Babbling VC

I don't have a clue!

It's ok to not know! Josh nailed it on this post. I've too had these experiences of having one CEO pitching or in our portfolio with an answer for everything. I was oftentimes surprised at the "all-knowingness" of some of these guys. I think I'm a pretty savvy guy but I sure don't know what even one of my portfolio companies will exactly earn or spend 3 years out. It's also highly unlikely that a CEO (or a VC) will know this. I love saying "I don't know". It gives me either time to go and figure it out or do my best to give an approximation of what the answer could be. 

Giving Zemanta a try!

I find the concept of receiving suggestions while writing a blog compelling. Zemanta, out of Slovenia (rock on Eastern Europe) is getting a lot of mentions today in the blog world. I am curious to see how this either speeds up or simplifies the concept of blogging. I myself actually dislike having to go and make all the connections on my blog to respective websites. Zemanta takes care of this by plugging into the browser and giving you suggestions at the bottom of the editing screen as you write your blog. It also pulls in pictures which may be relevant to what you are blogging about. Using it for this blogpost, I simply clicked a couple of buttons to insert the relevant links and pictures to immediately have the suggested content linked or inserted. Very cool. I'll work with this for a while and see how it develops. I am predicting good things and when I met these guys a while back at Web 2.0 Expo in Berlin, I was already more than happy to see that another start-up from Eastern Europe is doing exciting things!

Update: the links need to be optimized. For the fun of it, click Slovenia above to see where it takes you. Close, but not quite!

KPN to buy Blau

We are very happy today about our newest exit. Blau has been purchased by KPN (owner of e-Plus). Congratulations to management for getting this deal done. If you want some info, follow up here, here, and here (in German). This is the second company started by Martin, Thorsten und Dirk which we backed and successfully exited. (We previously backed handy.de) 

Slide shut down in Turkey

Could something like this be a problem in regards to Turkey entering the EU? You be the judge!

Note to Slide users in Turkey

If you use Slide in Turkey, you've probably noticed that you are no longer able to access the Slide website or our applications (you may not even be able to access this post). The Turkish government has accused Slide of "harboring pictures and articles that are considered to be insulting to Ataturk," founder of the republic.

We have contacted the government of Turkey in an effort to resolve this situation and will keep you updated on any changes. In the meantime, we're trying our best to enable Turkish citizens to access our website and applications again. Slide joins several other popular web services such as YouTube, Facebook and MySpace that have been banned in various countries (including Turkey, Pakistan, China and the UAE) for user-generated content.

If you have any questions or comments, please email us at feedback@slide.com. For those of you who can access this website or have friends in Turkey, please encourage them to contact their local government authority.

Tony P.

via Slide blog!

Hope vs. Purpose

Ross, from Socialtext, twittered the following and started me thinking:

Fear is only a short term motivator (and largely causes attrition against cause), hope makes the long term. -- AK, not just about Bush

I totally agree with Ross that "fear" is the worst motivator possible. Never works and is best at creating enemies. "Hope" tends to work at times but I don't agree that it's the right motivator. "Hope" is easily shattered and just think about it, what are you saying when you state the following words: "I really do hope this goes well" or something along those lines?  In my opinion, you are not taking responsibility for the outcome.

I personally believe that the best motivator is "purpose". "Purpose" signifies commitment and responsibility to the cause. Having a "purpose" for doing something simply is not easily shattered. Finally, when you have a "purpose" for doing something, you know the reward will be fulfilling, even if not exactly as you "hoped". Think about this when trying to motivate anyone, be it your family, your co-workers, your employees, whomever!

Slow down Lead Foots!

As a notorious lead foot myself, this new commercial running on German TV has kinda hit the spot. Really has made me think twice when getting in the car and I am driving slower! I usually am not the biggest fan of shock-vertising, but sometimes it just hits home. (For those of you who don't speak German, "runter vom Gas" basically means slow down!)

 

When I grow up, I want to be "corporate!"

