update about and a few pages

Author: ckurdziel

about.md

@@ -6,43 +6,47 @@ tags: [about, me, chris kurdziel]
 ---
 ![Me](images/avatar.gif)
 
-Hi, I'm Chris. I'm an early stage investor and advisor in NYC.
+Hi, I'm Chris. I am an early stage investor and advisor. I'm based in NYC, but I'm most at home on the internet.
 
-On the investing front, I have worked with [Samsung NEXT Ventures][0] in NYC to lead gaming efforts and as a Venture Partner and Advisor to [Joyance Partners][1] & [SocialStarts](http://socialstarts.com).
+As an investor, I was most recently leading gaming and creative technology investments for [Samsung NEXT Ventures][0], Samsung Electronics' early stage venture capital arm, in NYC. I am also a Venture Partner and Advisor to [Joyance Partners][1] & [SocialStarts](http://socialstarts.com).
 
-Before I became an investor, I was a Director of Product @ [Vimeo][2]/VHX. Before that I managed new product development for Samsung’s NYC R&D lab where I worked with internal product leads and the world's best content partners to re-imagine Samsung’s TV platform and SDK. Back in 2011, I moved to New York to build [Shelby.tv][3] (TechStars NY '11) with some talented people. Our team was acquired by Samsung in 2014 to help build the future of TV.
+Before I became an investor, I was a Director of Product at [Vimeo][2] & VHX working on helping video creators monetize and distribute their video online. Before that, I managed new product development for Samsung’s NYC R&D lab where I worked with internal product leads and the world's best content partners to re-imagine Samsung’s TV platform and SDK. My startup origins date back to 2011, when I moved to New York to build [Shelby.tv][3] (TechStars NY '11) with some talented people. Our team was acquired by Samsung in 2014 to help build the future of TV.
 
 I've been fortunate to learn from a supportive bunch of people in tech (most of whom I met on Twitter) and went to school at [Vanderbilt][4] and [Cornell][5]. I also worked in [healthcare][7] for a few years.
 
 I'm a native New Yorker, have lived in 6 states and been to all 50. I occasionally play DOTA2, so if you play, hit me up on Twitter for a game!
 
 ### Investments
 
-As an investor, I've led or sourced 5 investments. Not all of these are public information, but as they become public, I will list them here (along with brief writings about them). :)
+As an investor, I've led or sourced investments in companies that include [Medal.tv](https://medal.tv/), [Eternal](https://eternal.plus/), [Forte](https://www.forte.io/), [The Block](https://www.theblockcrypto.com/), [Supermedium](http://supermedium.com/), and [Statespace](https://statespace.gg/).
 
-### Themes That Excite Me
+I'm excited to invest in founders that have a very strong view on the world they want to live in and approach building a company with a user-first lens. Often, these founders are people who are technical enough or scrappy enough to build their first prototype themselves.
+
+### Interests
+
+I have found several guiding themes in my career and in investments that naturally catch my eye. If you ever want to talk about these with me, please reach out on Twitter!
 
 I'm really interested in the confluence of many of these themes and their corresponding effects on technology, companies, work styles, human interactions, cultures, and civilizations:
 
-**Self-discovery.** This is the center of what the internet provided me (access to new and interesting ideas, culture, etc). It's often heightened by large networks with low friction between nodes. My work at Shelby.tv was focused a lot on video discovery as a means of addressing this larger theme of helping people discover new things in the world (and new things about themselves).
+**Connecting individuals with ultimate potential.** This is the center of what the internet provided me (access to new and interesting ideas, people, music, internet culture, and more). It's often heightened by large networks with low friction between nodes. My work at Shelby.tv was focused a lot on video discovery as a means of addressing this larger theme of helping people discover new things in the world (and new things about themselves). My investment in Eternal stems from a similar place of wanting to see more intimate, fun communities on the Internet that unlock peoples' ability to just be themselves.
 
-**Human-computer interaction.** Steve Jobs is famously attributed to the quote [“a computer is the equivalent of a bicycle for the mind.”][9] IMO, the endgame here is a fusion of computing and the mind. Mobile technology is just one step and we have a long way to go. I've worked on HCI challenges at both Shelby.tv and Samsung.
+**Humans and their personal relationship with computers.** Steve Jobs is famously attributed to the quote [“a computer is the equivalent of a bicycle for the mind.”][9] IMO, the endgame here is a fusion of computing and the mind. Mobile technology is just one step and we have a long way to go. I've worked on HCI challenges around TV and video at Shelby.tv and Samsung, and companies like Supermedium and Statespace are pushing foward the ways humans internact on other computing platforms (in VR and in game engines, specifically). 
 
