Holy Cow - 1.5 million T-Mobile G1s Pre-Ordered!!!
October 12, 2008
According to Darren Murph, “1.5 million T-Mobile G1s already pre-ordered“ Really? The article explains that 1.5 million G1s with Google’s Android operating system have been pre-ordered and that T-Mobile has reserved 2 million for retail stores. Really? These numbers are MUCH higher than we were lead to believe. Our ShopSavvy application for Android has been optimized for a launch of up-to 600,000 handsets (assuming they all use ShopSavvy). We better add about ten servers if we want to be able to handle 1.5 million handsets. I will check on these numbers and let you know what I find out.
The Silver Lining for Startups
October 12, 2008
Enough with the bad news. Dare Obasanjo had a great point, and I will be taking his advice. Entrepreneurs, like me, outside of San Francisco or New York lament that there isn’t a venture capital scene in their area. Suddenly there isn’t a Venture Capital firm willing to invest ANYWHERE. So startups in Houston, Austin or Dallas - take heart - you suddenly have a level playing field to compete on. Most of us have been ‘bootstrapping’ our startups for years, now that skillset will give us an advantage over our friends on either coast. Don’t let the current economic climate get you down. Don’t be an idiot, but don’t put your dreams on hold or your passions on the side. Get started right now. The news will get worse before it gets better, but there is more room for your success than their has been in eight years. My own biggest failure, turned into my biggest success after the bubble burst.
Christopher St. John and I are hosting Pitch Camp this coming Saturday (October 18th). In light of the current conditions we are expanding our coverage to include ‘pitching to the press’. Angela Shah from the Dallas Morning News has agreed to speak at the morning session where she will describe how to pitch to the press. Additionally, Chuck McCoy the Executive Director of the North Texas Angel Network will be explaining how to get in front of his group and how to convince them to fund your deal. Here is the scedule:
- 10:00 – 10:30 How to pitch to angels - Chuck McCoy, Director North Texas Angel Network.
- 10:45 – 11:15 When to use a deck and when to demo.
- 11:15 – 11:45 How to pitch to journalists - Angela Shah.
- 12:00 – 1:00 Lunch/Networking
- 1:00 – 2:00 Pitching workshop (the group assists 1-3 entrepreneurs prepare a pitch)
- 2:30 – 3:00 Real live pitching (1-3 entrepreneurs, prepared by group will pitch)
- 3:00 – 3:30 Pitch feedback from panel of 1-3 real live venture capitalists and angel investors
- 3:30PM - TBD Beer, snacks and Networking at the High Tech Bar
Please join us, just RSVP on Upcoming.org here.
Startup Happy Hour on Monday
October 10, 2008
Just a quick reminder that Startup Happy Hour is on Monday (10/13) between 5PM and 8PM (feel free to show up anytime). I am buying the drinks, just doing my part for the economy! Love to see you there, please feel free to bring your friends (some of you brought your girlfriends last time, that is fine too). PLEASE RSVP on the Upcoming.org site here.
The Dallas Startup Happy Hour is the talk of the startup community in Dallas. Check out the coverage in the Dallas Morning News: http://tinyurl.com/sshhdfw As a result of the events, several startups have found a) employees, b) co-founders, c) angel investors and d) had a few free drinks.
Are you interested in connecting with the local startup community? We are working to build a vibrant startup community here in Dallas every bit as interesting and dynamic as San Francisco, Boulder, Boston or Austin. The first step is engagement.
Sponsored by SpringStage - you are invited to attend. Please RSVP.
