Skip Fleshman

Here are some @AMV thoughts on decentralized trials. @reifyhealth @freenome @evidation #digitalhealth Trials and tribulations – the new world of decentralized trials shar.es/aoe7m3 via @MobiHealthNews

@ImCollegeSoccer Many give significant, need-based, financial aid which is why grades are so important.

DM: A lot of people complain about the D1 or bust mentality but the truth is that most can’t afford the D3 price tags. We know D3 is an amazing option but unfortunately D1’s are often a more affordable option. So it’s not D1 or bust it’s what can I afford or bust. -Parent #CSTruth Truth! Student loans and large amount of debt out of college SUCKS!

@ImYouthSoccer These schools, I’m sure, all had great recruiting classes. But prepsoccer rankings are so bad.

Only 1 mid major on the list and seems like a potential topic for the next College Soccer Nation 😀

@dumonster16 @ProspectsUsmnt 100% true. He got away with athleticism and never developed any technical ability.

@ProspectsUsmnt I always thought Cowell was just strength and pace. Nothing standout in technical ability can have some good 1v1s if there is space. But maybe it’s been some time since his u20 days. What are your thoughts on their similarities?

I find it a little funny that Julian Hall (‘08) plays on the same team now as Cade Cowell because that’s been my comp for Hall for a few years now. My hope is he can have a more successful career. Maybe Cowell can mentor his protege on how to do things in a way he hasn’t so far?

@BallzSoccer @ImCollegeSoccer I just think the way you phrase it is too broad. If someone picks a school to study computer science or biology or engineering, that makes a ton of sense. Certain schools are very strong in academic areas.

@SkipFleshman @ImCollegeSoccer Yes, choosing a school based on a particular course of study is a major mistake. 17 year olds have no idea what they want to do the rest of their lives (nor should they) and the data backs that up.

Recruits, The truth, you can do all the research you possibly can & then commit to the “right fit” or “best fit” and still get it wrong. Because the truth about the “right fit” or “best fit”. You won’t actually know it was the right school for you until you’re there. Don’t get scammed by recruiting agencies selling you that very expensive jingle. Do the work and do it yourself. It will save you time and money and you’ll feel very proud knowing YOU were the one who made it happen. Get after it! #CSTruth

@BallzSoccer @ImCollegeSoccer Majors will change?

@ImCollegeSoccer This goes beyond soccer. Don’t choose a school for a coach; they’ll change. Don’t choose for a friend; they’ll change. Don’t choose for a major; it’ll change. Go visit on an off season Tues afternoon and see if you like the vibe. That’s your best chance at finding the right fit.

@BrianSciaretta Great piece. I watch Tsakiris a lot in San Jose. I admit he looks good with the USYNT, but at PayPal he looks below mls standards in midfield. He’s not super quick and lacks technical skills. He’s just not smooth on the ball. I’ve seen him eaten alive by more skillful players.

New feature out today: Looking ahead to the 2026 MLS season, I predict who I think will be the top 15 young American players in the coming year (defined as 2028 Olympic eligible and younger) americansoccernow.com/articles/mls-p…

@BrianSciaretta @nocohailstormfc Go aggies!

Sweet strike from Racine, Wisconsin’s very own, UC Davis alum, & @nocohailstormfc product Ethan Hoard today for OFK Beograd in Serbia. #NoYankLeftBehind

Weston McKennie has the second most Champions League goals of amongst ALL Juventus midfielders in history, tied with Arturo Vidal. 🥇 Pavel Nedved (11 goals) 🥈 Weston McKennie (9 goals) 🥈 Arturo Vidal (9 goals) 🥉 Zinedine Zidane (5 goals) Put some respect on his name. 🇺🇸👏

+1!

@gothburz This is hardly revolutionary

Last year I eliminated our PTO policy. I called it "unlimited." The board loved it. HR loved it. Finance really loved it. Let me explain why Finance loved it. Under the old policy, employees accrued 18 days per year. Unused days carried over. When employees quit, we owed them money. Cash. For days they earned but didn't take. That's a liability. On the books. $4.7 million in accrued PTO across 2,300 employees. I made it disappear. With one policy change. "Unlimited PTO." You can't accrue what's infinite. You can't owe what was never counted. The liability vanished. $4.7 million. Gone. The CFO sent me a bottle of wine. I told employees it was about "trust and flexibility." It was about the balance sheet. But "balance sheet optimization" doesn't fit on a careers page. "Unlimited PTO" does. We updated the job postings. Applications increased 23%. People love unlimited. Until they try to use it. Under the old policy, employees took an average of 17 days per year. Under unlimited, they take 11. That's not a bug. That's the design. When PTO is a number, people take the number. It's theirs. They earned it. Managers can't argue with a number. When PTO is "unlimited," people take nothing. Because unlimited comes with questions. "Is this a good time?" "Who's covering?" "What will people think?" The guilt does the enforcement. I don't have to say no. The culture says no. I just built the culture. We track time-off requests in Workday. I see everything. A senior engineer requested two weeks in July. His manager approved it. Officially. Then sent a Slack message. "Totally fine. Just wanted to flag that the Erikson deliverable overlaps. Probably fine. Just flagging." The engineer took four days. Unlimited means whatever your anxiety allows. For most people, that's less than before. Some employees don't take any PTO. We call them "high performers." They get promoted. Then they manage others. They don't approve much PTO either. The system self-replicates. A recruiter asked how we "stay competitive." I said, "Unlimited PTO." She asked how much people actually take. I said, "That's not tracked." It is tracked. I have a dashboard. I don't share the dashboard. We did an employee survey. 84% said they "appreciated the flexibility of unlimited PTO." 12% said they "wished they felt more comfortable taking time off." We published the 84%. The 12% went in a folder. The folder is called "Noted." I don't open that folder. Someone in engineering asked if we could go back to accrued PTO. I said, "That would limit your flexibility." He said he wanted limits. I said, "That's not aligned with our culture of trust." He stopped asking. Trust is a funny word. I trust employees to feel too guilty to use their benefits. They trust me to frame that guilt as freedom. That's the deal. I'm presenting at an HR conference next month. The session is called "Unlimited PTO: Building a Culture of Ownership." Ownership means employees own their guilt. I own the savings. The policy costs us nothing. Because employees take nothing. And call it a benefit. I'll be VP of People by Q2. Unlimited upside.