-**The evolution of networks.** I've been a fan of early P2P technology and internet protocols since I was a kid. Today, I am excited by technologies like Bitcoin, crypto networks and wireless mesh networks - these are all a signal of where I think the internet is headed over the next few decades. As mobile computing power increases and the infrastructure for these new decentralized technologies matures, I think we'll see a shift in how many of the huge networks on the web are structured (from centralized & distributed to decentralized and distributed).
+**The evolution of the peer-to-peer internet and networks on it.** I've been a fan of early P2P technology and internet protocols since I was a kid. Today, I am excited by technologies like Bitcoin, crypto networks and P2P wireless mesh networks - these are all a signal of where I think the internet is headed over the next few decades. As mobile computing power increases and the infrastructure for these new decentralized technologies matures, I think we'll see a shift in how many of the huge networks on the web are structured (from centralized where much compute happens in the cloud toward decentralized where more compute happens on the edge).
 
-**Extending the self with code/bots and portable, open standards.** Modern software development is amazing and enabled by a host of developer friendly tools and technologies. The rise of devops, APIs, lambda functions, GraphQL, mobile SDKs and containers allow for quick scaling and faster execution on new ideas. More recently, no-code tools like Airtable, Coda, and Zapier have made it possible for almost anyone to build simple apps (personal CRM, anyone?). As these tools mature even further and users demand more personalization and control of their data, I expect that each of us will want to write  software that goes to work for us (probably without writing code), rather than house our data in inflexible tools and use UIs that have been designed without our specific needs in mind.
+**Extending the self with code and portable, open standards that enable data portability, privacy and user control.** Modern software development is amazing and enabled by a host of developer friendly tools and technologies. The rise of devops, APIs, lambda functions, GraphQL, mobile SDKs and containers allow for quick scaling and faster execution on new ideas. More recently, no-code tools like Airtable, Coda, and Zapier have made it possible for almost anyone to build simple apps (personal CRM, anyone?). As these tools mature even further and users demand more personalization and control of their data, I expect that each of us will want to write software that goes to work for us (probably without writing code), rather than house our data in inflexible tools and use UIs that have been designed without our specific needs in mind. I would love to see an internet that fosters this sense of individual control of our data and computing resources rather than putting our data and compute experience fully in control of a few large companies.
 
 ### How & Why I Work
 
 I love the messiness of early stage companies and products.
 
-**I love helping teams “level up” and fully relish the emotional journey of building products** to achieve their best level of productivity and positive energy. This means celebrating successes, learning from failures and generally reflecting on not just the work that the team is doing, but how and why they are doing that work.
+**I love helping founders and their teams “level up” and fully relish the emotional journey that is building products and a company.** This means celebrating successes, learning from failures, measuring progress along the way and generally reflecting on not just the work that the team is doing, but how and why they are doing that work. Having been a PM at various stages of company, this is something deeply engrained in my ideal product development process.
 
-**I’m an introvert (INTJ)** and believe in the "headphone rule." Maker's time is sacred - if someone is in a state of flow or deep work, don't interrupt them and find asychronous ways to communicate.
+**I’m an introvert (INTJ)** and believe in the "headphone rule." Maker's time is sacred and should be protected. Generally, this means I favor asynchonous communication where possible and empowering teams to do their best work on their own terms (giving people ownership and responsibility are key to doing this). This means respecting different work styles - too often introverts in the workplace can be overwhelmed by a constant barrage of meetings and demands coming their way, which can make prioritization and focus difficult. For this reason, I'm bullish about the shift to remote-first work. But don't worry, I still believe in the power of collaboration that comes with small teams (5-7 people) co-locating to solve tough problems.
 
-**“Be human”** is a core value of how I build products and work with teams - human centered design principles are great for building products, but they're also a great way to approach growing a team and thinking about engaging investors.
+**“Be human”** is a core value of how I build products and work with teams - human centered design principles are great for building products, but they're also a great way to approach growing a team and thinking about engaging investors. Putting oneself in another person's shoes is a great way to better understands how their motivations might differ. Having lived inside of startups, bigger companies and in the shoes of a VC, I have a firsthand perspective on how many of these folks operate in their day-to-day and try to bring this perspective to my interactions with each.
 
-The **psychology behind products excites me**. Humans are complex animals but boiling things down to their simplest elements in the product design process is really enjoyable for me.
+The **psychology behind products excites me**. Humans are complex animals but boiling things down to their simplest elements in the product design process is really enjoyable for me. I'm always asking myself "why" a user is engaging with any new product I try and what other substitues they might be considering. This is probably why I've gravitated toward consumer technology investing as I think it's one of the most difficult and challenging things I could possibly be doing to flex my "product psychology" muscle.
 
 **While I enjoy bringing order to the chaos that commonly occurs in quickly growing companies** I believe [Loose Coordination \> Tight Synchronization][8]. As a result, I look for ways to enable this loose coordination and clear prioritization as a means of dealing with complexity. Sometimes this means "saying no" to distracting projects, sometimes it means juggling new ones, sometimes it means abstracting and distilling similar challenges into one simple, focused vision of the future.
 

bio.md

@@ -8,8 +8,8 @@ tags: [bio, me, chris kurdziel]
 
 Chris Kurdziel is a technology investor and advisor based in NYC. He has spent the better part of his career operating in technology companies from startups to public companies. 
 