What: Startup Happy Hour
When: Monday, 10/13, 5PM-7PM
Where: High Tech bar at the INFOMART (corner of Oak Lawn and I35)
Why: To meet entrepreneurs like you
Cost: FREE
Breakfast with Sam Wyly
October 10, 2008
Sam Wyly is a well known Dallas billionaire who founded/owned/owns University Computing, Sterling Software, Maverick Capital, Bonanza Steakhouse, Michaels Stores and Green Mountain Energy. Pam Gerber invited Scott and me to join Sam for a breakfast meeting this morning. The title of Sam’s book, “Entrepreneur to Billionaire, 1000 Dollars & an Idea” really sums up his story. Sam spent an hour talking about many of his startups - some successes and some failures (obviously more successes than failures). Publishers Weekly sums up his book like this,
“Country boy makes good in this down-home tale of self-made multimillionaire Wyly. In his humble post-Depression Louisiana roots, Wyly learned his first business lessons from football strategy, his father’s tiny newspaper business and his mother’s bargaining skills. A lucky meeting propelled him to the University of Michigan’s Business School and his first corporate job at IBM, where he had to work fast to keep from succumbing to culture shock as he discovered there ain’t no Bubbas in Michigan. Energetic and restless, he soon left IBM for Honeywell and then created his own technology companies, rescuing failing businesses, founding Green Mountain Energy and devoting himself to environmentalism. Citing Sam Walton as a hero and Ross Perot as a personal friend, Wyly stresses the power and privilege of self-creation and speaks honestly about what he’s learned: that failure is crucial to achieving success, independent thought is imperative, luck serendipitous and power useless unless it is wielded for good. Though the message is a good one, the meandering storytelling and not well-known author might make this book a hard sell to a trade audience.”
Looking back over my life in context with the current financial crisis, I couldn’t help but agree with Sam’s point, “failure is crucial to achieving success”. The willingness to take risk and suffer the consequences or successes is vital. The current market is being driven by fear, those who can look past the fear will see opportunity. Now is the time to open your eyes and start realizing that value can be created from the current chaos. Anyway, Sam is a very interesting man and an asset to our community here in Dallas.
Sequoia: Downturn will last YEARS!
October 8, 2008
According to Om Malik, ‘Sequoia Rings the Alarm Bell: Silicon Valley Is in Trouble‘, suggesting “Sequoia Capital, arguably the smartest venture capital investor in business, is sounding the alarm and asking its portfolio companies to buckle down for what could be the worst economic downturn of their relatively short lives.”
Mike Mortiz and Doug Leone, in a meeting yesterday, tried to explain to their CEOs that, “things could get a lot worse than people think, and it will be a more protracted downturn. They want the companies to cut costs, to figure out way to survive and emerge at the other end of this downturn, which could last years. The speakers went through each functional area of the business and told the companies how to cut costs.”
Update: Here is the slideshow from Sequoia.
Along those same times, Mike Arrington reprinted an email famed angel investor, Ron Conway sent to his portfolio companies:
——— Forwarded message ———-
From: Ron Conway
Date: Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 12:12 PM
Subject: IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ASAP …..REGARDING CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS…ConfidentialWe have all been absorbed by the turmoil in the financial markets the past few weeks
Unlike the turmoil of 2000 when the “action” was centered right here in Silicon Valley this time is it centered on Wall Street…..but it has rippled to the west coast quickly and we will not be “immune” to its drastic effects.
I was an active investor in 2000 when the “bubble burst” and remember it vividly and want to give you the SAME EXACT advice I gave to my portfolio company CEOs back then.
I have pasted in the emails I sent on April 17th 2000 and May 10th 2000 and every word applies today.
Unfortunately history DOES repeat itself but I hope we can learn from history and prevent the turmoil from occurring again.
The message is simple. Raising capital will be much more difficult now.
You should lower your “burn rate” to raise at least 3-6 months or more of funding via cost reductions, even if it means staff reductions and reduced marketing and G&A expenses. This is the equivalent to “raising an internal round” through cost reductions to buy you more time until you need to raise money again; hopefully when fund raising is more feasible. Letting go of staff is hard and often gut wrenching. A re-evaluation of timelines and re-focus on milestones with the eye of doing more with less will allow you to live many more days, and the name of the game in this environment in some
respects is survival–survival until conditions change.If you are in a funding cycle, you should raise your funding as soon as possible and raise as much as possible but face the fact that if you can’t raise money now you must cut costs.
While I do not own a large percentage of your company I hope you will consider this thoughtful advice.
I was here in 2000 and want to share what I learned through many years of experience and historical “pattern recognition”!
Here are the two emails from the year 2000 that I referred to above and all the statements apply in today’s market:
To: Angel Investors, L.P. Portfolio CEOs
Date: 04/17/2000 05:24 PM
From: Ron Conway
RE: Market Conditions Effect on Angel Investors, L.P. Portfolio
CompaniesThe down draft in the stock market sends us some obvious “signals” and we can’t help but mention them.
