Eight things the 'startup establishment' doesn't tell entrepreneurs
In response to Jason Calacanis’ war on individuals and organizations who charge entrepreneurs money to pitch their startups to investors, I made the point that the biggest scam perpetrated on entrepreneurs is the promotion of the idea that raising money from professional investors is something entrepreneurs should do if they want to be successful.
The truth of the matter is that angels and VCs are great, if you’re a member of the ‘startup establishment’, as Calacanis is.
Jason Calacanis sticks up for 'poor' entrepreneurs but is the effort misguided?
Jason Calacanis has declared war on organizations that charge entrepreneurs to pitch investors on their startups. With "boiling blood", he used a post on his blog this weekend to shame these organizations and to threaten them with extinction.
Singled out: a number of groups, including the well-known Keiretsu Forum. All of which charge entrepreneurs fees to present their businesses to "rich angel investors" who Calacanis believes are exploiting "poor" entrepreneurs.
Nokia officially announces Dopplr acquisition
Although reports of the acquisition had been circling since last week, Nokia made it official today: it has acquired London and Helsinki-based mobile travel startup Dopplr for an undisclosed amount. According to rumors, the acquisition price is somewhere between €10 million and €15 million.
Dopplr, which currently has seven employees, will join Nokia's services division. According to Nokia's press release, "The acquisition does not change the current Dopplr service which is available at Dopplr.com and on platforms where Dopplr is integrated".
Memo to startups: stick to solving problems
If TechCrunch's Sarah Lacy is to be believed, Silicon Valley has lost
its way. There was once a golden era of innovation in which every
startup sought to change the world (and make billions of dollars in the
process).
So to get Silicon Valley back on track, Lacy is sending a message to startups: "you're supposed to be changing the world, remember?"
UK startups facing "unimaginable dilemma"
There are signs that the global economy may be stabilizing and recent M&A activity in the tech sector offers hope that tech will be closer to the front of the pack. But that may not be much consolation to many UK startups that are hurting for cash.
According to Jonathan Kestenbaum, CEO of the National Endowment for Science, Technology, and the Arts (NESTA), as many as 800 young companies face an "unimaginable dilemma" that threatens their survival. The cause of this dilemma: a frozen market for venture capital.
Can free advertising make a startup?
The battle of the West Coast technology conferences is offering something more than name-calling right now: millions of dollars in free advertising to top presenters.
Thanks to the generosity of sponsors and partners, lucky companies presenting at TechCrunch50 and DEMO will have the opportunity to win a hefty amount of free advertising. TechCrunch50 will be giving away at least $1.3m in ad credits and DEMO plans to give away $2m in ad credits.
Five ways to finance your new business
Starting a new business isn't cheap. Even on the internet, I've seen
more than a few entrepreneurs experience surprise when they start to
realize how much it costs to get a venture off the ground.
Making sure your new business is well-capitalized is an important part of achieving success. For that reason, it's important to ask the question: how much do I really need and where am I going to get it?
Will tough privacy regulations hurt startups?
The calls for tough government regulation designed to protect the privacy of internet users are getting stronger in the United States. But could there be unintended fallout if regulations are implemented?
Jeremy Liew, a managing partner at VC firm Lightspeed Venture Partners, thinks so. In his opinion, the impact of the level of regulation that is being demanded "would be enormous for companies relying on online advertising".
The 5 things Twitter must do to avoid #fail
How popular is Twitter? It's so popular that some would suggest it's worth billions of dollars. But as many of us who lived through the first .com bust know all too well, it's disappointingly easy to take something that looks like it has a future filled with success and turn it into fail.
In the case of Twitter, I think there are 5 things that the company's management needs to do to avoid that fate.
There's nothing wrong with liquidity
Are Facebook employees who took advantage of the ability to cash out some of their stock holdings as part of a tender offer from investor Digital Sky Technologies "mercenaries"?
Controversial BusinessWeek tech reporter Sarah Lacy thinks they are. The reason: they're giving up too soon. Lacy believes the $100m tender offer, which is giving some employees the ability to sell up to 25% of their Facebook stock at a $6.5bn valuation, will prove to be a steal for Digital Sky Technologies.
Social media: the best and worst of 2009
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Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
