Why zero-revenue companies can be worth billions

Submitted by batsonjay
on Mon, 12/02/2013 - 19:08

In a recent blog post, Fred Destin of Atlas Ventures (again) added sanity into the discussions about why zero-revenue companies can receive valuations of many billions of dollars.

I agree with everything he said. There's one more point I'd add: Large scale audiences have a valuation-per-engaged-user.

Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn all started out as zero-revenue companies. But after they achieved the scale and level of ongoing user-engagement that they have today, the smart management teams started inserting various ways to monetize the engaged users.

Tags: 
startups
valuation

2013 trip to Tour de France

Submitted by batsonjay
on Fri, 07/26/2013 - 15:45

This year was the 100th anniversary of the Tour de France. Assuming you know me a bit, you know I'm a cycling guy - both a rider and a fan of the pro sport. This, therefore, was an event I somehow needed to be part of. So late last year, I signed up to ride the Alps alongside the Tour, and then go to Paris to watch the finish. My very wonderful wife gamely said she would ride with me - though I could tell she had some trepidations. Here's a few reflections from the trip. (Shortcut: Skip to Flickr photo set.)

First, a free, unsolicited endorsement: If you ever want to go ride a great,

Tags: 
cycling
tour de france
vacation

The Boston Tech Line

Submitted by batsonjay
on Fri, 06/28/2013 - 20:11

I've recently been struck by the the office locations at which I've found Boston area startups taking root. And a pattern emerged for me: the center of gravity is along the MBTA Red Line.  And there are so many companies it now significantly outweighs the historically-named "128 Corridor."

This shift in the Boston tech scene is so significant that I think we (the Boston tech community) should name this new corridor, and start using the name to bring attention to it. The mere act of doing so can accelerate the reality of it.

Tags: 
boston
startups
tech
silicon valley

Minimize use of CxO titles at early company stages

Submitted by batsonjay
on Fri, 05/31/2013 - 02:36

I'm about 10 months into helping a bunch of startups through organizations like TechStars, MassChallenge, and others.  And I've seen an emerging trend among startups that I want to discourage: The over - and inappropriate - use of "Chief (fill-in-the-blank)" titles.

"What's the problem," you ask?  "Why not give people CxO roles?" There are a bunch of reasons:

Tags: 
startups

AFK

Submitted by batsonjay
on Fri, 04/05/2013 - 15:50

SImple blog post:  My wife & I are on holiday from 4 April to 24 April 2013.

See you when I return. :-)

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