Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 22, 2009

At the time Google said it was against sponsored links because it confused the person searching for content – one of the main arguments people are again using about in-stream advertising. John Batelle profiles this well in his book The Search. Are you horrified when you search for an address in Google Maps and ads pop up?

Advertising 277

Advertising Technical Review Affiliate SEM 277

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

Invoca is now doing 10s of millions in recurring revenue and is growing > 75% year-over-year but it took the first 3 years to really build out the technology and acquire our initial enterprise clients. I mentioned that we sold our position in Kyriba for > $1 billion but when we invested it had virtually no revenue.

IP 223

IP Intellectual Property IRR Cofounder 223

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2014

If you are early in a platform (Zynga to Facebook, AngryBirds to iOS, Maker Studios to YouTube) you catch a major marketing wave where acquiring customers and growing revenue is exponential. It’s why some companies are testing whether building applications on KIK might lead to better customers acquisition.

Technical Review 384

Technical Review Hockey Stick SEM Channel 384

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2009

Google had no clue that they were going to make so much money in sponsored search. They had started to launch new products that helped web site owners better load applications from third-party vendors and they started experimenting with totally new ad models that drove the daily revenue up by 7x in less than 30 days.

Entrepreneur 291

Entrepreneur Term Sheet Early Stage Affiliate 291

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2013

The company with no revenue and a $150k burn rate that raised $2.5 I often wonder why they didn’t find a way to bring in some revenue to cover costs. Newsflash – if you had $75k revenue / month you’d have 8 months cash left in stead of 4. I see this weekly. million and has 4 months cash left. Yeah, I know.

Burn Rate 412

Burn Rate Dilution Revenue Valuation 412

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 19, 2011

Every startup (every company, really) was beholden to the traffic god that was Google search. One change in Google’s algorithm and whole businesses could be wiped out as chronicled in this excellent book by John Battelle called The Search. The one big concern many people had was how to constrain the total dominance of Google.

Web 355

Web AJAX Distribution HTML 355

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 25, 2015

We grew 100% in SaaS revenue year-over-year and 650% over the past three years. We now have 150 people across three offices, tens of millions in recurring revenue, inbound demand from investors, opportunities to acquire related startups and demands on Jason’s time to speak at conference, do press interviews and so on and so on.

Silicon Valley 150

Silicon Valley IPO Demand Revenue 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 13, 2013

Steve Blank calls this “ customer development ” in which you built an initial product that is in search of “product / market fit.” If you make headway don’t be so naïve as to think your prospect – however friendly they are to you – won’t go out and search for alternate solutions. They now know they have a problem!

Sales 393

Sales Startup Framework Search 393

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 21, 2010

By now we all know that the largest part of the online spend has been SEM (search engine marketing) where people buy CPC (cost per click) links to display alongside the “organic&# search results in the search engine. initially captured the Internet portal revenues by aggregating eyeballs.

Advertising 284

Advertising Las Vegas Affiliate RSS 284

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

But the search for product / market fit has been around in various form for a long time. Shallow and superficial and racing from segment to segment in search of some take up has never been a strong strategic plan for me. In Steve’s case it is “going in search of a business model.” Spend it wisely.

Technical Review 401

Technical Review Startup Business Model Non-Compete 401

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

In an over-funding environment companies are encouraged to eschew revenues in a land grab to acquire eyeballs, clicks, page views or whatever other vanity metrics give VCs the false comfort that they’re sitting on a gold mine. The opportunity to transact at the point of purchase increases the sheer number of revenue opportunities.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2010

Real-time search engine. Search leverages selective filtering via XMPP versus site indexing; only real-time search player to do so. Diverse search results include stream updates, blog posts, news articles, photos, videos (versus Twitter/FaceBook1 only). You can listen to Om, Paul & I debate the topic in the video.

Venture Capital 225

Venture Capital Non-Compete Vertical Europe 225

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 14, 2014

In fact 61% of all mobile searches where a customer contacts a business it is via a phone call (source: Google). 61% of mobile searches in which a customer contacted a vendor, a phone call was generated. Much more data in the full post. SOME INTERESTING DATA. source: Harris Interactive IM Shopping Poll (August 2009)). I’ll wait.

