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Nothing To Say

OK, maybe I do have a few things to say about startups and technology...

First Round New York Ad Agency DaysNovember 7

This week we held a series of meetings between our online advertising related portfolio companies and agencies representing the four largest advertising holding companies worldwide.   We visited WPP, Digitas, OMD, and Universal McCann at each of their offices in New York, and in the course of 2 hours covered up to 18 companies at each agency.

You can see from the picture that we definitely made a statement as we pulled up in our limo bus to the agencies.   We'll wait for full feedback and final results from the event, but all early indications are that it was a win-win for the companies and the agencies, and we'll look to do similar events in the future.

Innovation and Community at FredsBreakfast.comSeptember 22

Think you're in a business where it's tough to innovate and stand out in a crowded market?   How about if you were opening up a new restaurant in a small town?  There are lessons to be learned from www.fredsbreakfast.com.  

They opened up recently in my home town of New Hope, PA, population 7,000 in Bucks County about halfway between Philadelphia and New York.  The owners of The Landing restaurant had an old tool shed/building they decided to renovate, and over some cocktails in a hot tub in the islands, they came up with an innovative approach:

It's Members Only - you have to buy a $10 membership to get access, which gets you a key fob to get through the locked door.

It's for Locals only - New Hope is a big tourist town, and they decided to focus on locals only.   There is no sign on the restaurant - you have to know about it first and hear about it from a member.

Focus and Free Coffee - All they do is breakfast, from 6AM to 11AM every day, with free self serve coffee.

They have fun - see The Rules.  H

Silicon Alley's Finest - Then and NowSeptember 16

 

With Web 2.0 in New York this week, and the winds of creative destruction blowing through Wall Street, I thought it would be interesting to compare two lists of New York's Top 100 digital execs.   The most recent is from Silicon Alley Insider and their 2007 list, and the other is the 2000 list from the final issue of Silicon Alley Reporter.    

I have to give credit to Silicon Alley Reporter founder Jason Calacanis for going out in style back then, with final Hindenburg cover and a big party at a Manhattan McDonalds that was appropriately austere for the time.

You might find some people and companies you haven't heard of in a while on the 2000 list.  It's interesting to note that there are only 11 people that made it on both lists - Fred Wilson,

The NumeratiSeptember 6

I just finished a really interesting book by Stephen Baker called The Numerati.  He gives a great overview of the way that data is dominating our online and offline lives and what marketers, governments and businesses are doing with this data and where it's heading.  My favorite chapter was Blogger, where he describes how the algorithms to track and understand the blogosphere are built and refined with human assistance.  Other great chapters and topics were Shopper (for anyone interested in online ad targeting), Patient (technology to assist the eldery) and Terrorist (including how hard it is for the government to compete for the brightest math minds).  Lots of interesting facts, such as shoppers forget an average of 11% of the items they intended to buy, and that 87% of the population can be pinpointed by name by knowing only their gender, date of birth and zip code.   He covers lots of people and companies like Dave Morgan and Technorati, and has a really enjoyable writing style.  Definitely worth a read.

Funding 101 Top Ten Tips for Navigating Venture CapitalJuly 28

Recently I had the opportunity to be part of a panel at DreamIt on Venture Capital.  The audience was mostly made up of fresh entrepreneurs who hadn’t raised money before, so I came up with a Letterman-style list of Top Ten Tips based on my experience of talking to hundreds of companies each year.    Here they are:

10 – Introduce yourself properly – not only when you’re in a meeting (names and roles of each attendee before you start), but be sure to use your company name in the subject of introductory emails.   It’s always best to be introduced by someone who knows you and knows the firm.  

9 – Show you know something about the firm– Ask a question about how something relates to another one of their portfolio companies, or show that you know something about the firm or person – a little preparation will help you stand out.    If you’re sending a blind email, you should explain why you think it might be a fit for this particular firm before you start in with the pitch.  

8 – What problem are you solving?   I think this is one of the most important issues to cover early in any discussion, yet far too often companies don’t clearly articulate the problem they are solving in the market.

7 – “I Don’t Know” is a great answer to a question if you don’t know –