I graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Cognitive Science. Everytime I tell someone that, their immediate reply is, “What’s that?” Well, the University of Virginia is a 200-year old…
Beyond eBay: Lessons from the Experts in Scaling Today’s Online Marketplaces
We’ve come a long way from eBay. That famous online marketplace from the Internet 1.0 era—best known for hawking kitschy collectibles like Pez dispensers—is a far cry from the highly targeted, sophist…
Five Questions in Five Minutes with the CEO of Collibra
Portfolio Spotlight: Felix Van de Maele, CEO of Collibra Each month, Battery highlights a different portfolio-company CEO with our “Five Questions in Five Minutes” feature, showcasing the diversity o…
Good Product Team/Bad Product Team
As the vice-president of product at Amplitude, a product analytics company that helps teams rapidly build products that work better for their users and grow their businesses, I work with hundreds of d…
Radical Approaches to the Cybersecurity Skills Shortage
Every time a major security breach strikes, people are outraged by what they feel is the negligence and carelessness of the company responsible. “How could they possibly allow such incompetence? The C…
Five Questions in Five Minutes with the CEO of Mendix
Portfolio Spotlight: Derek Roos, CEO of Mendix Each month, Battery highlights a different portfolio-company CEO with our “Five Questions in Five Minutes” feature, showcasing the diversity of the Batt…
Battery Through the Years, and By the Numbers
One hundred and eleven active portfolio companies. Ten general partners—hailing from four continents—with an average tenure in the job of 12 years.* Deals done across the U.S., Canada, Israel and Euro…
The New Gold Rush: Exploring the Rise and Promise of Artificial Intelligence
Deep learning. Machine learning. Artificial intelligence. The buzzwords are swirling, along with promises of an intelligent, automated—and sometimes scary—future. But where exactly are we with AI toda…
Is Your Data Lake Like the Library of Babel?
In 1941, renowned Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges published a short story entitled “The Library of Babel.” The story tells the tale of a universe consisting of an unimaginable stretch of hexagonal …
Honesty is the Best Policy: Radical Transparency as a Management Strategy for Founders
During times of difficulty, company founders may be inclined to downplay drama and gloss over problems when communicating with their boards. This temptation is a misstep, says Gainsight* CEO Nick Meht…