BLOG STARTUPS, VENTURE AND THE TECH BUSINESS
Author Archive
August 19 2010
by Scott Johnson
August Slow Down, Where Art Thou?
In the previous century, the investment world took a mild breather in August ahead of the Q4 rush. I used to appreciate the slower pace as a time for unplugged reflection and time with family. But I have noticed an interesting shift in the last ten years. August is no longer sacred. You can’t blame ...
July 14 2010
by Scott Johnson
The Six Step Venture Capital Investment Process
Every venture firm has pretty much the same six step process. It is not hard to understand, and every firm puts their own spin on it. But you can pretty much count on these six steps occurring in sequence before you will see any cash in your bank account.
June 16 2010
by Scott Johnson
iPhone 4.0: This Must Be Important
I just read that early iPhone 4.0 sales are ahead of 3Gs sales. This is impressive, but I am not surprised. Anecdotally, I am hearing that iPhone owners all want this phone immediately. This is not just from well-heeled VCs. It is from babysitters and people in line at the bagel store. And it is ...
June 11 2010
by Scott Johnson
Arrogant Companies
If there is one thing that success inexorably leads to in a company culture, it is arrogance. Arrogance in turn leads to complacency, blindness to threats and a loss of touch with reality. Further, it motivates your competitors to join forces against you. I believe arrogance is a big part of why it is so ...
May 26 2010
by Scott Johnson
Brand Advertisers: Not Stupid At All
On the face of it, when you look at old vs new media ad spend, the big dollars go to the old media while the bulk of the time and attention goes to new media. “The advertisers must be crazy or stupid or both” is the quick, logical conclusion to this paradox. Not true!
April 15 2010
by Scott Johnson
When to Make a Lot of Noise
It seemed in the past that grabbing maximum investor mind share early was the best and only strategy. Maximize hype and valuation at every round of investment? Bad idea.
March 26 2010
by Scott Johnson
NEVCA Office Hours at the Venture Cafe in Cambridge
I hung out at the Venture Café (Alfa) at the Cambridge Innovation Center yesterday, and met some great people, saw old friends, and got pitched by a few very dedicated entrepreneurs in an “office hours” format. It was time well spent, and many thanks to the NEVCA for organizing the event. Skip Besthoff of Castille ...
March 16 2010
by Scott Johnson
Top 5 Presentation Mistakes
The presentations I see, for the most part, get a B. Not failing, but noticeably short of excellent. Only once in a blue moon do I encounter an A. It is surprising to me that I don’t see more “A” presentations because: The presenters are high achievers who got A’s in engineering classes at prestigious ...
February 26 2010
by Scott Johnson
Speculating on Apple’s “Big Bold Moves”
Apple said yesterday in its shareholder meeting that it is not going to dividend any of its cash. Rather, Steve is planning some “Big, Bold Moves” for the $40 billion mountain of green he sits atop. He either said this because he needs good World Cup tickets from investment bankers, or he is actually planning ...
February 10 2010
by Scott Johnson
The Web Landscape 2010
Facebook’s monthly unique count is approaching Google’s. This got me thinking about the maturity of the internet, who the incumbents are ahead of the next phase of innovation as handsets become as important as the desktop, and who might be vulnerable to an entrepreneur and some investment. In my view, the important consumer-facing companies on ...
