Nothing To Say

ExactTarget Acquires Twitter Pioneer CoTweet

2010-03-02T11:04:30-05:00

We're excited to that our portfolio company CoTweet has been acquired by ExactTarget - here's the press release complete with quote from Twitter COO Dick Costolo . This is a great outcome for the company and a perfect fit for ExactTarget, and CoTweet CEO Jesse Engle will continue to lead the team and the new Social Media Lab they're creating.

CoTweet is how business does Twitter - and as you can from this "refrigerator door magnet logo wall" from a presentation a few months back, they certainly have attracted a blue-chip set of customers. In fact, ExactTarget was listed among them, something other aspiring startups should take note of.

For me, a key moment in the investment decision was while I attended the Bazaarvoice Social Commerce Summit last year, and the CMO of Dell said she had 39 different Twitter accounts managed by 39 different people and one of them had sold over $1M in computers so far. What I heard was that virtually every business would eventually be managing multiple presences on multiple social media sites and they'd need tools like CoTweet to help manage it.

We've really enjoyed working with the team and their advisors, and with great investors like Steve Anderson at Baseline, Maples Investments, Freestyle Capital, SV Angel and Founders Fund.

We first met Jesse and the team back when they were based in Pennsylvania, but it soon became clear that they belonged in the Bay Area. They've come a long way from Chocolate Avenue in Heshey, PA to Pier 38 in San Francisco, CA and they've still got a long way to go - congrats!

Linchpin - Are You Indespensable?

2010-02-04T20:23:20-05:00

I'm a huge Seth Godin fan, and think he'll eventually be seen as one of the most important thinkers/writers in the digital age, right up there with the likes of Tom Peters and Peter Drucker. I've read almost all of his books, and I think his latest Linchpin is his best ever, and is probably the best book I've read in years.

It's not just about how to succeed at work and what to do, it's about how to live a life and how to be. it's about the choice that everyone has about whether to lead, follow, or get out of the way. He explains how the factory system of the industrial age and the school system invented to support it helped create a nation of obedient followers, and today how a person with an idea has the "means of production" in their laptop. He explains how the world has changed and today it's possible for your job to be your platform in which you practice your "art" and how to shake the fear and overcome "the resistance." He gets into the reason people connect through "gifts," and honestly talks about what to do when things don't work out as planned as well as when they do.

He definitely walks the talk - he innovated with early readers and raised $100K for the Acumen Fund in the process, his book launch was an exciting live event in New York, and he's created a social media book tour. So it's no surprise that as I write this a week after the launch, Linchpin hit the New York Times best seller list and was the number 37 best selling book on Amazon. Go get a copy.

Rixty connects kids and their cash with online games

2010-01-21T13:31:33-05:00

We're pleased to announce our investment in Rixty. You can read more here, but it's a very clever solution to a real problem. Kids don't have credit cards, but they do have cash, and there's no easy way to get that into their favorite online games. So with Rixty, kids can take some change out of the piggy bank, head over to any Coinstar or one of 20,000 other retail locations, and walk out with a code they can use on hundreds of sites including Roblox. For publishers it's really easy to set up and enables a whole new set of customers to buy. We're excited to be working with a strong team and great set of investors on Rixty!

A Blue Hat for Haiti

2010-01-16T07:58:43-05:00

I woke up this morning and found my son playing his favorite game Roblox, a kids virtual world and one of our portfolio companies, where one of the unique things is that the kids/users create all the worlds. Nothing unusual in the fact that he was playing, but today my son was playing one that seemed a little different - and it turns out that some user had created a virtual word of Haiti inside Roblox, complete with ongoing earthquakes. Then he told me about the Blue Hat for Haiti he was wearing, and that when he bought it $.10 goes to Haiti via the American Red Cross directly from Roblox. Right now my son is creating his own world in Roblox about Haiti, and he's going to donate $.10 of his own money for every person who visits it.

He also has the Red Hat for Haiti which costs more but donates $.65, and other kids are creating T-Shirts that say Pray for Haiti and more. It's hard for adults to try to understand what's happened in Haiti and how to help, and it's great to see kids finding ways to engage and help via virtual goods and virtual worlds in their own way.