A dozen years old, but curious how many of these little lies are still told around the #JPM26 conference.... "Top 10 Little White Lies Told At The JP Morgan Healthcare Conference" lifescivc.com/2014/01/top-10…

@ImCollegeSoccer Totally depends on the D3 academic level but mostly true

@SkipFleshman Agree but on those teams & most top level ECNL teams, …..even the bottom kids ignore D3 because they want D1. #CSTruth

What’s more frustrating? A: A mid-level D3 school sitting at a game watching two clubs that all they do is produce top level D1 talent. (Self Awareness) Or B: These kids eventually ghosting these type of D3 schools. (Recruiting Manners ) #CSTruth #ECNLFL

Interesting comments from one of the best outside backs we've ever had

Dear @peacocktv and @fuboTV. If NBC doesn't stop showing @premierleaguegames on networks we can't access because of your lack of contract with Fubo, then I'm cancelling Peacock. The way @NBCSports is showing Premier League content is deplorable.

Dan - I decided to sleep on this because I wanted to assume positive intent and it felt like I was drifting. Here is how I’m thinking about it. Happy to talk more if you think it’s useful…. The real issue with a wealth tax isn’t about how much money the government needs or whether wealthy people should contribute. How much they should is a valid discussion and we should have it honestly. The deeper issue is who the government exists to serve and where the wealth tax leads to when it comes to that question. In a free society, the government is meant to serve the people. Individuals come first, and the state comes second. Most taxes respect this idea. You pay income tax when you earn money. You pay sales tax when you buy something. You pay capital gains tax when you sell an asset. In each case, you act first, and the government responds. And in each case you can create a link between an activity that benefited from the government’s service to the people. A wealth tax works differently. You can owe it even if nothing happens at all. You don’t earn more, sell anything, or spend anything. You owe tax simply because you continue to own what you already have. That changes the meaning of ownership. It starts to feel less like something you truly own and more like something the state allows you to keep as long as you keep paying. It’s as if property becomes an abstract thing the state gives you permission to own and where the terms can therefore arbitrarily change. This matters because wealth often represents years of saving, patience, and risk-taking. Taxing ownership itself sends the message that property is not fully yours…it is conditional. The government can raise large amounts of money without crossing this line. Broad taxes on income, spending, and transactions already do that. A wealth tax crosses a boundary by putting the state above the individual. That shift…not revenue…is the core concern. You might not 100% agree that this is an important line to cross but I imagine you can understand why some people think it would be a very clever technique for a politician with socialist tendencies to support as the first step in a more problematic set of steps that eat away at the very premise of private property. I think it’s an important line. A very important one. Both from a moral perspective as well as a progress perspective.

@iamshackelford What a dumb analogy.

Keith Rabois has a line that is timely and important and still lives rent-free in my head: “Most companies hire bullets when they really need cannons.” The first time I heard that, it stung a little. Because I could immediately see exactly where I’d done it. A “bullet” is someone who moves only when you aim them. You point, load, and give detailed instructions. Then they fly in a straight line and stop. A “cannon” is different. You point them at a problem and step back. They create impact on their own. They see around corners. They make other people’s jobs easier just by doing theirs. Once you see that distinction, you start looking at everyone differently: Who actually creates momentum? Who owns outcomes, not just tasks? Who sends you solutions instead of waiting for direction? When I look back on the best “teams” I’ve ever been a part of, they rarely had huge headcounts. They had: • A handful of cannons who really cared • Clear lanes and ownership • The freedom to actually do the work These days, when I think about hiring, I’m asking myself way simpler questions: • Would I trust them with something I really care about? • Do they like owning things end to end? • Would they still create value if I disappeared for a month? If the answer is yes, that’s a cannon. You figure out how to make space for them. You can add all the tools, playbooks, and dashboards you want. But if you don’t have a few real cannons on the team, you’re just rearranging bullets.

@HarryStebbings Nice but at the end of the day it’s all about your returns.

Every week I meet three new LPs. Even when I am not fundraising. And... I never ever sell 20VC to them. The single biggest reason VCs struggle fundraising: they do not build relationships in between funds. This is wrong. You have to continuously build relationships and trust with LPs over time. I never sell 20VC to LPs. I understand what is important to them, what they like, what they do not like, how they think about building a venture portfolio. I then advise them. I try to provide as much value to them as possible, with nothing in return. I always get their Whatsapp at the end. Relationships are built, deepened and sustained when you get off email and onto Whatsapp. I also ask them, what three other LPs do you most respect? If I do not know them, I ask for an intro? Every week, I get 6-9 new LP intros from the LPs I meet. Lines not dots. Build relationships over time. Play the long game.

@bryce It’s getting back to some stage of normalcy.

Traditional venture capital is cooked

@USWNT Great player but I’m sure she’d even say that was a bit lucky

Girma 🗣️ is 🗣️ clutch 🗣️