BLOG STARTUPS, VENTURE AND THE TECH BUSINESS
April 12 2010
by John Backus
Apple Ipad: Flat Screen + Multi-touch = Paradigm Shift
The Ipad will usher in a new wave of computing devices that will fundamentally change the way we interact with computers. Two reasons. Touch. And flat. Like 500,000 of you, I was one of the first to buy an Ipad. I didn’t quite know why. The announcement disappointed me. I thought it was a big ...
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 ...
April 1 2010
by John Backus
Virginia to Entrepreneurs: Start Your Business Here – And Pay No Capital Gains Tax!
Capital Gains taxes on high-tech entrepreneurial startups are going away in Virginia – at least for three years. Founders, Angel Investors, Venture Capital Fund Investors, Corporate Investors to benefit. On Tuesday, March 30th, newly elected Republican Governor Bob McDonnell signed into law House Bill 523 (Senate Bill 428), which provides a 100% capital gains tax ...
Read on and discuss (10)
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 17 2010
by Todd Hixon
Teeth versus Tail
In one of his radio chats, Governor Patrick of Massachusetts talked about increasing the number of government jobs in the Commonwealth as a means to increase employment. “After all [he remarked], government jobs are just as good a private sector jobs”. That troubled me, and here’s why. Gov. Patrick’s point, I infer, is that a ...
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 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 ...
March 13 2010
by John Backus
Health Care Reform: Common Sense Solutions
Health Care Reform is topical. But it need not cost an arm and a leg to do. Because I sit on the Board of Directors of NAV portfolio company Qliance, an innovative “Direct Practice” primary care solution that operates completely outside of the insurance system, I am often asked to comment on things that we ...
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 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 ...
