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Ben Einstein
Ben Einstein

13K Followers

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A Hard Goodbye, an Easy Goodbye and an Easeful Hello

On confronting death, leaving venture capital, and spreading meditation — A Hard Goodbye When most people stare death in the face, they see fear. I know I do. It can be so incredibly difficult to sit with death and watch, in helpless agony, as a person you love withers away. Yet I had the exceptional privilege to live with a woman who saw…

Venture Capital

5 min read

A Hard  Goodbye, an Easy Goodbye and an Easeful Hello
A Hard  Goodbye, an Easy Goodbye and an Easeful Hello
Venture Capital

5 min read


Dec 21, 2019

Inside the Hardware Product Everyone Loves to Hate

Editor’s note: As our Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Eclipse Ventures, Ben brings a founder’s perspective and his passion for hardware design to our discussions. Here, he continues his smashingly popular product-teardown series. There’s a single product category that is universally despised by nearly every technology-using human on Earth: the printer. While I’ve…

Hardware

9 min read

Inside the Product Everyone Loves to Hate
Inside the Product Everyone Loves to Hate
Hardware

9 min read


May 20, 2019

From Founding GP to EIR: On Joining Eclipse

As of today, I’m pumped to join Eclipse Ventures as their very first entrepreneur-in-residence. Believe it or not, this marks the very first day of my life working for someone else! And I couldn’t feel better about the group of humans I’m fortunate to camp out with. …

Startup

2 min read

From Founding GP to EIR: On Joining Eclipse
From Founding GP to EIR: On Joining Eclipse
Startup

2 min read


May 15, 2019

Learning from the Man with One Leg

As you may have heard, I’ve had a bit of a wild year. In the past 12 months (almost to the day): Grace (my partner) was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer, had emergency, life-threatening surgery and started aggressive chemotherapy shortly thereafter We adopted a dog (Hollyhock!) I (finally) bought a…

Cancer

3 min read

Learning from the Man with One Leg
Learning from the Man with One Leg
Cancer

3 min read


Mar 21, 2019

Cancer, Privilege, and the End of My Time with Bolt

This is a blog post I never expected to write. These past 12 months have shown me how even the most unfair, difficult situations in life can inspire immense moments of joy and deep, meaningful change. — That beautiful woman up there is Grace. Some of you may know her from her work at LinkedIn, Crunchbase, The Dinner Party, Reimagine, and now 10% Happier. I happen to have the deep privilege of calling her my partner (the in-life-kind, rather than the VC-kind).

Cancer

5 min read

Cancer, Privilege, and the End of My Time with Bolt
Cancer, Privilege, and the End of My Time with Bolt
Cancer

5 min read


Oct 31, 2018

Hardware Product Management Frameworks for Startups

Early-stage hardware companies usually understand the “how” of product development. Product management adds a layer of “why,” “what,” and “when” to the process. — Building hardware is complicated. Many founding teams going through product development for the first time struggle to manage that process on a day-to-day basis. Founders know they need to build a product and that there are many steps, but they might not be sure which steps come in which order…

Hardware

7 min read

Hardware Product Management Frameworks for Startups
Hardware Product Management Frameworks for Startups
Hardware

7 min read


Jul 8, 2018

What Cracking Open a Sonos One Tells Us About the Sonos IPO

I always find more truth about a company’s future buried in a company’s products. Long story short: I don’t have high hopes for Sonos’ trajectory. Here is why… — For eight years, a war has been raging among a number of unlikely players. This bloodless technology battle is turning out to be one of the fiercest and most expensive we’ve seen in decades. The prize is one of the most sought-after commodities in the world: access to tens of…

Hardware

13 min read

What Cracking Open a Sonos One Tells Us About the Sonos IPO
What Cracking Open a Sonos One Tells Us About the Sonos IPO
Hardware

13 min read


Mar 1, 2018

Peloton and the Importance of Predicates for Hardware Startups

Peloton is a tremendously successful hardware startup. But without SoulCycle, it couldn’t have existed. Here is how you can find the SoulCycle for your hardware company. — Over the past year, Peloton has taken the lead as one of the most successful hardware startups in the past decade. A strong team and meticulous product execution are driving factors in Peloton’s success. …

Hardware

5 min read

Peloton and the Importance of Predicates for Hardware Startups
Peloton and the Importance of Predicates for Hardware Startups
Hardware

5 min read


Sep 6, 2017

The Complete Guide to Building Hardware Startup Teams: Part 3 (Management + Scale)

This is Part 3 of a three part series. Check out Part 1: Founders and Culture and Part 2: Contributors and Product if you missed them. A startup is a machine that attracts, supports, and enables large numbers of people with different motivations (the solar system, remember?). One of the…

Startup

9 min read

The Complete Guide to Building Hardware Startup Teams: Part 3 (Management + Scale)
The Complete Guide to Building Hardware Startup Teams: Part 3 (Management + Scale)
Startup

9 min read


Aug 25, 2017

The Complete Guide to Building Hardware Startup Teams: Part 2 (Contributors + Product)

This is Part 2 of a three part series. If you missed Part 1, check it out here: Part 1: Founders and Culture or continue on to Part 3: Management and Scale if that’s more relevant for you.

Startup

9 min read

The Complete Guide to Building Hardware Startup Teams: Part 2 (Contributors + Product)
The Complete Guide to Building Hardware Startup Teams: Part 2 (Contributors + Product)
Startup

9 min read

Ben Einstein

Ben Einstein

13K Followers

President and COO at Ten Percent Happier. Previously founded @BoltVC, EIR @EclipseVentures.

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