BLOG STARTUPS, VENTURE AND THE TECH BUSINESS
January 6 2011
by John Backus
Why NAV invested in HealthWarehouse – prescription drugs online
Sometimes an investment opportunity comes along which seems so compelling, so obvious, so right, even if it bends or breaks a few traditional venture capital rules. HealthWarehouse is one of those companies. HealthWarehouse is a public company. Call it an accidental public company – one that merged into a public shell in 2009. HEWA is ...
January 3 2011
by Scott Johnson
Thank You – Cloud!
These Microsoft cloud commercials are everywhere – showing people using the cloud to improve their lives. And I could be the source of one. This weekend I was reading email at home and suddenly my laptop froze. I tried to reboot in safe mode. Not happening. Looks like a disk failure. Virus induced? No way ...
December 16 2010
by Thanasis Delistathis
Golden age of e-commerce
The last four years have seen another resurgence of e-commerce companies. In fact, our last two deals have been e-commerce deals and we are looking at another one. While e-commerce has been around since the launch of Amazon in the late ’90s, there was a period starting after the collapse of the tech bubble in ...
December 8 2010
by Todd Hixon
What Are You Packing?
The Wall Street Journal recently ran a reader survey that asks, how many gadgets do you carry around with you [link]? They found one man who carries 18 gadgets weighing 26 lbs. in a backpack, including a full size laptop, an iPad, and a camera. WSJ reports his name is Phil Libin, and I think ...
December 3 2010
by Scott Johnson
“Do Not Track” – Some Predictions to Guide Investment
Congress has proposed an opt-out capability for user tracking. Much has been written about Do Not Track, and I won’t rehash all of that. I will simply say I think it is a good idea, and in general expecting that any industry will effectively police itself is naive. What has not been widely discussed is: ...
November 30 2010
by Todd Hixon
The Back Waters of eCommerce
Internet retail sales are up 20% yr/yr for the four days after Thanksgiving, 2010. Mobile web and commerce have unprecedented momentum, argues Mary Meeker in yet another excellent Internet Trends presentation. [What a regret, by the way, that she is becoming a VC; it's like Alice Rivlin joining Fox News.] This has produced high-intensity conflict ...
November 22 2010
by Scott Johnson
Web Browsing in the Living Room
David Pogue published a rather scathing review of Google TV in the NY Times today. He has two main objections: Damning exhibit A is: The Remote Control. He tested a Sony TV and a Logitech STB, and really disliked the experience. And that got me thinking – what, if anything, will ever be a good ...
November 17 2010
by Scott Johnson
Expanding “Opt In” to include “Claw Back.”
My partner Thanasis wrote a thoughtful piece about the trade-offs between privacy and convenience. Since I am a table pounding “opt-in” zealot, I felt compelled to weigh in. Opt-in is why Pontiflex is taking share so rapidly from legacy “email list brokers”. Opt-out is the reason Facebook got kicked in the gut when they launched Beacon, and how ...
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 ...
November 12 2010
by Todd Hixon
Italy And The Long Tail
A recent trip to Italy made me think about the “Long Tail”, the name Chris Anderson of Wired coined for the many small, specialized producers in a market, who he argues benefit greatly from the Internet (original article here). Chris’ essay speaks mostly about media (movies, music, books), however, this idea has since been applied ...
