Recent Articles

Delivering on Q3 forecasts!

December 04, 2008 21:50

I received some incredible news last night from two portfolio company CEOs updating me on our Q3 numbers. They not only hit their respective forecasts set early in the year, but they beat them. Normally I expect our portfolio companies...I received some incredible news last night from two portfolio...

Cloud computing for SMBs

November 22, 2008 19:02

Cloud this, Cloud that - the word cloud is clearly an overhyped word and reminds me of the beginning of the hype around hosted models and ASPs (application service providers) in the late 90s and the term SAAS today. Anyway,...Cloud this, Cloud that - the word cloud is clearly an overhyped word and...

More reasons to watch your burn

October 29, 2008 12:38

Despite these tough times, there are still some bullheaded companies who think they can grow their way out of this mess or find the right M&A partner to bail them out. I can guarantee you that this is a recipe...Despite these tough times, there are still some bullheaded companies who think they can...

A ray of light in this environment?

October 15, 2008 14:48

I did an interview with Rich Maguire of Datamation last week which he just posted yesterday. While the markets seemed to get excited for a day about the bank bailout, attention is turning toward an even bigger problem for startups,...I did an interview with Rich Maguire of Datamation last week...

Be prudent but don't panic!

October 09, 2008 14:02

The alarm bells are ringing in Silicon Valley and start-up land today with Sequoia Capital and Ron Conway telling companies to prepare for the economic meltdown and to raise cash by cutting their burn. This is not new news as...The alarm bells are ringing in Silicon Valley and start-up land today...

Doing more with less

October 08, 2008 11:13

Being in New York, it is hard to escape the realities of the ailing financial sector. When I took the train into the city this morning I could see the somber look in people's eyes knowing what had just happened...Being in New York, it is hard to escape the realities of the ailing financial...

M&A - it ain't over till it's over

September 15, 2008 19:32

The economy is clearly slowing down and the IPO market is nonexistent. As I have always said, this is the time to hunker down and tweak your business to get your model right. If you are interested in exiting today,...The economy is clearly slowing down and the IPO market is nonexistent.  As I...

Selling to large enterprises costs big dollars no matter how frictionless your sale is

September 06, 2008 17:33

I have written a number of times about frictionless sales and how on-demand companies have a huge opportunity to reduce their sales and marketing costs and subsequently scale their business more efficiently. Here is an excerpt from a prior post:Frictionless...I have written a number of times about...

What do I see in venture through 2010???

August 20, 2008 23:07

The Jordan Edmiston Group recently asked me and a few other VCs a few pointed questions about the future for circulation in their July Client Briefing. As an aside, I worked with JEGI two years ago and they did a...The Jordan Edmiston Group recently asked me and a few other VCs a few pointed...

Data wars heating up - Microsoft buys DATAllegro

July 25, 2008 12:09

As I have written in previous posts, what you do with data will be one of the next battlegrounds on the web. Knowing that they had some limitations with SQL Server, Microsoft announced its acquisition of DATAllegro (full disclosure: my...As I have written in previous posts, what you do with data...