[tc_speakertext_off]We have hours and hours of quality video from this year’s Disrupt SF, and you can browse it all over at TCTV, but there were a few on-stage interviews and discussions that we felt were unmissable.
Whether they’re funny, interesting, or controversial, these show the quality and variety of the guests and topics we get to feature at Disrupt. Click the titles to view the original posts with our summary and commentary, as well as transcripts of the videos. The rest of the conference can be found at our Ultimate Guide to Disrupt SF.
A Year After “AngelGate”, More Angelic Angels Descend Upon Disrupt
This all-star panel of VCs and (perhaps former) angel investors was consistently interesting and entertaining. Arrington moderates as Ron Conway, Dave McClure, Jeff Clavier, Josh Felser, and Aydin Senkut dispute the best way to help and fund entrepreneurs. Capped vs. uncapped, VC vs. angel, due diligence vs. whatever the opposite of due diligence is. The end was inspiring, as Conway instructed anyone there from SV Angel to help the long line of entrepreneurs building up at the question mics. He then went down to the show floor and braved the frenzy himself.
Max Levchin And Peter Thiel: Innovation Today Is Between ‘Dire Straits And Dead’
This talk was controversial among our readers. Could a guy who urged people to drop out of school and a guy who made Facebook games really speak to the question of “hard problems”? The discussion on the stage is interesting whether you buy their premise or not. Our commenters bring up some very salient points as well, which you can read at the original post.
Is Facebook Copying Google+ And Twitter? VP Of Engineering, Mike Schroepfer, Responds
There have been allegations that Facebook has, shall we say, had a spurt of inspiration following the unveiling of Google+. Mike Schroepfer is given the chance to defend their new features here, and to explain some recent decisions to change or eliminate features. And of course, it’s fun to put companies on the spot when we’ve got inside information. In this case Jason brings up the unannounced iPad app and Facebook Music. The subsequent “death stare” is pure gold.
Elon Musk: Starting A Company Is Like Staring Into The Face Of Death
The mega-rich investing in space travel are often written off as modern-day Don Quixotes with too much money on their hands. I myself have done so. But Elon Musk isn’t some lunatic miser, building expensive toys to satisfy his vanity. He and others like Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson are investing where the industry fears to tread. I love the dispassion with which he refers to astronauts as “biological cargo.” And on a more grounded topic, Musk’s comparison of our education system to the vaudeville era is simultaneously esoteric and insightful.
Sequoia’s Doug Leone On Entrepreneurs, Billions, CrunchFund, And His Hatred Of Photographs
For someone who’s been with Silicon Valley veteran Sequoia for over 20 years, you’d think Doug Leone would cut more of a visible profile in the valley. Despite his seeming reticence to publicize himself and his company’s funds, he’s candid here. His perspective is slightly detached, as one who perceives the beginning and end of his investments, and his commentary is astute. More of an insider than many insiders, yet thinking outside the outsiders.
TC Disrupt: Office Hours With YC Partners Paul Graham And Harj Taggar
Paul Graham’s Y Combinator “office hours,” in which YC company founders get brief but to the point advice from this startup wizard, was a hit in New York, so we were looking forward to the sequel. Graham didn’t disappoint, doling out encouragement, criticism, and sage advice in general to entrepreneurs who were at a loss. Worth a watch if only for the looks of intense attention maintained by Graham and YC partner Harj Taggar practically the entire time.
That’s as many videos as I dare embed without risking browser implosion, so if you’re looking for more video, go to TCTV’s Disrupt channel and start scrolling.