BLOG STARTUPS, VENTURE AND THE TECH BUSINESS
Author Archive
November 12 2010
by Thanasis Delistathis
Privacy vs. Relevance (or Convenience): a tricky balance
According to today’s Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the Obama administration is taking steps to regulate privacy practices on the internet. That might include new laws and a new regulatory position. While Europe has always been more aggressive in this area, the U.S. government has largely left it unregulated, lest it might impede innovation. The WSJ ...
October 20 2010
by Thanasis Delistathis
5 checklist items to raising money
I know this is a somewhat mandane subject, but yesterday someone sent me a one-pager “executive summary” of a business, and after reading it I couldn’t really tell what they do. So I read it again, and still couldn’t figure it out. The summary was fully buzzword-compliant: you know!, it had all those fancy words ...
October 19 2010
by Thanasis Delistathis
Why is it so hard to offer good service?
I have been pondering this question for some time and have had a few conversations about it with VCs and entrepreneurs. I think that offering great service will be an important strategy and opportunity for companies as more and more products are converted into service (e.g. cloud-based software). How many times have you dialed into ...
July 22 2010
by Thanasis Delistathis
Are there too many smartphone operating systems?
I had predicted that July 2008 would mark a seminal moment in the history of technology. That’s when Apple launched their mobile App Store. Now, it’s hard to think of an iPhone without the apps. A new app economy has been created with 250,000 applications in the App Store and $1BN paid out to developers. ...
April 22 2010
by Thanasis Delistathis
Is Facebook trying to take over the internet? Implications for startups
Facebook announced some big initiatives at their developers’ conference yesterday and they have big implications for the internet and internet startups. Facebook has already surpassed 400 million users and is becoming the defacto social networking site for the world. It’s now the world’s virtual town square where we all get to hang out with our ...
April 16 2010
by Thanasis Delistathis
iPad: a revolution in personal media consumption
After getting a chance to play with it for a couple of weeks, I believe this is the dawn of another computing revolution, centered around new ways to consume media.
April 6 2010
by Thanasis Delistathis
Why we invested (again) in Stitcher Radio
Stitcher Radio announced today the closing of its Series B round of funding, lead by Benchmark. We added to our Series A investment with more dollars in this round and I thought it would be worthwhile explaining why we choose to invest again in Stitcher and what we consider the bid idea. Many of you ...
March 16 2010
by Thanasis Delistathis
Facebook Connect: The biggest no-brainer in the history of earth
Well; maybe that is a slight exaggeration. But when I sit back and try to think about some other things that would qualify as some of, say, the top 10 biggest no-brainers in the history of earth, Facebook Connect has got to be among them. The tagline is one I heard in radio ads on ...
March 12 2010
by Thanasis Delistathis
Pitching your business? Keep it simple!
Back in elementary school, we all had to buy these school notebooks with the school insignia in the front. On the back of the book there was a quote in three languages. It was a famous quote from Pascal Blaise that went something like: “I made this letter longer than usual because I did not ...
February 17 2010
by Thanasis Delistathis
Mobile communications opening up
I believe that this week’s announcement of Verizon exclusive bundling of Skype into its mobile phones is a significant milestone in the inevitable march towards a world of open mobile communications. What I mean is that carriers will increasingly become value added internet service providers. They are currently the old AOL. Providing access to the ...