1. If you are in a funding cycle, you should raise your funding as soon as possible and raise as much as possible.
2. Many companies are ignoring certain VC leads we’ve provided in order to concentrate on the top tier only. While we have preached that in the past, this is no longer the case. Currently, top-tier VC
bandwidth constraints, coupled with the market down draft, make it very important to take meetings with any VCs where you can get their attention. We have been working hard to open up this new bandwidth.3. You must aggressively examine and pursue M&A opportunities (unless you have over 12 months of cash reserves!) ro insure you have critical mass (including funding, customers, rolodex power, market
share, cash, synergy, etc.).4. Be realistic on valuations - they will fall so be ready and willing to co-operate.
5. Look for corporate partners to invest so you can raise more money. You should also consider a sale of your company to your corporate partners.
6. If you are entering a funding cycle start raising money sooner rather than later.
7. While it’s safe to say entrepreneurs have had negotiating leverage with the “down draft” in the market, the VC community will start exercising their leverage.
—————————————————————————-
—————————————-To: Angel Investors, L.P. Portfolio CEOs
Date: 05/10/2000 05:23 PM
From: Ron Conway
RE: Market Conditions Effect on Angel Investors, L.P. Portfolio
CompaniesI want to “touch base” again; given the continued uncertainty in the capital markets.
As the market turmoil continues, we must underscore the advice that we have provided since mid April and it boils down to just a few points:
1) The capital market window is shut, including IPOs and VC Funding (VCs are looking at their existing portfolio funding needs - not new opportunities). Basically the market is now looking for PtoP (Path to Profitability) instead of BtoC, BtoB, etc! PtoE will prevail price to sales ratios! You must lower your “burn rate” to raise at least 3-6 months more of funding via cost reductions, even if it means selective staff reductions and reduced marketing and G&A expenses. This is the equivalent to ‘raising
an internal round” through cost reductions to buy you more time until you need to raise money again; hopefully when fund raising is more feasible.2) If you have $10M or less in the bank you must do #1 above plus look at M&A options for your company; especially if your company is BtoC, content, advertising model, community, commerce, and even BtoB. An M&A transaction will allow you to gain critical mass and to get two sets of funding sources and rolodexes working on your behalf. M&A transactions take over 90 days so you need at least that much cash to fund your company. You must attend our M&A day on May 24th at the San Mateo Marriott at 3:00 PM. We will have investment banks there in addition to entrepreneurs who have
successfully accomplished M&A transactions. We will send you details.We are still developing many new funding sources for our portfolio companies that are in funding cycle.
Get ready for mass business failures!
October 8, 2008
Over the past couple of days I have become aware of a little reported on problem for small businesses here in the Dallas area: freezing of credit facilities. More and more companies are receiving calls from their bankers like this, “Hi Bob, this is Mark over at Bank of America…, no, no, Bob, we are not pulling your line of credit, but you may not be able to draw down on it right now.“ Of course, for the small business that relies on a credit facility, this may mean he can’t pay his employees or his vendors. Maybe Bob has enough to pay his employees, but calls his vendors and suggests he can’t pay his bill this month. In turn the vendor, who isn’t going to get paid by Bob, received a call from his banker freezing his line of credit is hit twice as hard. You can bet he won’t make payroll. This ’snowball’ effect is going to result in mass business failures. Get it? Banks aren’t even lending to each other, much less small, under capitalized businesses. Get ready for the worst, I fear it is coming.
Who is to blame? We are - i.e. you and me. We borrow too much! 43% of us spend more money each year than we make! First, we all spent too much money on houses, cars and consumer goods that we can’t afford. In the 1970s the average size home was 1,400 square feet, today the average is over 2,300 square feet. Are we that much bigger? Today we MUST have a phone, DSL connection, cell phone (maybe two), TIVO, cable TV and so on. All those services come with a monthly recurring cost - a cost we can’t really afford. We are a mess. Of course, lots of us are trying to blame Congress or Wall Street. Sure blame away, but at the end of the day the buck stops with you and me.
