BLOG STARTUPS, VENTURE AND THE TECH BUSINESS
January 11 2010
by Thanasis Delistathis
Themes from this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES)
I had a chance to walk the floor of CES in the past few days and thought I would share what stood out for me. This of course is not meant in any way as a conclusive list and there has been plenty of coverage in the press about all things interesting. My summary is ...
January 8 2010
by Todd Hixon
The Power of Tying Services to Products
Consumer marketers speak of “Moments of Truth”. I had one last night. I walked the dog in the evening and, later, when I went to put my iPhone on the charger, the phone and its holster were gone. The phone was set to silent. Merde! I retraced my steps with another ...
January 5 2010
by Scott Johnson
The Fourth Screen – Are Tablets for Real?
I am seeing startups that are using “tween” computers (essentially ipod touch look-alikes running android or linux with a 5×7” screen) for a variety of new applications. The price point is at $300 and declining for a fully performant connected machine, and I wanted to come right out and say that I am a believer in this category.
January 4 2010
by Todd Hixon
Sizzle and Steak: The Importance of Profitability
The management team of one of my venture capital backed companies (pseudonym “Hermes”) recently floated this trial balloon: “We’re now profitable at reasonable scale [Ed: after years of hard work and much investment]. We have the beginnings of a great company. We should raise a big venture round and use the money to ...
December 22 2009
by Thanasis Delistathis
The changing landscape of internet TV
I have argued in a past blog entry that getting your TV through the internet is inevitable. The big question is “how will it unfold”? Who is likely to lead this revolution?
In numerous blogs and articles, it appears likely that Apple is trying to play a role. Here is an article from today’s Wall Street ...
November 30 2009
by Scott Johnson
Tom Tom and Garmin In Serious Trouble
Personal Navigation is being disrupted. Garmin and Tom Tom, as their share prices show, are being Googled. That is, their expensive consumer service is suddenly free from Google. Can they survive? There is a great deal of speculation about this in the press. So I thought I would add mine, as I am an investor ...
November 24 2009
by Scott Johnson
Is the EU actually right about something?
> Update on 11/30. I spoke to several of my companies, and learned that MySQL from Sun is not something they can’t live without. They would prefer Oracle didn’t own it, but the premise that Oracle will harm startups as an owner of MySQL is not true. The argument that Sun/MySQL is the preferred vendor ...
November 19 2009
by Todd Hixon
The Death of B2B Venture Capital?
At the October 21 Xconomy “Global Vision for Venture Capital …” forum, Terry McGuire remarked that Polaris has stopped taking risk on commercial/industrial technology start-ups, as the recent experience has not been good. That’s a consequential thing. “Commercial/industrial technology” encompasses enterprise software, most of telecom and datacom, and large parts of clean tech. ...
November 11 2009
by John Backus
Venture Capital: 5 tips on how to navigate the VC gauntlet
Early-Stage venture capital firms see every imaginable type of business idea. Since we are the first institutional fundraising “gate” that entrepreneurs have to pass through, the variety of business plans which we see fill the spectrum from awful to terrific.
Over the years I have seen lots of bad ideas: Bad ideas for big businesses. Bad ...
November 10 2009
by Thanasis Delistathis
5 things to know about creating a financial model for your business
When pitching your business to venture investors, sharing a well designed financial model is very important! Why? Because how a financial model is designed helps investors learn some things about you and your business: it provides insights into how you think about your business, helps clarify what are the main assumptions that drive it and ...
