Venture Capital | Internet Marketing Blog

Is the end of the acquihire near?

If you're a tech titan with lots of cash and a healthy stock price, one of the best ways to fill your ranks with talented employees in the latest boom has been to acquire small young startups before they become the next big thing.

The founders of targeted startups get an exit on their resume and a retention package that will ensure financial comfort, and investors in the startups get, well, the shaft as most of the money in the deal comes in the form of those employee retention packages.

by Patricio Robles 25 April 2012 18:22pm 0 comments

Crowdfunding: four things entrepreneurs should consider

Crowdfunding may soon be a reality in the United States, giving entrepreneurs and would-be mom-and-pop startup investors reason for celebration.

And make no mistake about it: crowdfunding could be one of the most significant changes to hit the startup world in a long time, providing entrepreneurs with a much larger market in which to raise capital for their companies.

by Patricio Robles 16 March 2012 16:50pm 5 comments

Yahoo's Facebook patent lawsuit: hate the game, not the player

While the violent and depressing patent wars that are being waged in the technology industry aren't new, Yahoo's patent infringement lawsuit against Facebook has created a firestorm in Silicon Valley.

From bloggers to venture capitalists to former employees, individuals are lashing out at the once-dominant portal, criticizing it for being desperate, evil or some combination of other less-than-nice words.

by Patricio Robles 14 March 2012 21:17pm 2 comments

Loopt gets acquired by prepaid debit card company

What do prepaid debit cards and location-based services (LBS) have in common? If a company called Green Dot is right, the answer is 'a lot more than you might think.'

The company, which is a major player in the prepaid debit card space, today announced that it has acquired mobile LBS startup Loopt for $43.4m in cash.

by Patricio Robles 09 March 2012 19:23pm 0 comments

Are today's startups generating revenue faster?

Are we in a new .com bubble? It seems quite likely, but that doesn't mean that many of today's startups aren't better at generating actual revenue than their now-defunct counterparts of the late 1990s.

According to venture capitalist, Josh Kopelman, whose First Round Capital operates seed stage funds, about 60% of the companies in his firm's portfolio have generated over $250,000 in revenue in the 18 months following their financing. The percentage in 2005: just 21%.

by Patricio Robles 18 November 2011 18:08pm 0 comments

Ten signs we're in a tech bubble

Are we in a tech bubble?

There debate is only growing, and while it may not really matter to most of us, there are ten particularly worrying signs for those who have expoure to companies that are running on VC fuel and may need to go public in the near future.

by Patricio Robles 29 September 2011 14:21pm 0 comments

Dispelling the TechCrunch myth

The debates over what constitutes journalism, and what the future of journalism will look like, rages on.

Last week, a firestorm erupted when TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington announced that he was launching a fund to invest in technology startups.

TechCrunch, of course, which is now owned by AOL, is a blog focused on technology startups, and while Arrington will apparently be off the editorial payroll, he'll still be able to contribute as an unpaid blogger.

Adding fuel to the firestorm: the fact that AOL itself is investing in Arrington's fund.

by Patricio Robles 06 September 2011 10:58am 3 comments

Color and the importance of managing expectations

If a new startup called Color has its way, photo sharing will never be the same. The company is creating a completely smart phone-based 'social network' of sorts for photos, but instead of focusing on people, it's focusing on location, a concept some have likened to Twitter-for-pics.

Interesting? Maybe. Innovative? Questionable. But Color is already attracting lots of attention having already raised $41m before launch. Color's backers include notable investors, including preeminent venture capital firm Sequoia Capital.

by Patricio Robles 25 March 2011 13:28pm 4 comments

Six top tips for bootstrapped startups

I find people are endlessly interested in what it's like to run your own business, and particularly like the juicy stories, since schadenfreude and rubber necking are yet to go out of fashion it seems.

So I'm going to share a few thoughts on starting a business; in particular about bootstrapped businesses where you haven't got a large pile of VC money behind you and the freedom to hire all the people you want and put PS3s in the kitchen.

This post is for the poor sod who left the easy nine-to-five job and who is now fighting tooth and nail to keep his/her business going. A bootstrapping top tips if you will...

by Will Wynne 29 September 2010 12:21pm 3 comments

Ten dangerous ideas for startup entrepreneurs

Starting a new business is a positive action, and in my experience most entrepreneurs are positive people. But sometimes that positivity can mask harsh realities that many entrepreneurs would rather ignore, and can lead them to buy into ideas that are detrimental to success.