The most obvious problem we are facing today, was that to keep our economy growing, we asked people who could not afford to buy homes to do it anyway. We set up Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and passed legislation forcing these two companies to loan money to people who could NEVER hope to afford to pay it back. To stay on the good side of Congress, Freddie Mac committed the largest election fraud in history and in 2006 the Federal Election Commission fined the company $3.6 million for illegal campaign contributions to Barney Frank and other members of the House Committee on Financial Services . To add insult to injury Congress passed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 that created the so-called ‘credit default swap‘ (the instrument that has destroyed our banking system). Signed into law by Bill Clinton and introduced by a bi-partisan group of Republicans and Democrats, the bill was NEVER debated on the floor. Congress didn’t spend a minute discussing the bill. They didn’t hold a single hearing. Of course, Congress isn’t to blame, instead it is us. We keep electing the same people over and over and when we get the same results we are susprised. Biden has been in Congress as long as I have been alive and McCain isn’t far behind.
On a side note, Mark Cuban is going long, sort of…
Relationships are even more important now. . .
October 7, 2008
Whether your are selling a product or an investment opportunity, relationships are important. In the current economic climate they are even more important. Most people are running scared. Companies are reluctant to spend money. Investors are reluctant to invest. Everyone is preparing for nuclear winter. How do you keep going in an environment based on fear?
First, focus on your relationships. Get on the phone and schedule coffees, lunches and dinners with everyone you know. Strengthen your existing relationships. Relationships are like muscles, they must be exercised to remain strong.
Second, don’t abuse your relationships. Don’t try to cram excessive billings down your clients throats. Don’t act like each deal is your last. Instead, take the opportunity to be overly generous. Pick up the tab, ALWAYS. Offer before you ask. Find ways to help each of your contacts.
Finally, be proactive, give first. Don’t wait for your contacts to ask for help, advice or referrals. Realize that EVERYONE is in the same boat. Make an effort to find a way to help everyone you know. Don’t ask for anything in return. Pay it forward.
If you focus on connecting and helping each of your existing relationships you will notice that the climate around you will improve. People are investing, people are buying, but only from people they trust and know. The kind of guy who is generous and helpful is just the sort of guy I want to know and trust. Be that guy… (oh and you can follow this advice in good times too).
Is the Freemium Model Dead?
October 6, 2008
Is the Freemium business model dead? It might be if you are looking to raise venture capital. Fred Wilson is suggesting that there is a movement away from the Freemium approach, like it or not. I first wrote about the Freemium business model back in 2006 in a post titled, “Fred Wilson’s Favorite Business Model“, defined as “Give your service away for free, possibly ad supported but maybe not, acquire a lot of customers very efficiently through word of mouth, referral networks, organic search marketing, etc, then offer premium priced value added services or an enhanced version of your service to your customer base.”
Howard Lindzon, a Phoenix based investor, said it first, “freemium is dead” explaining that “free is over, I am only investing in services that customers pay for”. Fred also pointed out that Roger Ehrenberg, another angel investor, has changed his approach to companies that employ the traditional freemium model. Of course, Fred isn’t throwing in the towel, suggesting, “freemium is far from dead, in fact it may be the business model de rigueur.”
Ironically, ten hours before Fred suggested investors might be frustrated with the freemium model, Sam Huleatt suggested ‘Freemium is Sucking.’ My thought? Take the fact that the tide may have turned, investors may associated a negative connotation with freemium business models - take this into account before pitching one.