I wasn't going to blog about this as many others have already been pointing to Paul's essay. (I copped out and simply twittered it.) This is a must-read though in regards to small teams, the corporate world and team building exercises. Paul argues that developers (and employees in general) weren't meant to work in large organizations. We as a society function best in teams of up to ten people. I think this may be a bit of stretch towards Desmond Morris and his Naked Ape but I agree that small is good. I never regretted getting out of the corporate world, nor do I know anyone who has. Further, I feel that people who never entered it are better off. I wholeheartedly agree it's better to have gone right out and started a company and fallen flat on your face, maybe even twice. There's nothing yet to lose and the experience is invaluable. You can de-corporate yourself if you were sucked into this career path but it takes time and scars are left behind. Nevertheless, one thing I miss the least are team building exercises. At best, it's forced social interaction with people whom you'd probably never in your wildest dreams imagine spending your spare time with.   

Making Social Networks truly Useful

A couple of people commented to me both online and off about my post regarding social networks. I've been giving this theme quite a bit of thought in the past couple of weeks and have been discussing it with many people. I have noted many times now that social networks are entertaining but their value quickly evaporates and there truly is no connection from social networks between the online and offline world. I further feel that many social networks are even leading people in a negative direction in the sense that they have ever more online friends and a decreasing number of offline friends ("social solitude"). They may at times meet people whom they are connected to online but I don't believe that a majority of people does this in any way. I already noted that dating sites (social networks in a way) are the only successful online ventures to truly connect the real world using a social network "tool." So what do I see in the future for social networks? Well, here's my thoughts in no particular order.

1.  The majority of social networks such as Facebook, MySpace etc. will be bought (if not already purchased) and there will be maybe one or two huge sites (owned probably by MS and Google) who will have the largest number of users. These will no longer though be stand-alone entities and won't resemble what we are used to today in regards to "social networks". They will be extensions of MS and Google, i.e. Outlook , MS Live, Windows Mobile and other MS tools will be connected to this network and in a sense, this network will be a backbone of interaction amongst people. Same goes for Google (their network will mix in Gmail, Android, etc.)

2.  Dating sites will become ever more interactive and will lead the way in terms of pulling people from the web into real interactions (just like porn led the evolution of video recorders and the Web as well). Location-based features will be added to dating sites, i.e. I am listed as single, looking and interested in being approached. Whenever I pass my counterpart in the real world, I will be informed of this. There will also be real world takes on online themes (in connection with dating) which will wander into the real world. I could foresee a kind of HotOrNot utility on a phone connecting what HotOrNot does with taking a photo of someone you see, facial recognition and this person getting the rating somehow via a back channel. Scary thought but exciting in some way as well. I know I often take a second look when passing a very attractive (in my opinion) woman on the street. Why not let her know this, happen what may?

3.  When you consider that Twitter has become a "presence application", think of the many potential extensions of this idea. I just a couple days ago met up ("TweetUp") with people in Brussels who had twittered they were at the same conference, going out for dinner, and were nearby (actually like 50 feet away). It was a great night. Just think you take off alone for the cafe or wherever you choose to go, your presence is updated as to wherever you are and you can indicate that you are looking to meet people (either casually or in your search for a partner). I am convinced people want to interact and when they can either opt-in or opt-out of real world interaction, they will use the chance. I know I would love this capability when moving to a new town or after breaking up with a partner of spouse, etc. Further, just think how much easier it would be pursue hobbies and find people to do them with being able to find them this way.

4. I also see an extension of the "people you may know" feature from Xing or LinkedIn to the real world. Think about six degrees of separation. Imagine when out and about how may people you pass by who could be only one to two degrees or less of separation away from you. I am sure this would quickly lead to people being incredibly more interactive in the real lives. This feature would quickly take away the need to be introduced and slowly grow your network. You could simply be much quicker to choose whom you want to be friends with in the real world as you would have the ability for immediate interaction.

5.  People tend to be much more accountable to one another in the real world as oppossed to online. Just think how people today already can know so much about you when they Google you. The reality is that in the future, the Web will know ever more about you than you think now possible. I laugh at people who fight this with the privacy argument. If you think you can "hide" your lost anyway. Why not turn this around? I rather have whoever meets me know as much of the basics about me as they wish. When basic information about everyone (age, background, relationship status, career, etc.) is immediately available people will only look for it who want to know it. Why make it difficult to find out? Take a phone, a social network back end and location based services and you could be in a cafe and simply "scan" your vicinity without interacting with anyone. At the same time, you would have so much more insight than today possible and I am convinced this is a positive thing for society and people.

These are just thoughts on where I think social networks are going. Some of these ideas are a bit out there but I am convinced they are closer than we think. Maybe I'm overly optimistic but I am convinced people want more interaction as opposed to being secluded and hanging out alone with their computer.

