Join the ‘iWant a Better iPhone’ Challenge & Win Free iPhone Gear for the Holidays!
Update: The contest is over. Thanks to those who participated. I will email the winners this weekend.
For all its majesty, the iPhone has its flaws. That’s why this Christmas, I want a better iPhone!
The iPhone is a remarkable device, but a strict App Store, privacy concerns, and a “closed” operating system prevent iPhone from [...]
Investing Or Marketing? The Real Reason Lightspeed Invested In Ning At A Crazy Valuation
A lot of readers were incredulous over last week’s news that Ning raised another $15 million in venture capital from Lightspeed Venture Partners at a $750 million valuation. That comes despite the fact that Ning traffic appears to be flatlining, and revenue to date is likely very small.
A typical comment to that post: “What an [...]
Change is in the air for venture capitalists
A lot of changes are in-store for venture capitalists in the second half of 2009, and recent data published by the National Venture Capital Association shows concerning trends. Venture capital firms raised a meager $1.7 billion in the second quarter of 2009, almost six times less than the $9.2 billion raised in same quarter last [...]
Venture Capital Dollars Stabilize in Second Quarter at Mid-1990s Levels
Venture capital dollars going to startups in the U.S. stabilized in the second quarter at $3.7 billion, according to the latest MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. The venture money invested in the quarter is still only about half of what it was a year ago (when it was $7.2 [...]
Handshake Horror: The Awareness Spreads.
Now even mainstream journalists are picking up the no handshake banner and running with it. Neil Swidey, writing for the Boston Globe, says “Last month, swine flu officially became a pandemic. Public health officials have said so-called “social distancing” strategies — sharply reducing contact with others — have proved most effective in slowing the spread [...]
Q2 venture investing looks like it’s 2005 (and that’s a good thing)
Hey, that wasn’t so bad. Dow Jones VentureSource has released its data on venture capital investments during the second quarter of 2009, and while the numbers might look bleak in most years, given the broader context, they look … okay.
In Q2 (from April to June), venture capitalists invested a total of $5.27 billion in 595 [...]
MobileBeat: Listen to panels on mobile investing and marketing
Stitcher has posted two more audio recordings of our MobileBeat 2009 panels. Here’s the links to our panel on venture capitalists and strategic investors discussing Where’s the ROI? What’s Not Working? (above) We also have an audio recording of our fireside chat on Taking Mobile Marketing Mainstream. (Pictured below).
Roundup: VCs more confident, Apple patents future iPhone ideas
Here’s the latest action:
Confidence is coming back among venture capitalists — So says the Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Index, which measures the mood among dozens of well-known VCs.
Facebook sued for click fraud — RootZoo says its own analytics show discrepancies over how many Facebook users clicked on RootZoo’s ads.
Gawker says ad revenue up 35 percent [...]
CHART OF THE DAY: VCs Are Very, Very Worried About Exits
Liquidity flowing into venture-backed companies fell 57% from Q2 2008 to Q2 2009, from $6.48 billion to $2.8 billion, according to Dow Jones Venture Source.
That’s the lowest quarterly amount since 1999, and according to a Polachi Inc. survey of 138 venture capitalists, it has the early investing class very, very worried about “exit markets — [...]