Twitter Hates Palin
October 2, 2008
I decided to ‘twitter‘ the Vice Presidential debate this evening and I was very surprised how prevalent the anti-Palin sentiment was - specifically the HATE leveled at her. If Twitter is any measure, our political system is broken - we have lost the ability to respectfully disagree. Ironically, much of the ‘hate’ rhetoric was from women. Twitter was basically a constant stream of ‘I hate Palin’. Really. I am not kidding. Check out a few comments from the twitter-stream this evening:
aa86: Watched the debate and hate Palin even more. I don’t want to hear the word “maverick” for quite some timemarigola: Sarah Palin, you are not like me…you’re one of those fucking idiot Lifetime Channel watching hoes I hate…Najy: dude, everyone and my little brother hate palin. um, me included. dear america: this is what you want? I’m scared.huettman: MAN does my wife HATE Sarah Palin…might be because she keeps winking at me.patzy: Hate Palin. If she keeps it up, they are going to revoke our voting rightsErinaB: I hate palin!!!chucklenugget: Sarah Palin, I hate her hate her hate her hate her hate her….She sounds like a kindergarten school teacherastronomerpants: Sarah Palin I hate you with the fire of a thousand suns.queenjulie: Hate Sarah Palin, but feel sorry for her now–she’s doing a 90-minute debate in stilletos? My feet ache for her.ayearatthewheel: WTF!?!?! you twitter fools, Palin, asking if she can call him Joe is proper and polite… FOOLS - ALL OF YOU! btw I hate Palin types.bloodyscreamo69: i hate palintelevisionarie: oh i just hate sarah palin’s voice and everything else about her so much. so very, very much.bnh: @Phyrdancer ZEITGEIST is some crazy you know what! oh and did I mention I hate palin!RockCandyRags: I hate Palin’s sarcasm,so unattractive & stupid 4 someone trying to convince ppl to vote for her,but hope she lets it spew during VP debate!adamjamess: i hate palinjepowell: What a bitch! http://tinyurl.com/3qfbao (expand) I hate Sarah Palin…
xoxorho: @revmitcz Great blog! I LOVE the Carl Sagan quote. God I hate Palin. Can’t wait for the Thursday night fights!nitetooth: I hate palin :(donnaschubert: @ricksanchezcnn as a professional woman I hate that palin seems to overly rely on her beauty and charisma rather than her on brainsholecomic: @cadrys Oh. No, I don’t really hate either Obama or McCain. But I think that Palin as president would make us a joke. She’s a clown-veep.praxisblog: (The fact that there are countless good reasons to hate Palin is more or less a coincidence, I suspect.)csoto: hate to be harsh but calling sarah palin a tool is an absolute insult to tools…. and elizabeth hasselbeck is a nimrodThe_Norah: I hate stupid women. Stupid men suck, but thats a contained problem. When a woman is stupid, it hurts all women. Ex: Palin, camwhores, etc.PriyaRaju: The reason I hate Palin so much is, she got picked only because she’s an idiotic woman. I sort of feel betrayed by that jackass.themia: i hate women who only want to vote for Palin because she has a vagina. Fuck YOU.ryanrpalkovic: Debates are pointless. They’re both going to ramble off their standard responses. You’re still going to hate palin and love biedengregwool: christ i hate being sick. also, sarah palin.tweelings_en: HATE> I just realized that Palin has made me hate Alaska. I’m sorry Alaska. http://tinyurl.com/3gdtgc (expanddantekgeek: I just realized that Palin has made me hate Alaska. I’m sorry Alaska.EveGrey: ooh, I really hate the name Palin now. It sounds so harsh to my wee ears.NotStyro: I think Biden performed well, while Palin was sloppy and went off-topic to often (and I hate her voice-argh!)LuliB: hate hate hate hate hate palin (there, i’m staying out of politics now)pratikp7368: i hate palinLive_Love_Rock: I hate sarah palin. she makes me ashamed to have my name.alisaharris: Woman next to me to palin: ‘you’ll kill the f–ng polar bears you bitch! We hate you!’lesliebot: crud i hate sarah palinbrittanyc: i really hate palin’s snide little smile. rubs me the wrong way.jp_abello: I really really hate palin. More than any other politician everjamtomorrow: my God I hate Palin’s foksy bullshit.kufflink: I hate Palin’s glasses tonight. Where are those Tina Fey glasses I love so.planethunt: I…I hate Sarah Palin.jenlaughs: hate. palin. so. much.mdh85: I hate Palin so much. So so much.am6290: Sarah Palin is a fucking retard! I can’t believe im watching the vice presidential debate. I hate politics!Dazshia: I hate Palin’s smiling sarcasm. Hate it Hate it!phatduckk: i hate PalinDantcer: RT @verucablue: I hate Palin’s “gosh darn you betcha can I call ya Joe” bull. And if she says reform one more time, I’ll slap her.Leesie: Is it just me, or is Sarah Palin almost posing while she talks. God I hate that woman! Also: Something amazing just happened <3djtanuki: I fucking hate Sarah Palinjamestinsley: Wow I really hate Sarah Palin.. Go at her Joe!smugasarug: god i hate sarah palin’s voicechelseamoylan: stop staring at me palin, i hate chu.jp_abello: I hate palintremorx: @skeet2461 Palin makes the whole country hate hockey momsgsnail: Loving the Palin hate on Twitter. Shame I can’t watch the debate to watch the fail.sofistakit: Sarah Palin, I hate you so much..and yet, I want to hold you.conahan: Man, I hate Palin’s hamburger helper accent.searingblue: Sarah palin: a big folksy ball of bullshit that makes me hate America. Yeah, that’s right, Sarah palin=the downfall of Americablackjew: VP Debate you would really have to hate America to support Sarah PalinBettaSmetta: okay, i can finally say something nice about palin … her suit is beautiful …. but i still hate herOvershee: that was a very short 1:30, but quite good. It only cemented my hate of Palin, I have to say. She’s a cunt. Anyways, biden did a good jobBecco: Wow. I really like Joe Biden a lot. Still hate Palin. Maybe even more than before.sepiamutiny: Mutineer CoffeeFace: “I now hate alaska, bulldogs, and the sound of Sarah Palin’s voice.”s0_fam0us: this just in: I still hate sarah palin.capnjoy: I hate palin more b/c she’s a stupid unqualified woman who is setting feminism back. is that wrong?hatersonlyhate: The filter of the mainstream media?! I hate you, Palin.jewcyjuice: I officially hate the word ‘maverick’ and want to bitch-slap the stupid out of Palin. Dear god.sareeloo2001: I offically hate the word Maverick. McCain is NOT a Maverick. Neither is Palin. She is so full of shit I can smell it from here!!!!!milestonkin: Sarah Palin makes me hate peopleelzombo: “Dog gone it” i hate you Palin.quartertonality: #current Sarah Palin makes me hate America.Afficionados_HH: GOD I HATE PALIN you bimbo Satan Anti-Christ hideous idiot, man and Dinos together I’ve seen evidence you f-wit.dekkerdreyer: Palin reminds me of my elementary school teachers and I hate her for it.grindz145: I fucking hate politics (and palin) what ever happened to punk rock and vigilante justice?NewMonarch: I really hate Palin’s fake perky voice. Very belittling.lyrica42: Sarcasm will get you nowhere Palin, except in my heart with a bit more hate.jzay: jews hate sarah palin, sez the jewess sitting next to mejeffd44: Dear palin, I fucking hate youjesuiseval: I hate Sarah Palin. I hate her shit eating grin and her condescending tone. You NEED to play a drinking game to watch this debate.ben_h: Sarah Palin: I don’t hate many people, but I hate you.dominicdb: Biden is a beast. i’m pro-him. and frankly, though i hate the hell out of her, Palin is killing it on some Palin shit. which sucks.BroomBox: I HATE PALINkristynmarie: I hate Sarah Palin. The woman is a twit!sethgoldstein: my god i hate palin’s accentthatgamergirl: hahahaah, watching as I pack! “Team of Mavericks” Gotta love to hate Palin.hapagirl: Officially hate Palin. It’s Nook-LEE-are, not Nook-YOU-lear. Dammit.RidleyGriff: Very interesting - according to CNN focus group, women HATE Palin and love Biden. #currentDazshia: Sorry but Palin reminds me of some cheesy-bimbo-political cartoonish personna! Plenty of comic material there!!Veronica19: Pakistani President had a fatwa issued on his head for flirting with Palin. Now we know, she winked and he tapped her toosusankirbysmith: Palin is an idiotdswinder: Sarah Palin is just flat out unintelligent.lisahubbert: Palin is still trying to become the Prom Queen. Grow up.cameragrrl: Learned from the debate tonight: I hate Palin more than Dubya.makesmewant: sarah palin makes me want to vomit. her ridiculous grasp of the constitution is just horrific.: sarah palin makes me want to v..Sparky6768: Ugh. I hate Palin SO much.
Finding the signal with all of the noise!
October 2, 2008
I have had a hard time sitting down to write blog posts over the past couple of weeks. This morning I began realizing that it might be because my ‘opportunity’ radar has been on ‘high alert’. Why? There has been so much chaos in the world: Iraq, Afganistan, McCain/Obama, Palin/Biden, bank failures, insurance company failures, bailout bills, forclosures, credit tightening, dollar devaluation, patent litigation and so on.
Whenever there is turmoil and chaos, there is opportunity. Fortunes are made and lost in times of war, expansion, contraction and confusion. Several weeks (yes weeks) ago I co-founded a new startup in the mobile space. Realizing that a) the concept and execution was great and b) the world was in such turmoil I figured the market would likely overlook the opportunity I decided to jump. During this VERY short period of time our application won Google’s Android Developers Challenge and we were able to enter into an agreement with T-Mobile to launch our application in conjunction with the launch of their G1 mobile phone. During any normal day this wouldn’t be possible. Chaos = Opportunity.
