venture capital

Early-Stage Startups Alive and Kicking in Q3, Venture Funding Shows

ChubbyBrain — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:31:02 -0400

In the middle of a venture capital funding slump, you might think that early stage investments would be the hardest hit--VC dollars would be siphoned away from early-stage deals and poured into existing portfolio companies (conventionally Series B, C, D, etc. deals). In other words, money attracts money.

A Tale of Two Pitches

Mark Suster — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:17:37 -0400

Last week, I had two very contrasting presentations from entrepreneurs.

Pitch 1:

Venture Capital: Don't Call It a Comeback

Anand Sanwal, Co-Founder, ChubbyBrain — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:48:28 -0400

Venture funds may be having trouble raising new funding, but they are still investing what money they have. The third quarter of 2009 saw venture capital activity hit $6.1B, a healthy 14% increase in venture capital activity over Q2 2009 when venture capital investment stood at $5.3B.

Five Qualities Venture Capital Firms Look For in Startups

Kit Eaton — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:25:36 -0400

Venture Capital is a term oft-bandied about, but sometimes it's a mysterious process. Speaking at Stanford University, Beth Seidenberg of VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers tried to clear up a aspect: Whether a startup is worthy.

Check out the extract from her lecture--it's extremely easy to digest:

Twitter's Investors Missed the Cluetrain - Here's Why

Tim Beyers — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:44:43 -0400

If Doc Searls is a Twitter fan, it's with good reason. Twice in the past year, when fire threatened his home in Santa Barbara, Calif., he turned to microbloggers for news. "Twitter was an extremely helpful way to stay current with what was going on," Searls says, echoing comments made earlier by those who endured last winter's terror attacks in Mumbai, and this summer's election turmoil in Iran.

Mind the Gap

VJ Misra — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 23:03:30 -0400

For those who live in the United Kingdom, or have ever been there, know what I am referring to. "Mind the Gap" is prominently displayed in the railway stations. Street vendors and shops also sell t-shirts that prominently display "Mind the Gap" logo. I own one myself.

"Mind the Gap" is a warning to train passengers of the sometimes significant gap between the train door and the station platform.

Mind the Gap

VJ Misra — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 22:58:34 -0400

"Mind the Gap" is a warning to train passengers of the sometimes significant gap between the train door and the station platform.

Due to the rough economic times there has evolved a significant gap between entrepreneurs and venture capital firms who fund their startup dreams.

Management

East versus West Coast

VJ Misra — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:47:51 -0400

The United States of America is massive, and other than the 3,000 miles that divides us coast to coast, we see a lot of cultural difference between states. I personally live on the West coast but have worked extensively on the East coast. I have seen a huge cultural divide between the two coasts. No offence to anyone, but things become progressively uptight as you travel from West to East.

Got Biz Idea? Tweet @Richard Branson 4 Chance 2 Turn in 2 Real Company

Kit Eaton — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 07:16:19 -0400

The whole business of startups is getting interesting--first we have YCombinator's back-to-front VC funding, and now there's news Richard Branson is accepting "micropitches" via Twitter for new startup ideas.

Fancy Doing a Startup? YCombinator Has a Business Plan for You

Kit Eaton — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 07:13:35 -0400

The venture capital scene is going a bit topsy turvy at the moment, but now YCombinator, which provides seed funding for startups, is turning the whole concept of funding on its head: They are giving out ideas and looking for entrepreneuers to turn them into businesses.

Did the Venture Capital Crunch Force Zappos-Amazon Deal? [Updated]

Kit Eaton — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:19:50 -0400

Amazon's purchase of online shoe retailer Zappos was surprising and interesting news all by itself, but now comes a twist: reports that this marriage made in e-commerce heaven may have been a shotgun wedding forced by Zappos' itchy-fingered venture-capitalist parents.

Venture Capital Slows to a Trickle

Chris Dannen — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:11:52 -0400

It's well know that VC funds take their economic hits with a delay because they work in liquid money, but it seems like their time of reckoning for the great bust of '08 has finally come. VentureBeat reports that new data from the National Venture Capital Association and Thomson Reuters show a drop in second-quarter VC fundraising that's pretty discouraging: between April and June, they raised a collective $1.7 billion, the smallest amount raised in any quarter since 2003, and split between the smallest number of funds since 1996.