-As an investor, he has worked with Samsung NEXT Ventures as a Principal and with Joyance Partners & SocialStarts as a Venture Partner to invest in emerging consumer technology and gaming companies.
+As an investor, he has worked with corporate venture funds like Samsung NEXT Ventures and with institutional venture funds like Joyance Partners & SocialStarts to invest in emerging consumer technology and gaming companies.
 
-As an operator he was most recently a Director of Product Management at Vimeo, where he led the OTT team through a period of hyper growth after the startup he worked at (VHX) was acquired. 
+As an operator, he has worked in a variety of product management roles in startups and bigco's. Most recently as Director of Product Management at Vimeo, where he led the OTT team through a period of hyper growth after the startup he worked at (VHX) was acquired. 
 
-In his spare time, you can find him teaching students at Cornell Tech, playing a game of DOTA2 or on a city playground with his kids.
+In his spare time, you can find him teaching students at Cornell Tech, playing a game of DOTA2 or on a city playground with his kids.

chile.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ title: Chile
 permalink: /chile/
 
 ---
-I went to Chile in November of 2013.
+I traveled to Chile in November of 2013.
 
 ### General
 

dota2.md

@@ -5,9 +5,29 @@ permalink: /dota2/
 
 ---
 
-I like playing DOTA2. Here's a training regimen I recommend (courtesy of the DOTA2 subreddit).
+I like playing DOTA2 in my free time. Here is some advice for new players and a training regimen I recommend (courtesy of the DOTA2 subreddit).
 
-# DOTA2 Cookie Challenge
+# The Basics
+
+## Positions 1-5
+Typically players refer to their hero by a "position" they play - a number of 1 thru 5. This refers to the amount of "farm" (gold) that a player amasses in the course of the game. Position 1 typically gets the most farm and on down.
+
+## Roles
+1. Core: Core typically refers to position 1-3. These are typically a "carry" (position 1/2) and an "offlane" (position 3). A note on the offlane: the goal of players in the offlane is mostly to disrupt gameplay of the enemy safelane and support. This can be done a variety of different ways, but most offlaners are tanky (lots of hp) and able to lane alone without a support if the offlane support role needs to roam the map to help the other cores. 
+
+2. Support: Supports typically are position 4/5. Supports are much more concerned with the macro than the micro and on making sure carries are farming well. They take care of things like warding, carrying dust and smoke. Supports themselves don't require a lot of farm to be useful - they generally have strong abilities that don't need items to scale. As such, good item builds focus more on supporting the team and making sure that supports still have the ability to use their abilities (things like BKB) vs gaining dps or damage.
+
+## Phases of the Game
+1. Laning: the goal of this phase is gaining levels and gold (especially for carries). This is generally the focus of the beginning few minutes of the game.
+2. Ganking: this phase of the game is ongoing but focuses on catching enemy heroes out of position or farming, thus leading to a "man up" situation where a team can either start a team fight or proceed with pushing an objective. 
+3. Pushing: this phase of the game is about taking objectives (towers and barracks) together as a team. Generally at this point, cores are already farmed and there's some momentum that a team has generated (via a gank or otherwise).
+
+# The Macro
+
+DOTA is a game that initially appears like it focuses on the micro (last hits and creep kills) vs. the macro (positioning on the map, teamwork, strategy and hero picks). I've been playing for a while and I've learned that the macro is actually a really critically important piece of playing DOTA well. I've made the mistake of focusing too much on the micro so be aware of what is happening on the macro level and you'll have a much better head for winning.
+
+# DOTA2 Micro Challenge
+This is a useful challenge that is helpful for improving your micro in the DOTA game. Keep in mind a lot of the game is macro, so this only gets you so far.
 
 **Easy:**
 1. 10 min- no creeps missed (80+ lasthits minimum)
@@ -30,3 +50,7 @@ I like playing DOTA2. Here's a training regimen I recommend (courtesy of the DOT
 3. 10 min- 120 CS+(LH+DN counts) as morphling -\> lvl 1 strenght morph and never level anything again, turn it on and don't turn it off. Buy a branch, a faerie and a wraith band, you'll constantly have only 25 damage.
 4. less than 6 min - end the game (destroy enemy ancient)
 5. 3600 score in last hit trainer, 2 times in a row. No tiny, shaman, tree.
+
+# Resources to Learn DOTA
+1. /r/learndota subreddit
+2. Watch BSJ's training videos on YouTube

index.html

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 layout: page
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-<p>Hi, I'm Chris. I'm an early stage investor and advisor in NYC. <br> This is my home on the internet. Here are a few things I have written:</p>
+<p>Hi, I'm Chris. I'm an early stage investor and advisor in NYC. <br> I believe everyone should have a home on the internet - this is mine. Here are a few things I have written:</p>
 
 <ul class="post-list">
 {% for post in site.posts limit:5 %}