Esther Dyson

Esther Dyson

Executive Founder, Wellville; Angel investor

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/estherdyson/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/edyson
New York, New York, United States
Accredited investor
Member since October 09, 2008
Quote
Executive Founder, Wellville; Angel investor Quote_down
  • About
Investor interests
Type of investor Angel Early stage VC
Typical investment size $50,000 - $100k
Categories of interest
Locations of interest
Credentials Accredited Investor
Activity
Exits
M&A
Geometric Intelligence, Undisclosed, Source: Uber
Flickr, Undisclosed, Source: Yahoo!
Jump, Undisclosed, Source: Uber
Meetup, Undisclosed, Source: WeWork
Powerset, Undisclosed, Source: Microsoft
Dulance, Undisclosed, Source: Google
IPO
Square, SQ
Yandex, YNDX
Luxoft, LXFT
Companies I've founded or co-founded:
Wellville
Companies I work or worked for:
EDventure Holdings (which I bought in 1982 from founder Ben Rosen, was chairman for 25 years until sellingit to CNET), Forbes Magazine - fact-checker/reporter, 1974-77, New Court Securities as an analyst, worked closely with my first startup, Federal Express
Achievements (products built, personal awards won):

ran PC Forum - EDventure's annual conference - and edited its newsletter Release 1.0 for 25 years. Wrote the book Release 2.0: A design for living in the digital age in 1996 - bestseller published by Broadway Books, in ~20 languages. Spent six months training as a backup cosmonaut in Star City outside Moscow, Oct 2008-March 2009

If you're an entrepreneur or corporate innovator, why?

started Wellville to get people/policy makers to invest in health rather than rent it.

My favorite startups:

23andMe, Meetup, Ezra.ai, Turbine.ai, MedicaSafe, many more

Why did you start your company or why do you want to innovate inside your company?

because I started asking the simple question: Why do we spend so much time and money treating people who are sick (often ineffectively), when we could instead do a much better job of helping them stay healthy in the first place? What conditions can foster physical resilience and mental health?

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?

Frustrating: You know all the right answers (just kidding!) but somehow it's hard to implement them.
Rewarding: It's so amazing to be part of a team that works together effectively and does so much more than any of us could do individually.

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs/innovators make?

There are so many different ways to go astray. One is to be obsessed with being a CEO or entrepreneur in the first place, vs. the mission you are trying to accomplish.

What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?

Always make new mistakes!
[If you are lucky enough] Do only things you would gladly do for free, but try to get paid for them anyway.
Listen to others; you may learn something!
Communication is not about sending a message; it's about making sure it's delivered in a form that can be understood by the recipient.

Are you actually an entrepreneur?

No, I'm entrepreneurial, perhaps, but I'm not that interested in having my own company. At both EDventure and Wellville, we have/had CEOs who actually run the organization, which has left me free to do the fun stuff. Many people get addicted to the notion of exponential growth, CEO hagiography and lots of other Silicon Valley delusions. I'm interested in being useful, long-term.