On that note, I am sitting alone in a cafe on a computer. Enough of this! Those two girls across the way are about to make my acquaintance, technology be damned! :-)

Social Solitude? Why social networks aren't there yet!

There is quite a bit of noise out there now (and for some time now) surrounding social networks. The whole investment side of things has come and gone. I still do believe though that interesting ideas will get funded. The very basic of ideas have been done and if you're starting the next Facebook or whatever, forget it. At the same time, what's been missing for me is the next step. I really am less concerned about monetization when it comes to these networks. If they become more than a passing fad, money can and will be made. There have been a couple of false starts but here and there you are seeing revenue generated. Once consolidation begins, usage numbers will go up per platform and earning opportunities will increase. (Side-note: consolidation for me does not mean FriendFeed or SocialThing. These are simply aggregators of social networks who I am convinced worsen the problem instead of solve it.)

At the same time, what I am more concerned about is the "value" of these networks to their users. I have often already written about becoming ever more fed up with the multitude of platforms I am on. Right now, I'm twittering fairly often and blogging here and there. Facebook has lost its appeal and Xing or LinkedIn are truly "storage" for my business contacts and not much else. The twenty other platforms I joined, I have more or less already forgotten and I could see Twitter getting real old, real soon. Nevertheless I am still seeking out "value". What's next for me as a member of these platforms? Are they really enriching my life? I've watched people who are constantly on these networks (and usually connected to me in some way) and they often seem like social recluses in the real world yet are superstars online.  One interesting  observation is the variance of activity from  "friends". It seems like online networks are a stepping stone. People become quite active when between jobs (or bored in their current job) or in between relationships, whatever. The "network" online becomes a support group. Once the "rough spot" is overcome, usage goes down. I could even imagine for many an alarm signal goes off when they realize they are spending too much time interacting online and  eject from this behavior by re-engaging their network of friends offline.

I am sure many folks will argue that you can already derive value from social networks, be it in marketing yourself or your business to earn dollars (see Scobel, Calacanis, Seth Godin, etc.) Further, I am sure arguments can be made that the most popular online superstars have a self-fulfilling prophecy in the sense that their online socialness transfers to offline interactions. Still, I believe this is a very small proportion of the people on these networks and how many "superstars" can really evolve? The guys mentioned before have simply taken networks and turned them into an effective tool driving their business. (Plus, without blowing too much sunshine up their asses, they are extremely good at "marketing" and most likely aren't socially retarded.)

The real next step in these networks is giving people the opportunity to increase true interaction as an effect of their online network. Technically, the dating sites are the ones generating so much revenue because they use an online network simply as a tool to drive offline activity. (Be that activity whatever it is). MySpace was initially so successful because it was used my musicians to interact more with their fans and draw them to their concerts (offline activities). This is what the current players need to master. Give me more interaction offline (be it personally, as part of my business or connected to my hobbies) and you'll receive significantly more of my online loyalty. This is loyalty which would drive me to pay you for usage of your platform.

State of the Union from Geneva: Venture Capital

If you were to truly listen to all the doom and gloom here in Geneva at EVCA's Investor Forum, you'd want to crawl under a rock and not come out until at least 2010. Unfortunately, this complaining seems to be a conference sport as opposed to being truly representative of the situation. (I've learned to simply listen and filter a majority of the bullshit out after all these years.) On one hand, everyone is talking about how bad the economic environment is; specifically, venture capital in Europe is in trouble. In the next breath though you hear that money is being raised and people are actively investing, of course in the best of companies when you listen to their upbeat pitches. Without going into all the boring data that was presented here (available easily on-line), it's fairly clear that venture is evolving in  Europe and quite linearly in an upward trend. Further, when it comes to LP's, it's all about investing in the top funds and picking the best teams (it was very interesting to get a look at both Adams Street's and Harbourvest's performance numbers since inception). What's new here? Not much from my perspective. Even more interesting still is that while at the conference everything is supposedly going to shit out there, in reality Bebo just gets bought for $850 million by AOL. When you factor in other recent acquisitions in Europe such as MySQL or Last.fm amongst others, it seems evident to me that you CAN make money in venture when it comes to Europe. So, my fellow venture friends, back to work, chop, chop! Nothing to see here.

Update: if you want two great views on VC's and downturns, take a look here and here. Worthwhile reading to see how two other VC's see this issue. I concur with both of them.