How the Tech Boom Terminated California's Economy

Douglas Rushkoff — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:42:01 -0400

However comforting it might be to blame Southern California's movie industry for unleashing Governor Terminator on the state's economy, the real seeds of the current crisis were sewn further north, in the seemingly prosperous corporate parks of Silicon Valley. In fact, the dot.com boom and subsequent, inevitable bust are the real causes of our economic malaise. For while Californians were hit first, hardest and most directly by the rise of dot.com-style capitalism, the rest of us are soon to follow.

Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz Launch $300 Million Venture Fund

Clay Dillow — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:45:06 -0400

Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, who first teamed more than a decade ago on a start-up Internet shop known as Netscape, are launching their own venture capital firm, cleverly titled Andreessen Horowitz. Starting with a $300 million seed, the company will invest in just about anything computer-related, Andreessen has said, taking advantage of their fleetness of foot (Andreessen and Horowitz are the only principle partners) to seize upon computer technologies, software developments and Web infrastructure opportunities.

Launch: Silicon Valley 2009

Fast Company Calendar — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:38:25 -0400

Starting a tech business in good times takes guts--more than 60% of new ones fail in four recession-free years. These days, you need courage, chutzpah, and an extra measure of je ne sais quoi. A chance to woo investors helps; last year, more than 300 startups vied for the 30 spots at Launch. This year, panelists will come from VC firms including Morgenthaler Ventures and Draper Fisher Jurvetson. The spoils of spunk? Since 2006, the courtships have spawned upward of $80 million in financing. --Genevieve Knapp

UC Davis's Energy Efficiency Center Makes Conservation Sexy

Anya Kamenetz — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:00:00 -0400

The United States generates more energy than any other country in the world -- and wastes more than half of it. Efficiency, it turns out, can be a rich resource. In an unassuming strip mall off I-80 in California's Central Valley, those riches are being exploited by a kind of alchemy that combines science with business.

Bringing Dollars and Know-How to Design Studios

Michael Cannell — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:09:19 -0400

With all the hoo-ha over laser-cut patterning and mid-century styling, it's easy to forget that design is a business. But is it a profitable business? The folks at Design Investors think it is--or can be with smart management.

A. Lorne Weil Outrageous Business Plan Competition

Fast Company Calendar — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:52:18 -0400

Quick, pretend you’re in an elevator with the venture capitalist of your dreams. You have two minutes to pitch your kookiest business plan and hope it strikes gold in this competition. And if it does, you might end up launching a business, as previous winners have. One of last year’s “outrageous” winners: Green Box – a pizza box that breaks down into four serving plates and a storage container.

Twitter Starts to Sing For its Supper, Targets Businesses for Cash

Kit Eaton — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 06:07:03 -0400

"News: Popular social networking novelty Twitter is to try to earn some revenue by aiming at businesses with expanded feature set that costs." That's essentially the news today about Twitter, squeezed into a 140-character Tweet--the messages that are the service's lifeblood.

Second Life Still Gets Great Press, Even When It's Dying

Danielle Sacks — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 11:42:36 -0400

With the art world imploding alongside the economy, we could all use an inspired feel-good-art-is-still-alive story. But to describe Second Life--which has about 65,000 users logged on at any given time--as the zeitgeist of the art world? Maybe if it were 2006.

The World's Richest Men, Betting on Green

Cliff Kuang — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:31:21 -0500

The world's canniest investors and business minds aren't letting the green revolution slip past them; they're ponying up cash, hoping to fund alternative energy startups and eco-solutions that might one day remake the market. What exactly are they betting on?

How to Predict a Start-up's Success? Quantify its Buzz

Cliff Kuang — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:36:36 -0500

ChubbyBrain Makes Information/Insights about Startups and Investors More Accessible

Anand Sanwal — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:25:29 -0500

We often hear and know intuitively that our future depends on the energy of entrepreneurs and the investors that back them coming up with brilliant ideas that solve our problems - both big and small. Yet amazingly, information and insights about these innovative startups remains notoriously difficult to find or is only accessible to a limited few who can spend thousands of dollars subscribing to such services. With your help, ChubbyBrain hopes to change this.

VC Funding and Innovation

James Todhunter — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:25:56 -0500

It seems that even in innovation, there is some wisdom to be gained from the tortoise and the hare.

No, The Internet Is Not More Popular Than Sex

Chris Dannen — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:04:09 -0500

A survey released by Intel [INTC] on Monday says that more people would be willing to give up sex than be without Internet access. It's interesting, but it's just not true.