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Lessons Learned: Overspending can kill your startup

by Bambi Francisco Roizen, July 1, 2008 | Comments (1)

Many first-time entrepreneurs overspend, said Tim Chang, a venture capital partner at Norwest Venture Partners. It is one of their biggest mistakes when they first receive funds, they operate as though they were larger. To this end, entrepreneurs need to be "disciplined." (Watch the interview for ways to discipline yourself.) Additionally, another big mistake entrepreneurs make is thinking too big and losing focus. "Startups don't die of starvation," Tim said. "They die of indigestion." Essentially, Tim means that startups have ...

Special: The new news model (black &white)

by Bambi Francisco Roizen, June 30, 2008 | Comments (8)

Topix CEO Chris Tolles is our guest host; Intense Debate, NowPublic

The news business has changed dramatically in the last 50 years, since the days of pioneer TV news broadcaster Edward Murrow, who delivered his segments with cigarette in hand and opened and closed his newscasts with his signature phrases: "This is CBS" and "Goodnight and good luck." In this smoking, black and white episode of Vator Box, we bring you ...

How hi5 makes online addicts

by Bambi Francisco Roizen, June 26, 2008 | Comments

We've come a long way from scripted letters, landline phones, and even email. Today, about five years after the birth of social networks, the way to increasingly stay in touch is through these platforms. One reason social networks are far more popular than email - they constantly remind you of who your friends are and who you should communicate with. Small wonder that social networks draw the biggest addicts online. They're the biggest discovery engine on the Web. Where else, ...

Predictive markets getting buzz over polls

by Bambi Francisco Roizen, June 25, 2008 | Comments (1)

Twenty years ago, the first prediction market was used for the 1988 presidential election. It was run by the University of Iowa. Today, with the Internet enabling a critical mass of players and opinions to predict an outcome, a plethora of prediction markets, or idea exchange, startups have emerged, from Hubdub, NewsFutures, Spigit, Inkling, and InTrade. If the prediction markets are accurate, Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States. On Hubdub, a prediction market launched in January ...

Lessons Learned: RockYou! on rapid-technology development

by Bambi Francisco Roizen, June 24, 2008 | Comments

If there is one thing you notice from speaking to RockYou CTO and co-founder Jia Shen, there's no downtime when it comes to technology output. At RockYou, one of the leading applications makers on social networks that he co-founded at the start of 2006, the culture is one of swiftness. "We promote a rapid-development methodology," he said. "Don't go out and design a full-featured product with all the bells and whistles. Start with a very basic product and make sure ...

Beware of becoming addicted to Twitter

by Bambi Francisco Roizen, June 23, 2008 | Comments (1)

OK. I admit it. My husband and I have become addicted to Twitter. Actually, he's far more prolific with the 140-character zingers. What can I say? So, when I saw the post titled "The Twitter Hall of Shame: 50 Tweets that will echo in history," by Inside CRM editors, I had to share. One of my favorites is listed in the Corporate tweets. "Comcast Complaints: Comcast found out what customers really think of it on Twitter." (See story). At least ...

Vator Box on Hollywood startups, mobile ad networks

by Bambi Francisco Roizen, June 22, 2008 | Comments

Can startups with Hollywood celebrities draw in venture investors as easily as they can draw an audience? Not exactly. The celebrity can get a company so far. It's the site's raison d'etre that determines whether it's one that can generate venture returns. And, if people are already accessing full Web pages on mobile phones, is it too risky for companies to build "bridging" technologies to get videos on mobile gadgets today? Those are questions we explore in this week's Vator ...

Objective journalism - dead or drowned out?

by Bambi Francisco Roizen, June 20, 2008 | Comments (6)

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What do "lame," "out of style," "dinosaur," and "outmoded," have in common? They're how four people in the news business described "objective journalism." In many ways, I agree. Objective journalism may not be dead, but it's definitely drowned out on the Web. I've outlined three reasons why it's on the ropes.Reason 1: The more you know, the less objective you become When I first started off my career as a television journalist at CNN, I recall one of the producers asking ...

Hollywood agencies may fund your next video idea

by Bambi Francisco Roizen, June 19, 2008 | Comments (1)

When a technology conference full of investors attracts hip hop artists, Chamillionaire, and producers Chaka Zulu and Quincy Jones III, it's clear the walls are breaking down between the artist and audience. It's no wonder Hollywood talent agencies are quickly moving away from their old business model and embracing the ways of Silicon Valley. The agencies, such as United Talent Agency and William Morris, are becoming more like venture capitalists as they move toward an ownership model and further away ...

Lessons Learned: Hire people who roll up their sleeves

by Bambi Francisco Roizen, June 19, 2008 | Comments (2)

In the startup world, people are expected to work around the clock. To that end, it's important to hire people who get the job done, said Matt Greeley, CEO of Brightidea. "The biggest error I made was thinking that someone with a big fluffy resume was the best thing for our company," he said. "I tend to gravitate to people who can roll up their sleeves and get something done instead of coming from Big Company X or Big School ...

TMZ's Alan Citron: '24/7 news is going to get more intense'

by Bambi Francisco Roizen, June 18, 2008 | Comments (1)

TMZ is a celebrity news site that ranked No. 4 in the latest Nielsen Online ratings (released this week) for the top 10 blogs in the U.S., with 8 million unique visitors, nearly twice as much as TheHuffingtonPost.To that end, hearing what Alan Citron, TMZ's general manager, is doing to change the news paradigm and attract such an audience is worth noting. I caught up with Alan last week in Hollywood at the OnHollywood conference hosted by AlwaysOn. In this ...

Xobni - a good takeout candidate for Google, Skype?

by Bambi Francisco Roizen, June 17, 2008 | Comments

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When Bill Gates demo's your product in front of thousands and calls it the "next generation of social networking," you can't get much better than that as far as endorsements go. But that doesn't mean Xobni, which co-founder and CEO Matt Brazina calls a "socially-aware utility that lets you find information fast" in your Outlook email, is going to end up in the Microsoft empire, especially if Microsoft isn't going to pay up. "That's not something I can really comment ...

Celebrities and their startups

by Bambi Francisco Roizen, June 15, 2008 | Comments

Norwest's Tim Chang is our guest host; iBeatYou, Yardbarker

Is Baron Davis the new media mogul? In this week's Vator Box, we look at two companies he's affiliated with - IBeatYou, which he co-founded and Yardbarker, which he blogs on. Tim Chang, VC partner at Norwest Venture Partners and our guest host, offers critique and advice for both startups, and chooses one he'd bet on. Tim likes Yardbarker as ...

RockYou - We're bigger than Slide

by Bambi Francisco Roizen, June 15, 2008 | Comments (3)

RockYou co-founder Jia Shen on doubling staff, and his company's $230M valuation

In a world where marketers care more about engagement than passivity, RockYou, a top application maker on social networks, has a great shot at being the place to distribute ads to reach today's youths. The trick is innovating faster than RockYou's oft-mentioned rival, Slide, and building a bigger and better ad sales team. To that end, RockYou, which raised $35 ...

The Laugh Factory to compete with Funnyordie.com, sort of

by Bambi Francisco Roizen, June 12, 2008 | Comments (1)

For nearly 30 years, The Laugh Factory was the venue for comedians to get noticed. Now its online site - laughfactory.com - launched 2 ½ years ago as a place to see some acts, is getting revamped and will allow anyone to upload their funny skits, Jamie Masada, The Laugh Factory’s founder and impresario told me at the AlwaysOn OnHollywood conference this week. It will be launched in about 45 days to two months, Jamie said.Essentially, The Laugh Factory is ...

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