Interesting New Tech Blog for your Radar Screen
Over the holiday I became aware of a new tech blog that aims to have deep insights into the next generation of technology, which they call The Hypernet. Why should you care? Well, it is established by some of the industries more successful investors – Mike Maples and Roger McNamee. My favorite post was this [...]
Should Startups Focus on Profitability or Not?
There are certain topics that even some of the best journalists can’t fully grok. One of them is profitability. I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” I mention journalists here because they perpetuate [...]
Getting to Know Maker Studios
A year ago I invested, along with Dana Settle at Greycroft Partners, in a startup company called Maker Studios. What excited me was that they had an immensely talented team that understood how to produce & distribute low-cost videos, initially via YouTube. It was founded by Danny Zappin, Lisa Donovan & Ben Donovan. They know this model [...]
The Amazing Power of Deflationary Economics for Startups
I’m often asked by people what investment areas interest me. It’s true that I have a functional focus on three areas: Performance-based marketing, digital television and mobile computing. I try to invest in things that I know and that I believe I might have better knowledge and relationships than the masses of VCs. I have [...]
The End of the Web? Don’t Bet on It. Here’s Why
Fred Wilson recently posted a great video on his blog with the CEO of Forrester Research, George Colony. The money slide is the graphic below. The chart shows three scarce resources and their improvements over time. The top line is available storage (S), the middle line represents processing power (following Moore’s law) or (P) and the [...]
Future of TV: The Quick Version
I recently gave a talk about the Future of Television. I’m still planning to write some in depth pieces on the topic but I thought, “given that this is about how video will consume the Internet over the next 5 years, what better way to exemplify this than with a 10-minute video.” Here’s a link [...]
HealthDataInsights Sells for $400 Million. Big Win for GRP Partners.
The tech market is filled with many stories of early-stage funding. It’s even more exciting when you can report an exit of a company that is a major win. That’s why I’m proud to announce today that HealthDataInsights (founded by Victor Chaltiel), where GRP Partners was a 30% owner, has been acquired for $400 million. It maps to [...]
The Future of Television Presentation
I will be giving a speech today on The Future of Television at the PaidContent conference in LA. I will write way more details about this in the coming months but I thought I’d give you a sneak peak at my presentation for today. Future of TV // Feel free to leave comments and we [...]
The State of Venture Capital and the Internet
Early today I gave a keynote at the VCJ Venture Alpha conference here in San Francisco. I was asked to speak about the topic of “what is going on in the venture capital world and what is the next big thing after social networking?” // Future of VC Internet – Tough topic, but what the heck? Next [...]
Why Reed Hastings Should be Applauded for Netflix Split
By now you probably know that Netflix is splitting its business into two parts: its digital streaming business (retains the name Netflix) and its DVD mailing business, which was its original business (to be called Qwikster). If you haven’t read Reed’s explanation of this split make sure you read it (of course, after you’re done [...]
Explaining FNAC: Feature, Not a Company
FNAC. I first heard the term from Chris Fralic at First Round Capital. Feature, not a company. It has always stood out in my mind. Whether something is a feature or a company is clearly subjective. And sometimes features (say, Twitter) turn into companies. For me it is a useful shorthand for a very clever [...]
Why Online / Offline Mobile Integration is Going to be a Huge Business
“People still want calls.” When I first got into VC I decided I better have some investment themes. My macro theme was “great entrepreneurs” who mapped to my belief system about the kind of entrepreneurs I wanted to work with. My background was 8 years of telecoms & mobile and 8 years of cloud computing [...]
Stock Market Drops. Then It Rallies. What Happens Next for Funding?
Venture Capitalists typically have partners’ meetings on Mondays. Why is that? Who knows. But probably because as a group we travel a lot. So the industry formed around a day of the week when all partners could avoid having company board meetings or traveling. Yesterday was a Monday. And not a pleasant one. Rewind. When [...]
How Tech People Can Make a Difference in the Lives of Under-Privileged Children
I’d like to start by asking each of you to consider helping under-privileged children in America get a little bit more than they have today. Sure, you can give a small amount of money. Even $10. Please. It’s better than zero. You can combine that with supporting Fred & Joanne Wilson. (if you click no [...]
Twitter, Jobs, Democracy & The US Elections
I recently wrote a post about the open nature of Twitter and why I’m long on its future. I know it’s easier to write “horse race” stories about who’s signing up more users, raising more funding or who’s “hot” lately. But something more nuanced is at hand that is worth debating – is the future [...]
