages of financing. But four years into investing in consumer Internet, they - collectively - and I still have everything to prove, especially in these most challenging times.
So thanks to BusinessWeek for the attention, and let's hope that in a few years I will have proven them right. It is obviously very nice to share the investor spot with peeps like Peter Thiel and Paul Graham. And many congratulations to my friends Loic "The Communicator", Ev "The Blogger", Matt "The Publisher", Joi "The Adviser", Kevin "The Poster Boy" and Gabe "The Traffic Driver" for this well deserved recognition.
While I am at it, many people have complained to me, over and again, that I had abandoned my blog. As I explained in this post a few months ago, I sort of have - in an extended sabbatical kind of way - but you can always find my rumblings of all kinds at @jeff on Twitter.
Tags: evanwilliams, gaberivera, joiito, kevinrose, loiclemeur, mattmullenweg, jeffclavier
Hey Jeff - congrats! I share your sentiments about the place of investors in everything, but always nice to be recognised :)
Posted by: Nic Brisbourne | September 30, 2008 at 03:05 AM
"Holy Toledo," I thought to myself, "Could it actually be a new blog post from Jeff?"
Congratulations! As someone who has turned to you again and again for your advice and aid, I can reassure you that the BusinessWeek honor is well-deserved.
Looking forward to the next time we get the chance to work together!
Posted by: Chris Yeh | September 30, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Bravo Jeff,
I can't imagine how thrilling it should be to be quoted next to Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs or Jimmy Wales.
That's quite a step in your life, sincere congrats !
Posted by: Hubert Michaux | September 30, 2008 at 07:15 PM