As I suggested back in April, “If you can ‘bootstrap’ your startup over the next 12-24 months you are going to be in the catbird seat when your local venture capitalist peaks his head out of the cellar. My thesis is that it is times like these that create the best startups. There won’t be funny money awash in the market making it almost impossible to figure out which startups are built to last and which are built to fail. Entrepreneurs should be excited to realize they will have fewer competitors and they won’t have to waste their time ‘waiting’ to raise venture capital. Instead they can just get to work - start building. Chaos is an entrepreneur’s best friend - embrace it!”
Let me tell you a secret. Over the years I have met lots of people who were faster, smarter or more dedicated than I am (lets call them A players). Being a competitive person (but rarely the smartest) I always looked for the advantage. At some point I realized that most of these ‘A players’ couldn’t deal with chaos, conflict or adversity. Adding a little chaos to a competitive situation could quickly turn an A player in a weak B or C player.
I starting adding conflict into high school debate. In policy debate (CCX) one team must affirm a specific resolution and the other must negate it. Most teams have one set of files for the affirmative and another for the negative. I would try to flip the issue, agree with their position, but argue with the impact of the resolution (i.e. their policy does in fact do what they claim, but is that a good thing?). The evidence in their files was designed to support their position not the impact of the underlying resolution. Most teams had the necessary evidence in their second set of files, but the resulting chaos (i.e. having to change their entire case on the fly) help me win most debates. Of course I didn’t realize what I was doing until I became a Marine.
The Marine Corp institutionalized the idea of chaos for me. We studied hundreds of battles and learned how everyone from the Spartans to the Mongolians used chaos to win wars. We incorporated chaos into our battlefield strategy, drilling over and over until chaos became normal. Chaos is the reason the Marines NEVER lose battles (wars are won or lost by politicians).
The opportunity to prosper from chaos in business became clear to me immediately. Matt Trossen, the CEO of Trossen Robotics, wrote an article titled “Dead Man Dancing” where he said, “you aren’t a real entrepreneur if you haven’t run out of money a few times.” Matt’s investor actually said that to him, but I think it points out a great way to incorporate chaos into a business situation. Let me explain. Give two people $20MM to start a business, one is a an A player and the other me. In most cases the A player wins. Add a little chaos; say don’t give either person any money, and in most cases I would bet on me. Running out of money is a great way to see how well you perform under pressure. If you can learn to operate in chaos you can beat almost any opponent (unless they are masters of chaos too). Want to learn more about chaos theory:
- Butterfly Effect - a simplified chaotic system
- Chaos Theory: A Brief Introduction
- Graphic Introduction to Chaos Theory
- Lots of Chaos Theory Links at Open Directory
- The Chaos Forum
- Change Management Toolbook
- Chaos and Complexity: Knowledge Management
Startup Happy Hour Tonight!
September 29, 2008
Remember, tonight is Startup Happy Hour between 5PM and 8PM (feel free to show up at 6PM or 7PM). The intent of the meetup is to get entrepreneurs together to share ideas and experiences. The event is the talk of the startup community in Dallas. Check out the coverage in the Dallas Morning News: http://tinyurl.com/sshhdfw As a result of the events, several startups have found a) employees, b) co-founders, c) angel investors and d) had a few free drinks.
Are you interested in connecting with the local startup community? We are working to build a vibrant startup community here in Dallas every bit as interesting and dynamic as San Francisco, Boulder, Boston or Austin. The first step is engagement.
Sponsored by SpringStage - you are invited to attend. Please RSVP HERE.
What: Startup Happy Hour
When: Monday, September 29th, 5PM-7PM
Where: High Tech bar at the INFOMART (corner of Oak Lawn and I35)
Why: To meet entrepreneurs like you
Cost: FREE
NOTE: Please don’t come to sell your goods or services. The purpose of the event is for entrepreneurs to connect to empower each other through the development of a community of startups. The purpose is NOT to build a business networking group or lead generation group. Again, PLEASE DON’T COME TO MARKET YOUR SERVICES OR SELL YOUR GOODS.
Muse: Reality will kill 90% of startups!
