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Semil Shah
Semil Shah
May 15th, 2011

The Illusion Of Social Networks

The world is full of illusions. Magicians use a cascade of mirrors, smoke, and misdirection to trick their audiences into believing the unbelievable. In the process, they mystify them, capturing their attention. None of these magicians, however, hold a candle to the illusions provided by the characters who dance on television channels. For decades, the masses have been planted in front of the… → Read More

Jon Bischke and Semil Shah
April 24th, 2011

Higher Education’s Toughest Test

In the debate sparked by Peter Thiel’s “20 Under 20 Fellowship” (which pays bright students to drop out of college), one fact stands out: the cost of U.S. post-secondary education is spiraling upward, out of control. Thiel calls this a “bubble,” similar to the sub-prime mortgage crisis, where hopeful property owners over-leveraged themselves to lay claim to a coveted piece of the… → Read More

Semil Shah
April 19th, 2011

Iterations: The Seed Stage Dandelion Effect

Two phrases heard often from entrepreneurs are: (1) “I’m looking for a technical co-founder” and (2) “We’re hiring engineers, developers, and designers.” Unless they have networks to pull from, recruit 100% of the time, or are just plain lucky, their odds of finding the right people are not pretty. For those hunting for technical co-founders, their venture may never come to light… → Read More

Alexia Tsotsis
January 3rd, 2011

Need More Proof Quora Is "Blowing Up"? Meet The Quora Button

While co-founders Adam D’Angelo and Charlie Cheever are famously quiet about Quora’s user and traffic numbers, entrepreneur Semil Shah has discovered something even more indicative of the site’s entrance into A-List status — A Quora button right along side that off Facebook and Twitter on startup BankSimple‘s website. A sign of an impending Twitter moment? → Read More