Octane: Angus Davis - Founder & CEO, Swipely</h1> <article> <h1>Octane: Angus Davis - Founder & CEO, Swipely</h1> <p>Keith Cline — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 03:49:21 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-release-date"> <div class="field-label">Release Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">Tue, 10/19/2010</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-blog-author"> <div class="field-label">Author: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Keith Cline - Founder, VentureFizz </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-blog-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-teaser"> <div class="field-label">Teaser: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Our guest on Octane this week is Angus Davis! Angus is a serial entrepreneur, who spent many years in the Bay Area as an early employee of Netscape and then he co-founded Tellme Networks, which was acquired by Microsoft for... </div> </div> </div> <p>Our guest on Octane this week is <a href="http://angusdavis.com/"><strong>Angus Davis</strong></a>! Angus is a serial entrepreneur, who spent many years in the Bay Area as an early employee of Netscape and then he co-founded Tellme Networks, which was acquired by Microsoft for ~$800M. As a native of Rhode Island, he is now working on his latest startup (this time based in Providence) called <a href="http://swipely.com/"><strong>Swipely</strong></a>. </p><p>Swipely is a platform that allows consumers to socialize their shopping experience by sharing purchases and recomending places & products to friends. Investors in Swipely include: First Round Capital, Greylock, Index Ventures, Lowercase Capital, SV Angels (Ron Conway), as well as a variety of individuals (local investor - Lee Hower is part of the roster).</p><p><a href="http://swipely.com/"></a></p><p><strong>VentureFizz: After graduating from high school in Rhode Island, you picked up and moved out to Silicon Valley. What prompted you to make this decision instead of attending college?</strong></p><p>Angus Davis: I went out there for a summer job, and met Mike McCue. I pitched him on some product ideas and directions I thought Netscape should take. He offered me a job working for him in the office of the CTO (Marc Andreessen) on the spot. I was thrilled because I planned to go to college so I could get a job at Netscape. In short, it was my dream job. I called my parents. My dad was a lawyer, as was his dad -- no stranger to higher education -- but he was supportive and told me to go for it because he could tell the opportunity gave me a sense of direction that frankly had been lacking up to that point. My mom was supportive too, but she wanted to know if I could take classes at Stanford. I was so busy at Netscape, however, I never had time for after-work classes.</p><p><strong>VF: There has been some interesting discussions / debates going on in the blogosphere about completing college. What advice would you give someone on this topic?</strong></p><p>AD: My short answer would be, go to college -- there's almost no downside and tons of potential upside. Do as I say, not as a I do :-)</p><p>I recently answered a question about this on Quora (<a href="http://www.quora.com/Should-a-student-finish-college-or-go-work-for-a-startup-if-given-the-chance-to-work-for-a-YC-TechStars-alumni">http://www.quora.com/Should-a-student-finish-college-or-go-work-for-a-startup-if-given-the-chance-to-work-for-a-YC-TechStars-alumni</a>) and here's what I said there:</p><p>"I skipped college to join Netscape when I was 18. I am not sure if it's a path I would recommend to my own children, but I have no regrets and it was one of the most profoundly wonderful experiences of my life (so far!). The opportunity to work alongside great people and learn -- to be "thrown into the deep end of the pool" -- is something I struggle to capture in words. However, the main thing I missed by skipping college to join Netscape University was the social benefit of learning how to get along with roommates, girlfriends, and the like. A lot of what you learn in college is that sort of stuff, so if you skip college, you need to find other ways to learn this stuff."</p><p><strong>VF: What was it like working at Netscape during the mid to late 1990's? What lessons did you learn from Marc Andreesen?</strong></p><p>AD: Netscape had an awesome team of incredibly gifted people. It was truly an honor to learn from so many amazing people there. Marc inspired me by aiming high and thinking big.</p><p><strong>VF: How did you and Mike McCue come up with the idea behind Tellme? How different was the original idea of the company... versus the product which led to the acquisition by Microsoft for ~ $800M?</strong></p><p>AD: Ideas tend to change a lot. Today they call it pivoting, but the concept of changing focus to what works is nothing new. As we were thinking about starting a company, we first considered creating a sort of bank to store all your data. We started talking about all the features of a bank, and when we came to the teller, we thought it would be great if you could call someone to get access to all your data -- your news, your sports scores, your email, your stock portfolio, etc. So we shifted from this "bank for your data" concept to focus on accessing the power of the Internet from this ubiquitous device: a telephone. Keep in mind this was before color screens and SMS, let alone iPhones and the like. When we started Tellme, we focused on becoming Yahoo for the phone - a consumer voice portal supported by advertising. It was a classic B2C play. Within 2 years we realized that was not going to work, so we shifted to a B2B play running the voice application network that powers America's busiest toll-free numbers for companies like American Airlines, FedEx and AT&T.</p><p><strong>VF: As a second-time founder of a company, what are the top 3 lessons that you have learned along the way?</strong></p><p>AD: </p><p>1. Hire a strong team<br />2. Target a large market opportunity that's winnable<br />3. Work hard<br /><br /><strong>VF: What is Swipely?</strong></p><p>AD: Swipely is an online service that gives users an easy way to turn their purchases into conversations. We make it easy for people to shop, share and save by adding value to every swipe. Consumers use Swipely to recommend a restaurant, discover a new movie, save money, and have more fun shopping. Businesses can use Swipely to attract new customers, understand customer behavior, and retain their most loyal customers. We're in the early stages, so we're pushing improvements and changes to the service every week.