September 28, 2008
Jason Calcanis suggests, “Collapsing Economy Will Kill 50%-80% of Startups” as reported by Silicon Alley Insider (since then the post has been removed at the request of Calcanis). I suspect, however, that REALITY will kill 90% of all startups anyway. Get it? The conventional wisdom is that 10% of startups survive. I suspect that what might be more true is the fact that “The Collapsing Economy will prevent 50%-80% of new startups from getting started”. Those startups that were going to make it (i.e. the proverbial 10%) are STILL going to make it. Those startups that were going to fail will fail. The problem is for new startups - how long will it take for a new startup to get funded? When does confidence return?
Holy Cow! All Android G1 devices are sold out!
September 27, 2008
If you are interested in becoming part of the Android developer community in Dallas we invite you to join us at AndroidDevCamp on October 25th (RSVP here). In the spirit of iPhoneDevCamp, AndroidDevCamp seeks to capitalize on the release of the first mobile phone running Google’s open source operating system, Android. The power of Android isn’t grounded in a particular carrier or handset maker, instead the power of Android comes from you - the developer. The promise of Android is great, with backers including Google, HTC, Intel, Motorola, Qualcomm, Samsung, LG, T-Mobile, Nvidia and Wind River System (all members of the Open Handset Alliance).
Come be a part of the future of mobile phones and build applications based on a set of open standards for ALL mobile devices. Dallas is home to not just one Android Challenge Winner, but TWO! Rylan Barnes, the original developer of GoCart (now ShopSavvy) will be demonstrating his application and sharing his year long odessy of development on the Android platform. Jason Hudgins, part of the team that developed TuneWiki, will also be demonstrating his application and sharing his experiences with Android as well.
How much the bailout will cost you!
September 26, 2008
If you have been following the discussions around the proposed $700,000,000,000 bailout (rescue plan, whatever) of Wall Street you may have seen a $2300 cost for every citizen of the US. Of course, only 138 million US citizens pay taxes and the share of taxes is not equal as described in the chart below:
So if you fall into the bottom 50% of taxpayers you will only have to pay 3.5% of the bailout cost - $24 billion spread across 69,000,000 taxpayers - $347.83 each. That isn’t cheap, but it is a far cry from $2300 each. But if you fall into the 25% you will have to pay 83.9% of the bailout cost - $587 billion spread across 34,500,000 taxpayers - $17,014.49 each! Lovely! Of course if you fall into the top 1% of taxpayers you will have to pay 34.4% of the bailout cost or $240 billion spread across 1,380,000 taxpayers - $173,913.04 each. OMG!
So this program isn’t a bailout for the rich, it is a bailout paid for by the rich…
AndroidDevCamp: Going International! (Save the Date: Oct 25th)
September 25, 2008
Big in Japan is hosting AndroidDevCamp Dallas on October 25th (the first Saturday after the release of the first Android phone - the T-Mobile G1). SInce I posted the Upcoming notice we have been talking to Android developers around the world and our plans have expanded. Beside the event in Dallas we are working with developers to host events in major cities throughout the U.S. and Canada. In the vein of the success of iPhoneDevCamp, we are hoping to generate community interest around the Android platform. If you are interested in coordinating/organizing an AndroidDevCamp in your city just ping me and we will work to coordinate our activities. More details and information to follow!
Oh and if you are local (i.e. Dallas) and interested in building applications for Google’s new phone platform please RSVP here.
Search
-
Startup Jobs
-
Recent Network Posts
-
Highlights from the Startup Blog Network
From North Carolina Startup Blog -
Startup Profile: Local Eye Site (www.localeyesite.com)
From North Carolina Startup Blog -
Sequoia Capital Partners Reiterate Value of Cash
From Fort Worth Startup Blog -
Angel Investors Hanging In.
From New Hampshire Startup Blog -
People Considering Bankruptcy Leaning Towards Obama
From Fort Worth Startup Blog -
DonorsChoose - Go Colorado!
From Colorado Startups -
Now is the time to bootstrap your new business!
From Fort Worth Startup Blog -
The inflation of ideas
From North Carolina Startup Blog -
Brad Feld Says It's Time For Entrepreneurs to Step Up...
From Fort Worth Startup Blog -
Elevator Pitch Challenge
From Kentucky Startup Blog
-
Highlights from the Startup Blog Network
Advertisement