Mobile 339

Mobile Email Social Media Global 339

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2010

You have to be selected to present and it is typically reserved for companies that have already raised early-stage capital and are well into revenue growth. Company generates revenue via premium accounts, targeted ads and transaction commission. Revenue of ~$160mm in 2008. students. -Is TechCrunch. TechCrunch.

IPO 242

IPO Venture Capital Private Placement Cofounder 242

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2010

How about when you missed your revenue targets, when your product didn’t ship on time, when your co-founder quit, when you ran out of cash and didn’t have strong options, when Facebook announces that they’re going to compete with you or when Steve Jobs says that your company pisses him off ? When the world was ending?

Term Sheet 298

Term Sheet Venture Capital Stealth Cofounder 298

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2013

But I’m working on a large team of people trying to figure out how to make micro improvements to a paid-search algorithm. Sure, our revenue is growing, but is that enough to raise an internal round? There are merger discussions, board debates, product miscues, revenue misses and a litany of delicate topics.

Startup 417

Startup Dilution San Diego Stock Options 417

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2015

You don’t have the revenue or profit to support that valuation.” Honestly, just searching the term yield many results. That is how absurd thing have gotten. No, I take that back. THIS is how absurd things have gotten: “I have to raise at a billion-dollar valuation” “Why? ” “Ok.

Valuation 150

Valuation Silicon Valley Non-Compete Software 150

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2012

These tech companies also sell “intent” which means that when you search for “baby stroller” you’re going to get ads that are relevant to an expressed desire you’ve articulated. It’s why when search on many business types you now see phone numbers. Ads are effective. Just not to me.

New York 311

New York Mobile Technical Review Software Review 311

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

We seed funded a company a few years ago called Parachute Home that has grown 180% CAGR (compounded annually) and is now doing tens of millions of revenue with very little capital raised. Of course you can go to Amazon if you know what you want to buy and you have a very efficient ability to search for and purchase the product.

Curation 296

Curation Los Angeles Differentiation Channel 296

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2011

He invented the category of sponsored search. I thing I’ve learned over the years is that technology purists hate advertising even when it is that revenue stream that truthfully drives much of our industry. He created GoTo.com (later renamed Overture) out of a frustration with search. Overture (Goto.com).

Product 350

Product Tuvalu Dilution Incubator 350

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2011

This thinking is largely driven by the venture capital industry (and subsequently Wall Street) who are in search of high margin, highly scalable businesses. The problem with service businesses is that when the economy turns revenue & profits take a really big and quick hit. You’re a small fish.

Silicon Valley 332

Silicon Valley IP Dividend Finance 332

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2011

Mike believes the reason AltaVista didn’t become Google ( despite their market leadership position ) was because they didn’t focus on search. Instead, they tried to use their search position to offer a portal like Excite and Yahoo! Of course, monetization of search became one of the best business models in the history of business.

Semantic 302

Semantic Acquisition Valuation Angel Investor 302

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 22, 2010

But even in a focused search through recruiters I’m always looking to eliminate the job hopper. Your revenues are “just around the corner.&# Your angel investors are nervous because the VCs aren’t moving that fast to fund your next round. This quickly gets me to a stack of 200 resumes.

Hiring 392

Hiring Employee Vesting Silicon Valley 392

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2018

A critical component to building a successful business is being able to capture ongoing revenue from consumers who feel they are getting incredible value and continue to feel good about paying. Having recurring revenue allows you to keep the original purchase price down, which in turn increases sales. it was a personal mission.

Security 247

Security Los Angeles Silicon Valley Video 247

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2013

Sure, the revenue & margin will be significantly lower than traditional TV. One idea I’ve been searching for is a platform that enables the creation of serialized programs with audience participation. You should only worry about this if you’re a large, traditional media company with fat margins. At whatever level.

