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Chris Sacca's 'What is left?'

Chris Sacca's assorted musings on his transformation from a young Michael P. Keaton to an enlightened lefty and his eclectic stops along the way.

My Arguably Unforgivable Carbon Footprint for 2008.December 27 2008

A year ago this week, I left my job at Google to strike out on my own. I am looking forward to writing more here about how the past twelve months have unfolded. For now, I feel overwhelmingly lucky to have had the chance to connect with my family, so many friends, old and new, and build a new business (the yet-to-be-announced Lowercase Capital) that is leaving me feeling fulfilled, helpful, and so optimistic about the future despite this harrowing economy.

In that light, while I had expected my schedule this year to be a bit slower and reserved compared to the frenzied pace of Google, those who know me are well aware that I can't help but seek out adventures, whether personal or professional. Thus, I thought it would be fun to label a map showing each city in which I spent at least one night this past year.

My total number of miles flown was down sharply from the average of the last four years, and I spent m

Welcome to my blog...August 31 2008

I am Chris Sacca, a venture investor, company advisor, and adventure junkie based in San Francisco. (A longer bio is here.) I use this space to periodically hash out some thoughts and recognize people and events that inspire me. If this site isn't enough Sacca for you, I also regularly update Twitter and FriendFeed. That said, I would love to hear from each of you. If you want to pitch me a company, go to this page for hints as to how that works best. Go here for more on speaking engagements. Always just feel free to email me here for business and here for friend-type-stuff. Thanks for coming by!

Finished.August 25 2008

Despite a fever on the morning of the race, and disregarding the meniscus issue I developed on my Tour de Los Angeles, I am happy to report that I was somehow able to power through and finish my first official Ironman distance triathlon on August 2nd. (I did an impromptu Ironman myself on June 28th, but there is nothing like the expectation and excitement of the real thing.)

The 2.4 mile swim was a relative breeze considering that when I started this training in November I couldn't make it 10 lengths of the pool without sucking wind. In fact, the 74 degree water served to keep my temperature down and I felt fresh and confident coming in to the first transition.

On the 112 mile bike, my goal was to keep a steady pace early and not go out too fast. I managed the effort solely by my heart rate and just stayed down on my aero bars. The first 60 miles went very smoothly and my pace w

Thanks to all of you, and your wacky cold cures, I am going to race tomorrow.August 1 2008

I am still floored by the outpouring of remedies and good wishes the Twitter community offered me in the 48 hours leading up to my Ironman tomorrow. I was already depressed by tearing up my knee and not being able to work out at all for the last four weeks. But, when I got sick and developed a nasty fever, I have to say, I was losing hope.

The update is that my fever has broken. I still sound and look like I have an incontinent squirrel living in my sinus cavities. However, with no fever, my doctor has cleared me to hit the starting line tomorrow!

I would be remiss if I didn't recap many of the cures and treatments the Twitter and the FriendFeed folks offered both publicly and privately. I am grateful to all of you, but must say that some of you frankly scared me. Though, I guess my Twitter begged for lunacy in the replies:

 

"I have an Ironman in 48 hours and am still running a fever. Hit me with your best cold remedies. (Forget science. Give me myth and hype.)"

Oh my, you did not disappoint in a few buckets. First, the herbs, vegetables, vitamins, supplements:

@chriscoit -- Matcha green tea is always good
 @olivermarks -- boil onion and garlic, drink. Tons of vitamin c 1000mg per hour.
@davidbadash -- Echinacea. Lots of it. With Vitamin

Couldn't be happier for Omnisio.July 30 2008

I can't tell you how thrilled I am that the guys from Omnisio, one of my portfolio companies, will be joining the team over at YouTube.

Ryan Junee, Julian Frumar, and Simon Ratner are some of the most legitimate entrepreneurs I have ever met. I marveled at their ability to hack up surprisingly robust technology while creating intuitive and simply easy user experiences. Too often, teams excel in one area but lack any talent in the other, either the software is technically superb, or the UI just flows so naturally. Rarely can a company pull off both. From day one, the Omnisio guys demonstrated true coding chops plus an admirable understanding of, and dedication to, creating a service that users understand, enjoy, and are eager to share with others.

In parallel, as has become the hallmark of YCombinator companies, these guys were the epitome of hungry entrepreneurs. Choosing to keep the company lean and agile, they coded from their apartment breaking only intermittently for the occasional game of kickball and jam sessions like at the MSFT summer party. (Does that make these guys literal rock stars?) In any event,