Scott Burns
@smburns
2X tech entrepreneur. 3X father. Current VC. St. Paul, MN. This is a personal account. All opinions expressed are my own and not a reflection of my employer.
It is a real struggle to balance freedom to make bad decisions with the interest the state has in protecting the vulnerable. What we know: surges in THC use, fentanyl, meth, gambling, lotteries, social media, etc. are stripping the working class of its resources and dignity.
Gambling addiction is a slow and quiet killer. You know if someone close to you drinks too much. You don't know if they have a gambling problem. People are embarrassed by their losses. Suicide from gambling debts is rarely directly associated with online sports betting. 12/n
Pino’s Pizzeria is an important reminder of how small businesses fuel our economy and energize our neighborhoods. I’m thrilled to welcome this Saint Paul staple back to the heart of our downtown. cbsnews.com/minnesota/news…
The debt ceiling should be abolished. Putting this tool in the hands of a perpetually reckless Congress is like giving a sharp knife to a toddler. nytimes.com/2025/06/12/opi…
The DSA which is attempting to take over the Minneapolis and St. Paul DFL believes in "popular control of resources and production" which means confiscating private property. This is not European Socialism. It is far closer to Communism. It's imperative to push back.
State of MN killed Launch Minnesota and the Angel Tax Credit which were two of our only programs to support entrepreneurs and instead we celebrate 150 new drug shops. How embarrassing.
We need to cultivate and advance young people who have the ambition to run government well vs just people who think every idea in their head ought to be public policy.
Is every healthcare and senior care operation in America operationally incompetent or just the ones I interface with?
Maybe we need more civic education about the importance of property rights. No one wants to invest in a place where the govt competes with you and controls prices. St Paul rent control hurt the people it was supposed to help. Socialism isn’t going to work any better in NYC.
A reckless bill filled with handouts to the rich and/or old on the backs of the vulnerable and/or young is gross. The wrong answer is rent freezes and extra taxes for creating jobs in cities. We need policies that help the majority of Americans based on economics and data.
This fucking imbecile Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spews this anti-intellectual garbage with the smug conviction of a man who read half a blog post and declared himself Galileo. Science literally runs on expert consensus. That’s what peer review is. That’s what academic journals are.…
I wish voters across the country would start to punish lack of decency. What an embarrassment this guy is for himself, his state, and our country. al.com/politics/2025/…
My spouse is 51 years old and can perform multiple types of surgeries. I just had to explain to her how BCC works in email.
Downtown St. Paul has fallen into a crowded jazz festival! There is a “hidden” basement bar and performance venue at 385 Broadway St., beneath the Metronome Brewery, accessible from Bulvino Steakhouse, and it’s shoulder to shoulder tonight…
This is my 5th time back in Mears Park in 3 days. JazzFest 2025 rolled out in multiple cities this year, but mostly St. Paul, and mostly in and around Mears Park. We’re going to soak up the last couple hours of it… “Ain’t that love, baby, that I feel in my heart for you…”
Legalizing weed will go down as one of the worst policy decisions in history. cnn.com/2025/06/17/hea…
My MD spouse is on a marketing committee for her practice and is frustrated to learn what the rest of us already know. Most marketing people are bad and full of it. It’s not like these people pass a test or take a Board of Marketers exam. Luckily they are not doing surgery.
To legislators in New Hampshire, as you consider making your schools phone free: Multiple studies now show that bell-to-bell policies greatly reduces class-time disruptions. Banning phones only during classtime does not help much x.com/JonHaidt/statu…
Major new survey from National Education Association gives very strong support for phone-free schools. Any policy that lets kids have phones BETWEEN classes disrupts what happens IN class. Give teachers a chance. Go phone-free. nea.org/resource-libra…
Founders- Read this carefully. I’ve seen nearly all of these “mistakes” in the past two years.
PSA to founders raising money. Fudging revenue numbers during a fundraise isn’t just a bad look. It can be a crime. Securities fraud is a real thing. If you falsify or mislead investors about your revenue numbers, you can go to jail. And on that note: 👇👀
I have this absolutely insane idea that cars using gas (or hybrid) could also be self driving. I just drove to Mn from Colorado in my hybrid and really think AI could have handled the Denver suburbs to Eagan.