Video 380

Video Audience Global Distribution 380

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 13, 2010

Since that date the S&P 500 is up 2.45% while Accenture stock is up 206% with revenue of $23 billion and a market cap of $32 billion. Bryce is a bit like the entrepreneurs I search for. Accenture opened massive operations in India & China and continued its industry dominance. The things that always differentiated Accenture?

Turkey 302

Turkey Differentiation IP Technical Review 302

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 8, 2010

And if they are I suggest your revenue stream is likely to look a bit skinny. Some search. .&# I don’t think that most startup blogs should be about how to build a startup. That’s blogging to the echo chamber unless they’re your target customers. If you’re a financial services firm blog about personal finance.

Analytics 286

Analytics Audience Hosting Email 286

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 5, 2010

They had a proprietary browser, their own search engine, their own content, chat rooms, email system, etc. billion in annual subscription revenues not including advertising or eCommerce). AOL seems to be doing great things to reinvent itself under the leadership of Tim Armstrong, but monopoly? Or was it.

Social Network 318

Social Network Networking Internet Technical Review 318

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

What is the mix of revenue between ads, subscriptions, digital downloads & ecommerce. My favorite quote of the show, “Gregg, what’s the mix of revenue types?&# JibJab doesn’t do ad revenue at all. Gregg talks in the video about how they went in search of a business model and how they found one.

Viral 303

Viral Investment Bankers Video Business Model 303

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

But he has helped put Boulder on the consciousness of so many young, aspiring entrepreneurs in search of somewhere other than the San Francisco Bay Area to work & live. I know it’s not single-handed as he has both fantastic partners at Foundry Group and many other community leaders. It is possible and he’s showing people that.

Seattle 317

Seattle Silicon Valley Technical Review Los Angeles 317

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2011

If they hit a product / market fit (meaning you suddenly see a massive uptick in usage and/or revenue) then these companies need to go “fat.&# For those that do survive without VC because they figure out how to make enough revenue, many of them will be “ ramen profitable.&#. They should start “lean.&#

Venture Capital 296

Venture Capital Software LP Early Stage 296

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

In the case of venture funding that shift was massive amounts of non-VC capital in search of higher returns and emulating the successes of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter plus the expectation of huge returns at Uber, Airbnb, Dropbox, etc. forward revenue for SaaS businesses when in the years before it had been less than 5x.

Valuation 150

Valuation Down Round Startup Later Stage 150

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 6, 2012

I know one friend who ran QuickBooks for 3 years and is now in the process of having to restate his financials for the past 3 years culling through millions of records to normalize his revenues. 1:08:00 Doing a sample search on Bottlenose. Put offer proper accounting at your peril. 56:45 Looking at the stock price of Cornerstone.

Los Angeles 303

Los Angeles Detroit Venture Capital Lean 303

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2011

As an example, Joel says that there is a chief revenue officer who is solely responsible for bringing in revenue to StackExchange. He is responsible for bringing in revenue from advertising and their careers offering. One way to do this is to make everyone the “CEO of their job&#. 29:45 minutes. Leaving Juno and Blogging.

Software Review 285

Software Review Software St. Louis API 285

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 1, 2010

I first learned the ropes around SEO (search engine optimization) and how for years this has been a cat-and-mouse game where people game the system (Google) through link exchanges, offshore SEO “agencies,&# widgets, algorithmically optimized content and the like that degrades the quality of search results.

Offshore 284

Offshore Widget SEO Distribution 284

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 9, 2010

We were able to use an open source database (Postgres), open source search (Lucene) and a host of other free components including Apache Tomcat, JBoss. It’s the input screens where we enter data or search requests. When I started my second company in 2005 we decided to do everything differently.

Cloud 343

Cloud Technical Review Database Semantic 343

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2016

And the more you succeed the more advertisers in search of endemic audiences want to advertise with you. We are now doing 2 billion video views per month and will do tens of millions in revenue this year. Once you have stronger rate cards on advertising you accrue more money and you can develop or acquire more shows.

Vertical 150

Vertical Video South America Los Angeles 150