Another portfolio company myYearbook.com has redirected its already meaningful charity efforts towards Haiti - see the post below where their members have already generated $250,000 through 2009 via their Causes progam. Other technology companies are stepping up in a big way as well.

myYearbook Members Respond to Haiti Catastrophe

January 15th, 2010

We at myYearbook are horrified by the news and images coming out of Haiti. On Wednesday of this week, the company added the Haiti Relief Fund as a Featured Cause in the Causes application, so that members could show their support through Lunch Money donations and earn profile badges. As the day progressed, the response from our members was overwhelming.

The company also posted a featured article urging members to provide financial support direct to charities that pledge to help victims of the catastrophe. myYearbook makes monthly donations on behalf of its members to 16 different charities that are chosen by our users. We have donated over $250,000 in 2009 through our Causes application, which is apportioned based on the Lunch Money giving of our members. For the month of January, we have pledged to give at least $15,000 and up to $25,000 for Haiti relief based on the percent of Lunch Money directed to each cause by our members. The company has also made Haiti Relief the Featured Cause for the month in our Causes application. After January, the company will continue to include Haiti Relief as a cause throughout 2010 to which members can donate Lunch Money.

Thank you to all members for their continued contributions, and we urge you to continue to show your support.

2010-01-10T08:32:38-05:00

An interview I did with Fox Small Business along with @davidsrose and Owen Davis. http://bit.ly/4OQJdn Also testing TypePad "QuickCompose"

What Matters Now... is a free E-Book from Seth Godin

2009-12-28T14:31:48-05:00

Some great one-page insights from some amazing thinkers pulled together by Seth Godin - gets you in the right mode of thinking heading into a new year...

What Matters Now

It's not even 80/20 - 8% of Internet users account for 85% of clicks

2009-11-05T08:51:45-05:00

I'm surprised there hasn't been more focus on the recently updated report from comScore/Starcom/Tacoda titled "Natural Born Clickers." An overview can be found here, but the conclusions are startling:

The number of people who click on dislpay ads has dropped from 32% to 16% in the last 2 years.

8% of all Internet users account for 85% of all clicks

4% of all Internet users are considered "Heavy Clickers" - and make up 50% of all clicks.

Seth Godin talks about it here - likening the focus on just those who click to targeting only left-handed people.

What it highlights is the need to focus on more than just the click - I think the industry is in the situation it is because the click was just the easiest metric to measure back from when the first Zima ad ran on HotWired 15 years ago and got a 78% click-through rate. Remember when we used to talk about how many "hits" your website got and how meaningless that metric quickly became?

The click is still an important metric and a strong signal, but it's time for the industry to move forward wiht better targeting, understanding the value of the impression, embracing social media and new relationships between users and brands, and new forms of engagement. We've got a few companies working on it, and would love to see more working on the problem.

First Round Capital Entertainment Summit

2009-11-02T08:32:34-05:00

Last week we held our first Entertainment Summit in Los Angeles CA at the impressive SLS Hotel, following a similar format we launched at our New York Agency Days last fall. This time we brought together 16 First Round Capital portfolio companies who presented and met with over 100 Hollywood technology and media executives, including attendees from:

Movie Studios: 20^th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Sony Pictures

Record Labels: Sony, Universal, Warner Bros.

Networks/Media Co’s: CBS and CBS Interactive, Comcast, Discover, E!, HBO, Variety, Entertainment Weekly

Games: GameStop, IGN, Marvel

Ad Agencies: Endemol, Initiative, DBC Media, BrandInHand, Moxie Interactive

Mobile and Brands: AT&T, P&G, Kodak

Talent Agencies: CAA, William Morris

Social Networks/Online: News Corp, IAC, MySpace, Fox Audience Network

Investment Banks: GCASavvian, Jefferies, Montgomery and Co., Unions Square Advisors, MESA Global

VC’s: Crosscut, Greycroft, SVAngel, GRP Partners, Rincon, Mailroom Fund

Other: CafePress, JibJab, WhitePages.com, IMDB and more….

We kicked it off with a keynote from Jason Kilar, CEO of Hulu who got us off to a great start and told us about their history and vision of media in the future, and why their customers call Hulu "a brain-spray of awesome."

