BLOG STARTUPS, VENTURE AND THE TECH BUSINESS
Author Archive
January 12 2012
by John Backus
Re-Inventing Education for the 21st Century
The Internet is staring down the College Cartel. And the Internet will win. College costs cannot continue to rise at three times the rate of inflation, as they have for the last thirty-five years. My friend Jack Biddle, co-founder of VC firm Novak Biddle, and an early pioneer in online education companies (Blackboard, 2Tor, Fidelis ...
January 11 2012
by John Backus
Part 2 – Busting up the College Cartel
In my last piece, I pointed out how for more than a generation – 35 years and counting – that the costs of attending college have increased at three times the rate of inflation – almost twice the rate that health care costs have increased over the same period. Yet our children are receiving the ...
January 10 2012
by John Backus
Part 1 – The Rise of the College Cartel
I wrote an article yesterday that appeared here in the Washington Post’s Capital Business magazine. I have had some tremendous feedback about this article, and many of you have asked me to expand on my ideas about how to reform the College and University system in America. This is the first of three posts I ...
January 9 2012
by John Backus
The Death of Retail 2.0
The 2011 holiday shopping season saw a 15 percent increase in online sales, up to $35.3 billion according to Comscore, but consumer electronics retail bellweather Best Buy reported a one percent decline in holiday sales. What is going on? Pretty simple – we are in the middle of another battle between brick and mortar and ...
December 15 2011
by John Backus
On Women, VC & Startups….
A few months ago on PEHub, I engaged in a lively debate about the state of entrepreneurship and venture capital, here and here. One of the issues I addressed, the absence of women in the venture capital, technology and startup worlds, was revisited last week at the TEDx Global Woman’s Entrepreneur event. At minute 11, ...
December 2 2011
by John Backus
The Future of Television
Have you looked at your cable bill lately? Mine is $240 a month. Ok, take out $40 for Internet service and $30 for phone service, and I am paying $170 for television in three rooms, with all of the attendant cable box rentals, DVR fees etc. For what? How many channels do we REALLY watch ...
November 2 2011
by John Backus
A Tech Bubble? Boom? or Bust?
Not a day goes by without another doomsday prediction for technology companies and investors. The sky is falling! The tech bubble is about to burst! Get out while you can! Comparisons to Nasdaq’s 5046 March 2000 peak — and subsequent crash to below 2000 — rule the day. What does this mean to entrepreneurs and ...
October 21 2011
by John Backus
Why Entrepreneurs and Obama should Care About Capital Gains Taxes
I had the privilege last week of interviewing Steve Case, on stage, in a sold-out, standing room only event hosted by the Northern Virginia Technology Council. Steve has been active lately as an angel investor through Revolution Ventures, as a late stage investor through Revolution Partners, as a cheerleader for entrepreneurship, running the Startup America ...
October 18 2011
by John Backus
6 Ways to Build a Business: Go Big or Do it From Home
Build your small business around a successful big business and your odds of success are high. Not a week goes by when an entrepreneur pitching me to land venture capital funding tells me that they are going to be the next Google, Facebook and Apple. As a venture capitalist, I like and invest in ambitious ...
October 6 2011
by John Backus
iPad vs Fire – The Winner may Surprise You!
As a VC, I felt compelled to write my first blog for Huffington Post – which I have also posted here - inspired by one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time: Steve Jobs. He was a brilliant inventor. His creations left an indelible mark on the world. And he left some important lessons to ...
