Why do I do this? Keeping up with 1000s of former employees and friends is hard. Do you ever feel like you could just set aside a day to call the great people you have worked with in the past? That is what this blog is. When people see me at an airport or conference, they pick up talking to me like we had just seen each other. There is so much inside baseball in payments and banking. As a result I’ve made many new friends working in start ups.. and investing.

I’m just tired of seeing my friends lose money in mobile, payments and advertising. Particularly when  there was a lesson learned (or insight) I had that could benefit others. There are so few formal opportunities for “payment” education… think of this blog as a highly opinionated, somewhat informed, highly biased view of the world.   This blog is written to people that know me.. the voice is casual with much attempted humor. When it comes to structured thought, I may have been at the end of the line when gifts were being given. Few have ever accused me of being a linear thinker.  Writing helps bring things together, compile and garbage collect in the old grey virtual machine .

What it my perspective?

We are all biased by our life experiences. I find it valuable to share thoughts with folks of different backgrounds. The dialog helps me question my assumptions, cut through the fog and “buzz” in the valley, and assess trends/models/companies….  Hard to believe that close 12,000 people a week read this thing. My perspective is shaped by my operational experience in: data businesses, payment businesses, online banks, B2B and Supply chain solutions, identity,  eCommerce, retail, advertising, card issuing,  Mobile Operators.. and other stuff. In short, I know very little about a number of different industries… with deep knowledge of only a very few things. My main asset? I know who to ask when I have questions…