Seed Capital vs. VC Money

by alex on July 5, 2010

Chris Dixon has an interesting post entitled “It’s not that seed investors are smarter – it’s that entrepreneurs are.“  He’s reacting to a couple of other posts which speculate that there might be a seed fund crash looming and another suggesting that seed funds claim they’re smarter and as a result will outlast the VC’s.

Chris points out that smart entrepreneurs can get money from seed funds with less dilution early on.  For the most part, I think he’s right, but you need to take into account the circumstances and be willing to put in the work to convince the angels to invest.

Good candidates for seed capital are ones that are not going to need that much total capital to succeed or can make lots of meaningful progress with limited resources and then raise the bigger money they need.

If you know you’re going to need a lot of capital, VC’s can be a better choice because they have the capacity to put lots more money to work in follow on rounds that you won’t be able to get from seed investors.

The smart entreprenuer will examine their situation and find the right kind of money for their company’s needs.

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Deviled Eggs Recipes by Rachel Ray

by alex on April 4, 2010

It’s Easter so I went looking for some Deviled Egg Recipes.  Rachael Ray’s various web sites have some good ones to try:

Basic Deviled Egg Recipe:
Ingredients:

  • 12 large eggs
  • Ice water
  • 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons mustard
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper
  • Salt and black pepper
  • Paprika, for dusting

Directions:

1.In a large pot, arrange the eggs in a single layer and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover and remove from the heat; let stand for 10 minutes. Drain, then cover the eggs with ice water. Let stand until cool to the touch.

2.Peel the eggs, halve lengthwise and scoop the yolks into a medium bowl, reserving the egg whites. Mash the yolks with the mayonnaise, mustard and cayenne; season with salt and black pepper. Spoon the yolk mixture into the egg white halves and dust with paprika.

She also has another one where you add Chorizo to the above. That sounds really good.

This one is a bit more involved but sounds good too:

Bacon and Deviled Eggs:

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons yellow mustard (eyeball it)
  • 2 teaspoons (about a small palmful) smoked paprika, plus additional for garnish
  • 6 pieces thick-cut bacon
  • 12 eggs (save the carton they came in!)
  • 2 tablespoons pickle relish (eyeball it)
  • 3 tablespoons grated onion (about 1/2 small onion)
  • A few dashes hot sauce (add more if you like it spicy!)
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (eyeball it)
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Put the eggs in a saucepan, fill it halfway with cold water and set over high heat.

When the water boils, turn off the heat, place a lid on the pot and let sit 10 minutes. Place the pot of cooked eggs in the sink and run some cold water over the eggs until both the water and the pan feel cool. When the eggs are cool enough to handle, take them out of the water, roll each egg on a work surface to crack the shell and carefully peel off the eggshells.

While the eggs are cooking, place a medium-size skillet over medium heat. Cook the bacon in the pan until crispy and golden brown, 3-4 minutes per side. Remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Once cool, chop into small pieces and reserve.
Place the eggs on a cutting board and cut a quarter off the egg from the fat rounded end to expose the yolk. Next, cut just a sliver off the pointed end so the egg is able to sit upright without rolling over.

Once all the eggs have been cut, scoop out the yolks into a medium-size mixing bowl. Place the egg white shells back into the egg container for easy transport and filling, making sure the holes are pointing up so you can fill them with the delicious bacon-y mixture.

Grab your bowl of yolks and break them up a little bit using a fork. Add in the chopped bacon, smoked paprika, mustard, relish, grated onion, hot sauce and mayo, and give everything a good stir. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Make an instant pastry bag by spooning the egg mixture into a plastic, re-sealable bag and squishing it all into one of the bottom corners. Snip off a small triangle from the bottom of the filled bag and squeeze out a bit of yolk mixture into each of the egg whites. Once all eggs are filled, dust them with a little of the smoked paprika, close the carton lid and you’re good to go.

The results look good enough to eat right now:

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