heidi-roizen

Tim Draper's daughter puts daddy's friends on the hot pink seat

Nicholas Carlson · 09/08/08 02:40PM

Don't look now — really, don't. Top venture capitalist Tim Draper's daughter, Jesse Draper, has already released eight episodes of her Web video show, "The Valley Girl." Jesse is a screen star, best known in the tween set for "The Naked Brothers Band," but somehow we think her dad had more to do with the guests she's pulled in, who include Draper himself; Draper's partner Steve Jurvetson; VC and SkinnySongs founder Heidi Roizen; Glam Media's Samir Arora; and Sun chairman Scott McNealy. McNealy, a native of Detroit, was asked the hard-hitting question, "What does Silicon Valley mean to you?" His reply: "Great weather." In today's episode, Jesse interviews former AOL CEO Barry Schuler. We were surprised the man still goes out in public. For a proper introduction to the show, however, you're better off with episode seven. In it, Jesse asks Craigslist founder Craig Newmark: "Do you consider customer service one of the most important things?" From somewhere deep within, Newmark manages to answer this difficult query.

Entrepreneur "can't buy thin," but radio airplay comes easier

Tim Faulkner · 01/10/08 05:58PM

VC turned entrepreneur Heidi Roizen now riters lyrics about her paranoiac fear that people might be looking at her thighs, for songs featuring session musicians you've never heard of. Can she actually produce "first class, radio-hit-quality music" that's not "preachy or corny"? No, but that won't stop the well-connected and wealthy entrepreneur from getting her "SkinnySongs" played on the Bay Area's top classic rock station, KFOG. Fellow VC Fred Wilson heard Roizen's thinspirational "exercise music" this morning on the popular radio station. Fred's reaction, and ours: "WTF."

Bulldog pup photo shortage rocks Silicon Valley

Paul Boutin · 12/14/07 08:31PM

You know, I'm perfectly fine with funtrepreneur-in-residence Jason Calacanis telling us to "please die." I'm totally OK when Calacanis emails me "Subject: Idiot," because I can take a joke, especially when it's true. But dammit, Janet, Calacanis has stopped posting pics of his puppies. Valleywag has been forced to outsource to Professor Chips (above), winner of last year's Babies vs Puppies showdown. After a week where the big stories were Larry Page planting one on new bride Lucy Southworth, Heidi Roizen singing her thighs thin, Google ripping off AOL — AOL? — the Times poaching yours truly, and Megan "Leggy" McCarthy leaving Valleywag for Wired, we could all use some face-blurpy time.

Heidi Roizen's slimtastic new venture

Megan McCarthy · 12/12/07 07:17PM

We wondered in April about venture capitalist Heidi Roizen's plans after her firm Moibus Venture finished closing up shop, and now it's been revealed. After topping her bathroom scale in May, Roizen turned her attention towards the music scales. This week, she launched SkinnySongs, a startup focused on creating upbeat, catchy music with the most thinspirational lyrics this side of a pro-ana LiveJournal ring. (Sample lyrics: "Thin! — not telling you lies. Thin! — I want smaller thighs.") Roizen is both the founder and "chief lyricist" for the startup. You can hold her fully responsible for such ditties as "I'm a Hottie Now," "Incredible Shrinking Woman," and the bizarrely titled "Blowing You Off at Eight."