Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 28, 2009
I started my first company in 1999 in London at the height of the dot com craze. As the economy soured and people grew wary of buying Internet software (we were SaaS as early as 1999 – our buyers were certainly “early adopters&# ) and life grew more difficult. Our sales forecasts were revised downward – many times.
Feld Thoughts
JUNE 22, 2012
The same spreadsheet also predicted we’d see a music downloading service in 1999 or 2000. Napster arrived in June, 1999. But it’s hard to say, even with hindsight, that we could have predicted Wikipedia, let alone forecast when it would occur. (If Step 2: Forecast the linear trend. Streaming video had finally made it.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Gust
JUNE 19, 2012
I bought the Rocket eBook Reader in 1999. One of my earliest excursions into market research was working for a research firm doing a 1979 forecast on ATMs. I want a forecast that starts with specifics like channels or traffic and conversions or segments and builds up. Often this is part of a good forecast.
Both Sides of the Table
FEBRUARY 14, 2010
One of our core tasks was “market analysis,&# which consistent of: market sizing, market forecasts, competitive analysis and then instructing customers on which direction to take. In 1999 I was in Japan doing a strategy project for the board of directors of Sony. It was originally COBOL and DB2 – so what?
The Equity Kicker
APRIL 11, 2012
When I was interviewing to become a VC for the first time in 1999 I was asked to do an analysis of AOL’s valuation and I said then, as I am saying with Instagram now, that it only makes sense in the context of the valuation of other similar companies. I think that is the difference between 1999 and today.
Agile VC
MAY 26, 2011
In another we decended into a debate about our 5 year forecasts (I built the models so fielded most of these questions), and it became clear they probably weren’t the best fit for our Series A round (this group is no longer in the early-stage VC business). This is my 2nd time trying this, first time was in 1999.
Gust
JUNE 19, 2012
I bought the Rocket eBook Reader in 1999. One of my earliest excursions into market research was working for a research firm doing a 1979 forecast on ATMs. And what interests me is who makes the money on timing these trends. . I think I’m an innovator myself, but I know I’m not an opinion leader.
Expert insights. Personalized for you.
331 
Let's personalize your content