After watching 24 last night, I have to remind myself that it’s just not real. However, this morning, on my ill-fated effort to get to Chicago, I got to listen uninterrupted to NPR’s Morning Edition (I have no one to call between 5am – 6am Mountain Time.) I got to hear some great stuff, including:
Oh, and did you notice the volatility in Google’s stock today – the day’s range so far is 397 down to 338 back up to 351 on comments by George Reyes, Google’s CFO, about “overall growth slowing” which I’m sure lots of blogs will comment on today. Kind of as volatile as my emotions have been so far today and it’s only 9:15am. Maybe Apple will announce it is buying Disney today and make the world a happier place.
I don’t understand, but that’s nothing new. I saw the rapidly expanding buzz about Google Page Creator and went to check it out. We were investors in Geocities and this immediately reminded me of – Geocities. I logged in, went to change my template, and got the following message:
Thank some-diety that it’s “not because of anything I did.” What a trip down memory lane. I guess it’s beta, but I still don’t understand.
At dinner last night, Chris, Jason, and I were talking about ice over dinner last night (as we were drinking our glasses of water – with ice in them.) Chris had recently seen this CNN clip about the “Dirty Ice Problem in Restaurants.” My favorite quote: “Fecal matter in ice is a serious problem.” Yuck. Room temperature beverages for me going forward.
I always get a kick out of someone finding a Google easter egg in the “I’m Feeling Lucky” search option. Today’s was particularly amusing, especially given some of the recent tangles Google has been having with various governments around the world.
Try the following:
I wonder how long that link is going to stay live. As with my earlier post on the The Cynical State of The Union Address, if you like our president or are a fan of our current administration, don’t both with this – it’ll just piss you off.
If you aren’t happy with our president, you’ll get a good laugh out of this. If you are happy with the president, the current information, and the coverage you get on Fox News, please don’t look at it – it’ll just piss you off.
Googlepark: The Spaghetti Code is out in the continuing saga of Google vs. Microsoft vs. the world. I especially liked the sing along.
A VC friend emailed me the following question(s) a few weeks ago:
The rumor this week regarding Yahoo acquiring Digg for $30M sparked a discussion here around company valuation. The discussions revolved around the key factors in valuing an early stage web technology business and how these factors are being evaluated by investors today. For example, would Yahoo or other companies be buying the technology? Are they buying subscribers? Are they buying a brand or is it a weighting of a number of these factors? Based on what you are hearing, how would Digg, Technorati, livemarks or another consumer internet business be both evaluated and valued today?
Remember the Jedi Mind Trick that goes as follows:
Stormtrooper: Let me see your identification.
Obi-Wan: [influencing the stormtrooper’s mind] You don’t need to see his identification.
Stormtrooper: We don’t need to see his identification.
Obi-Wan: These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.
Stormtrooper: These aren’t the droids we’re looking for.
Obi-Wan: He can go about his business.
Stormtrooper: You can go about your business.
Obi-Wan: Move along.
Stormtrooper: Move along… move along.
I recommend my VC friend meditate on it. There’s been plenty said in the blogosphere about Web 2.0 companies, the notion of “build-to-flip”, the AGILEAMY gang looking to buy early stage technologies / features to plug into their platforms, and the need to transform / reform / change venture capital to accommodate these companies. I won’t retread those discussions here. However, I will add two things.
This is not the real VC game: While there is a category of VC firms that is deliberately looking for companies that are planning on raising a small amount of money (< $2m) and then selling quickly to AGILEAMY, this is a game best left to angel investors. The ratios are bad (1000 companies created for every one acquisition), the upside is too small (even 10x a $2m investment – which is probably the best you could imagine – is not worth the risk / reward ratio), and ultimately there becomes fundamental tension between the VC (who wants to build) and the entrepreneur (who wants to flip).
This is a dangerous long term approach for any VC investor: Repeat after me – “there is a very limited amount of easy money.” There’s some – but VC firms (and successful VC investments) are not made on easy money. It’s definitely like candy – it tastes good in the moment, but isn’t particularly filling or long lasting. Taking a great new idea with an entrepreneurial team that wants to create something significant and trying to build a real company is what is interesting. Unfortunately, VCs will habitually over invest in new, trendy areas. As a result, companies that have a clever product idea but don’t have a long term vision for a business will end up with $5m to $10m in the bank and the pressure to “grow.” However, they’ll have no where to grow to – they should be small, scrappy, underfunded companies focused on trying to beat the 1000:1 odds and end up with a flip. Once they’ve raised $5m+, they are on a different trajectory and – if in 12 months they haven’t turned their nifty product into a business – life can get really unpleasant for everyone involved.
Fundamentally, if you are a VC, these aren’t the droids you are looking for. The same is true for the entrepreneur – be wary of the droid you pick.
This just in from the Wall Street Journal News Alert service.
The White House unveiled its budget proposal for fiscal 2007, which starts in October, calling for $2.77 trillion in spending. Though the U.S. government will remain deeply in the red next year, the federal budget deficit should dip to $354 billion, a decline from the current year’s projected record $423 billion shortfall.
Only negative $354 billion this year? Respectfully Mr. President – you’re a Republican. Can’t you figure out how to run up a bigger deficit than that? Gotta go – five more minutes left to pack.
Lon Sunshine (a frat brother) sent a group of us a way to waste our entire day. I’ve decided to share it with you. I gave it two minutes and managed to go 12.547 seconds. I’ve got to go pack now – I leave for the airport in 10 minutes