So the big news is that Facebook acquired Instagram for a cool $1 billion dollars (I can't even type that without thinking about Dr. Evil). A billion dollars is a lot. It's big. To put it in context here is how it stacks up with other photo acquisitions over the years. I mean it is […]
Continue reading →I get the question every week, perhaps at least once a day. "What do you think of the Groupon IPO? That's good for you guys, right?" To which I reply a hearty "maybe." For those of you that have no idea what I am talking about Groupon, the biggest competitor to Half Off Depot where […]
Continue reading →When I joined Half Off Depot back in May I started looking around for a competitive target. Not the 800 pound gorilla Groupon LivingSocial type of competitive target. A smaller yet significant company that we could set our sights on. That company was BuyWithMe. As best as I could tell BuyWithMe was the number three […]
Continue reading →The first person that I heard espouse "do what you love" was Chris Wanstrath of GitHub fame. He covered it in his Startup Riot keynote a few years back. The guy that said it best was Steve Jobs in his 2005 Stanford commencement address. I am saddened by his resignation as the CEO of Apple. […]
Continue reading →Over on the Groupon blog Groupon the Cat is creating quite the ruckus. It seems like Mr. Cat wrote a little blog post about "The Groupon Guide to the "Quiet Period." In it Mr. Cats states: The “Quiet Period” is the time right before a company “goes public,” during which it is legally prohibited from […]
Continue reading →So Groupon filed its S1. The length of the document and the analysis of it is staggering. So this is a blog. A web log. Here are some of my favorite reads on Groupon's filing. Who Will Be Left Standing Post-Groupon IPO by Erika Morphy of Forbes. An analysis of the daily deal market. Not […]
Continue reading →Depending on who you ask Rachel Sequoia gives either the greatest or worst pre-launch startup pitch ever. Either way you have to listen to her. It’s an engaging pitch for a ridiculous concept And yes it’s been revealed as a prank.
Continue reading →Silicon Valley Bank is my bank of choice when it comes to startup banking. The SVB Accelerator program is pretty sweet choice for startups. No need to go to branches and wait forever to deal with some issue. Great online customer service. No monthly fees. And most importantly great value add in terms of advice, […]
Continue reading →On Monday the White House announced the Startup America Partnership. Startup America is a White House initiative to celebrate, inspire, and accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout America. Below is a nice video of Austan Goolsbee the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers explaining the program. About the only criticism I have about the program is the expression […]
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