We had support from our sponsor MovieLabs, and early feedback of the event has been really positive. It looks like we facilitated some good information sharing and helped build new relationships, and we'll look to do more of the same in the future.

New York Entrepreneur Week - November 16th to 20th

2009-10-22T07:36:27-04:00

First Round will be attending and Howard Morgan and I will be presenting - I'm on a panel November 18th at 11:30AM. Please support New York Entrepreneurship and sign up!


New York Entrepreneur Week \| November 16th- 20th, 2009 STAND UP AND COME TOGETHER
Carlos Fernandez Chris McCann Nancy Pedot Shervin Pishevar Omar Amanat Steve Mariotti Robin Kent Marc Cenedella David Rose	New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW) is the largest entrepreneurial movement throughout New York State. For the first time, thousands of entrepreneurs across New York State will have the opportunity to actively engage the foremost entrepreneurs, investors and dealmakers from NY State and around the world. You'll be privy to the ideas and insights of 120 speakers from 50 cities and 3 continents as NYEW unites the State's diverse entrepreneurial community. The week is designed to give you an exclusive educational experience- whether you're an enterprising young idea-stage innovator or a $100M revenue generator, each track is specifically formulated to meet your needs. To take part in the entrepreneurial revolution, join us and attend New York Entrepreneur Week. Be Part of a Remarkable Movement Now is the time to stand up and come together as entrepreneurial Founders and CEO's. We are the catalysts for conquering today's economic challenges. We are the leaders that will turn economic adversity into opportunity. With a mix of inspiring keynote speeches from recognized thought leaders and informative panels delivering best in class thinking and advice, NYEW is for all entrepreneurs - those who consider themselves movement makers, change agents, people helpers or problem solvers. Check out the full agenda at http://www.nyew.org/index.php/events/agenda-schedule/ Unsurpassed Value By uniting all of New York State's most important entrepreneurial groups, you'll reach and learn from New York's best and brightest entrepreneurs who are relentless, driven and dedicated to changing your business, your economy and your world. Unlike any other entrepreneurial event, you will experience: • Pioneering, Innovative and hyper-targeted content Based on Revenue Size o Start-up & Early-Stage o $1-$10MM in Revenue o $10-$25MM in Revenue o $25MM+ in Revenue • 120 Speakers from 18 States and 3 Continents • Intimate networking opportunities on a global scale Click here to watch the NYEW 2009 Highlight Video Are you... A Start-up & Idea-Stage Business? Register here A $1-10MM Revenue Business?, Register here A $10-25MM Revenue Business? Register here A $25MM+ Revenue Business? Register here LIMITED QUANTITIES AVAILABLE - ONLY 125 TICKETS PER REVENUE SIZE!! NYEW focuses on hyper-targeted content by revenue size, but more importantly, on creating a very intimate environment for its attendees. As such, additional tickets will not be released. Distinguished Speakers Include: Carlos Fernandez Mazzi CEO, Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative William J. Clinton Foundation Chris McCann President of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM Nancy Pedot Managing Director at Golden Seeds Former President/CEO of Party City & Gymboree Shervin Pishevar Founder of SGN Named "Bill Gates Worst Nightmare" Omar Amanat Entrepreneur in Residence, Wharton Three Exits Totaling $2BN Steve Mariotti Founder of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Robin Kent Former Chairman & CEO of Universal McCann Worldwide Managed of $16BN Marc Cenedella Founder & CEO of TheLadders.com David S. Rose Chairman of New York Angels Named "The Father of Angel Investing in NY"

New York Entrepreneur Week November 16th-20th, 2009 www.nyew.org

Office Hours, Entrepreneurs and Angels in Toronto on 10/15/2009

2009-10-11T18:08:54-04:00

Attention Toronto area entrepreneurs - we're coming north of the border for the second time for Office Hours - click below to RSVP and we hope to see you there...

Office Hours Toronto
Espresso Etc
350 Dundas Street West Toronto, ON M5T 1G5, Canada
10/15/2009
8:30 AM-10:30 AM EST

Also, later that day I'll be on a panel at the Canadian National Angel Summit - and it looks like Dave McClure of 500Hats fame will also be presenting.