Real busy with projects today, so not as much time to read. A couple links of interest:
I recently realized that TechCrunch has an umbrella of sites including CrunchBase, Crunchgear and a handful of others. I am pretty positive that I should have known about these sites a LONG time ago, especially since I am a TechCrunch reader. However, I am notoriously bad at reading all blogs in my reader and never actually going to the site….. so, missed the connection.
Needless to say, I checked out CrunchBase, a listing of web2.0 company profiles. Out of curiousity I looked up some of the Wasatch companies to see what information was listed.
Hmmm… definitely not perfect… yet, I can’t be too hard on the author Mike Arrington as there are a bazillion (note that this is not an actual count) web2.0 companies out there. If anything, Crunchbase can be a good starting point to find companies already noted by Arrington as movers and shakers, as his viewpoints result in a definite increase in site hits. Then perhaps researched on one’s own after that.
Interesting links I discovered today:
And a couple fun links:
I just read this AlwaysOn blog about undergrads and social networking and found it interesting as I follow the social network space as well. Thought I would do a quick trackback.
Can anyone tell me why my Blogger profile only shows my personal blog, Cragbaby, rather than both my blogs? I tried to edit it and went to the section that allows me to choose which blogs to display, but the Cragbaby was the only option.(?!)
Also, does anyone know how NOT to get my profile pic on the side bar to run off onto the edge? I might just need to check Blogger help first on this one. But figured since I was posting, might was well post all my questions. =)
It is Saturday morning and I woke up early due to my little pooch needing to go outside. I have been swamped at work lately and haven’t had the time to catch up on my blogs. So, this morning I thoroughly enjoyed spending some time reading the feeds and posting up comments.
It made me wonder how most people organize their readers and the order in which they read the posts. I have mine organized with general labels such as friends, vc, technology, utah, entrepreneur, fun, business, stocks and news. And I notice that the most important blogs to me are my friend blogs. Ummm… yes, I should probably read all the new technology blogs first, but sorry, my friends win out. The funny thing is, there are a couple blogs that I find so useful that I purposefully list them as ‘friends’ in order not to overlook the new postings. One such blog is LifeHacker. If you haven’t checked out this site, you should.
After friends, I read the labeled posts in this order: news, technology and vc. I notice that certain labels like business never get read because I skip right to friends. And for some reason I skip certain labels, for instance Utah (sorry Utah bloggers), unless I have a lot of spare time.
I feel as if I need to re-label or think of a new system to better utilize my time and increase the realm of blog posts I read.
Any suggestions?
The other day I read the ZDNet blog “Apple should start offering Windows-based Macs”. Interesting read, but I disagree.
Apple has established a reputation for an integrated hardware and software resulting in high quality machine with few operating errors. Its performance and reliability are what make the computers so great… and (I believe) have increased the sales. I think there probably is some correlation (though slight) with iPod sales and Macs as the iPod helped to break down the consumer’s viewpoints of Apple being hard to use (I mean how can you operate a computer without a right mouse button?). Yet, the main increase most likely resulted from consumers wanting a reliable computer with in-store service rather than having to call India to wait on hold for hours. Why would Apple want to mess this reputation by installing Windows rather than the OSX? If the user really wanted Windows, why not just invest in the upcoming Bootcamp?
I believe the increase of Apple sales are due to consumers becoming more comfortable with the Apple products and Apple slowing reeling each consumer in with each new gadget release.
What are your thoughts? Will the bootcamp be too techy for the normal consumer to use?
Today’s AlwaysOn included the post “Know What You Suck At” written by Brad Feld. I like the writings of Brad Feld, but this was especially good. He had created a list of things (over a wide range of spectrums) that he was lousy at and therefore, if important, outsourced to other individuals.
I loved the post (and Brad’s list) as I know I also suck at a whole bunch of things. I say this not with a lack of confidence, but more as a realization that I just don’t have the skill set needed in certain areas. Some of my list includes:
Brad briefly mentioned entrepreneurs, to which point I want to re-circle. I feel that I often hear the “story” or only the good aspects that a CEO is trying to spin when coming to talk to the firm. The spin is necessary to an extent in order to engage the investors and sell the positive aspects, yet I also want to know the trouble spots or what the management can’t do. I absolutely love it when someone genuinely tells me that he/she might not be the right CEO upon entering the growth phase of the business. Or that the company really needs someone with more of “x” experience (x being any area of the business). I really appreciate the humble entrepreneurs who have the necessary passion, but are willing to listen to an outside perspective.
I think Brad nailed the idea on the head when he said our weaknesses can actually be a filter and that we can choose to either work to make these areas our strengths or structure our business/life to either outsource or avoid these areas altogether.
Thanks for the post, Brad.
Spectrum Equity purchased a majority stake in Wasatch Venture Fund’s portfolio company The Generations Network (previously known as MyFamily.com) for an investment of $300m. The Utah-based Generations Network is comprised of Ancestry.com, Rootsweb, and MyFamily.com that, according to Hitwise, rank as the second, third and fourth largest U.S. “family lifestyle” sites. The Generation Network has more than 900,000 paying subscribers, receives 8.2m monthly visitors worldwide and counts approximately 2.5 million active site users.
It is best for an entrepreneur to try and finance her company through her own resources (bootstrapping, friends and family, etc) because it increases her commitment to the company and she then retains ownership. Yet, many companies will need additional capital and depending on the type of business private investors might be interested in participating via debt or for an equity piece. Utah has a good range of financing options available for looking entrepreneurs.
Angels: There are four organized angel groups and a couple of individuals within Salt Lake and Provo. I have listed the organizations only as I believe the individuals seek out their own deal flow. The angels will often invest at the earliest stage of the business, even as early as conception. Certain venture players will also invest at the seed stage (including Wasatch) but this stage is the angel’s main focus.
Local Venture Capital Firms: Venture capitalists provide early-stage and growth capital. Due to the venture capital model, VC’s usually only invest in high-technology deals able to generate high margins.
Local Private Equity Firms: I have lumped the later stage firms and buyout firms together in the Private Equity list since there are only a handful of these investors in Utah. The later stage firms finance companies that are already cash flow positive and need financing for expansion or in preparation for a liquidation. The buy-out firms actually buy a company and find a new management team (or personally manage the company) to turn the business towards profitability.
Venture Lending: Venture lenders are a financing option that extends the capital between equity rounds. It is debt plus warrant structure, preserving the equity of the company but providing potential upside for the lender. UTFC was the only venture lender until a couple months ago when Zions created a venture lending arm.
