BLOG STARTUPS, VENTURE AND THE TECH BUSINESS
March 29 2011
by Todd Hixon
Android Will Hold Its Own
The Verizon iPhone and recent strong success of Apple’s iOS on multiple fronts raises the question: can Android really compete with iOS? (E.g., WSJ: “Verizon iPhone: A Threat to Android?”) Although sales and installed base of Android devices have passed the iPhone, some argue that happened because carriers representing 70% of the U.S. market had ...
March 11 2011
by Todd Hixon
The Shape of VC Today
From its post-WW II beginnings to the mid ‘90s, small-to-medium size venture funds ($100m-$400m in today’s dollars) dominated U.S. venture capital. They launched much of the tech industry. Angel money was limited, and later stage funds were few. So VC was a bit like a prosperous gentleman: thicker in the middle, thinner at the top. ...
March 10 2011
by John Backus
The Best Place to Set-up your Startup
VentureBeat recently ran an article I authored that looked at the investing trends on the East Coast. Please check it out here: What fascinated me was that for the last 10+ years, Silicon Valley and the East Coast I-95 corridor have accounted for for 2/3 of all US venture investments. And in any given year, ...
February 23 2011
by Scott Johnson
Amazon Changes the Game (again).
Amazon is a company I hold in the highest esteem as a customer, and as an informed observer of tech-based businesses. Evolving from discount books to discount everything to cloud services is that rare case of excellent strategy meets superior execution. Other online retailers are mere specs in their rear-view mirror. Now they have set ...
February 18 2011
by Todd Hixon
Positioning for On-Line Subscription Dollars
Apple’s announcement of its App Store Subscriptions revenue policy this week (link) has got a lot of people buzzing, tweeting, and thinking – usually not all at once ;-) – about the subscription part of the app economy. E.g., see my partner Scott’s thoughtful post about what it means for Android (link). The policy lays out Apple’s claim ...
February 15 2011
by Scott Johnson
Another Great Day for Android
Apple’s new publisher subscription policy is a big win for Android. By forcing publishers to offer subscriptions at the same price via iTunes, and then skimming 30%, Apple will drive high-value content off its platform. Apple went from smart to greedy with this policy. It is fine to get paid a nice 30% bounty when ...
February 9 2011
by Thanasis Delistathis
Watch out for those “Groundhog Days”
“Groundhog Day” is a metaphor for lack of change an innovation. Companies need to watch out for market changes that may render their services obsolete or invalidate their current strategy.
February 9 2011
by John Backus
Verizon’s Sneaky iPhone Data Throttling Strategy: Can You Hear me Now?
I think the Verizon iPhone is going to be big, for Verizon as well as for Apple. While it is not going to derail the proliferation of Android phones, I do think it will slow down the Android penetration, for a while, at least in the United States. But is Verizon trying to pull a ...
February 8 2011
by Scott Johnson
Groupon Super Bowl Ads – Brilliant?
There is a ton of buzz around the Groupon Super Bowl advertisements, and it is all “negative publicity.” Let’s stipulate for now that the ads were insensitive. Even further, let’s stipulate that they lost some subscribers as a result. Short term, this is not good. Long term? I think all this attention is a big ...
February 8 2011
by Scott Johnson
Is The UnGoogle Economy Viable?
Is there enough market to sustain a startup that competes directly with Google? This is an increasingly frequent topic, as we find ourselves asking entrepreneurs and our CEOs “what if Google decided to do this?” Back in the mid nineties, we used to ask this same question about Microsoft, as the graveyard of companies ...