</p><p><strong>VF: Why did you decide to build Swipely in Providence, RI instead of the Bay Area?</strong></p><p>AD: I always dreamed of having my personal and professional centers of gravity in the same time zone, so I knew that if I was going to start another company, I'd do it on the east coast. I chose Providence over Boston for a few reasons. First, Providence has a high quality of life at affordable cost -- great restaurants, affordable places to live, a great arts scene, world-renowned universities, incredible summer water activities, etc. Second, Providence is highly commutable - 40 minutes from Boston by Amtrak with only 2 stops, a cafe car, and onboard wifi. Third, Brown and RISD are both here in Providence, a great source of talent. Last, as a Rhode Island native, I was compelled to build my next company here out of a sense of wanting to make RI a better place for businesses like ours. So it really boils down to a better quality of life for our employees, a manageable commute for those who choose to stay in Boston, a ready source of highly qualified entry-level talent, and a personal conviction to improve the state I love.</p><p><strong>VF: What are the major differences in terms of building a business as compared to the days of Netscape and Tellme?</strong></p><p>AD: It's cheaper to start Internet companies today. Here are 3 reasons. First, you can rent the network from Amazon EC2 instead of buying it, eliminating millions of dollars in capital expense for computer hardware. Second, you can leverage existing free open source software for a lot of what you need to get started, dramatically lowering costs of software development. Finally, new means of distributing software like Google Adwords, the Apple App Store and Facebook Platform have slashed the costs of acquiring customers. The combination of all three - cheaper hardware, cheaper software, cheaper customer acquisition - is why companies today can start for a fraction of the capital required to start businesses 10 years ago.</p><p><strong>VF: What professional accomplishments are you the most proud of?</strong></p><p>AD: Building the team at Tellme and leading the product strategy that enabled us to grow into a successful company has been my greatest professional achievement thus far. They say lightning doesn't strike twice, but I sure hope to recreate that success here at Swipely on a different coast in a bigger market with an equally impressive founding team.</p><p>Outside of business, I'm proud of the effort I led to hire Deborah Gist as Rhode Island's commissioner of education.</p><p><strong>VF: What advice would you give first time entrepreneurs raising funding?</strong></p><p>AD: For first-time entrepreneurs, I would suggest matching the needs and likely outcomes of the company with the right investor. Building a small business doesn't always mean building a "venture-scale" business, and as such, traditional venture capitalists are not always the most appropriate sources of funding. Pursuing funding from individual angels is often a good place to start. Younger entrepreneurs may want to consider a startup accelerator program like Y Combinator, Techstars or Betaspring. Steer clear of "business plan competitions" and be wary of angel groups long on meetings and lunches but short on decisions and a track record of investment activity. If you have a venture scale idea, probably the best thing to do is go to the next First Round Capital "office hours" or attempt to get a meeting with one of their principals. They are the best professional seed stage venture firm in the U.S. </p><p><strong>VF: If you weren't focused on building Swipely, what are some other underserved markets or emerging technologies where you could build a business?</strong></p><p>AD: There are many. One trend that fascinates me is renting. Companies like <a href="http://www.renttherunway.com"><strong>Rent the Runway</strong></a> rent dresses; Bag Borrow and Steal rent handbags; Exclusive Resorts rents luxury homes. This market seems ripe for opportunity - who will rent jewelry? Sunglasses? Men's suits? Ties? Another trend that's interesting is the creation of niche service peer-to-peer marketplaces that disrupt an inefficient existing market. For example, Ubercab has created a consumer-to-driver marketplace for luxury taxi service that cuts out the traditional dispatcher as the middleman while improving quality of service. Similarly, AirBnB has enabled anyone with a spare bedroom to operate a hotel. Who will do this for car rental (rent my spare car) or heavy equipment (rent unused bobcat from local contractor)?</p><p><strong>VF: Can you share some information about your involvement with the RI Board of Regents? How did you get involved?</strong></p><p>AD: I joined the Board of Regents in 2007. It is the chief policy-setting body for K-12 education in Rhode Island. I was appointed after expressing both my interest in education reform as an economic development imperative, and my outrage with Rhode Island's achievement gap that is an ongoing civil rights injustice of massive proportion. Since joining the board, I worked with other committed education reformers to pass an ambitious expansion of the state's charter school law, ending the ban on new schools. I introduced and passed new regulations to welcome alternative certification programs like Teach for America to our state, and I co-chaired our search committee to recruit Deborah Gist, a nationally recognized leader, to become Rhode Island's next Commissioner of Education, the first change in leadership in 17 years. Earlier this year, Time Magazine named her one of the 100 most influential leaders in the world. We have a lot of work ahead; our ambition is to give Rhode Island children and their parents the best public schools in the nation as measured objectively by student achievement.</p>  </article> <article> <h1>Ask the Startup Lawyer: Incorporation Basics</h1> <p>Keith Cline — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 20:49:28 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-release-date"> <div class="field-label">Release Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">Mon, 10/18/2010</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-blog-author"> <div class="field-label">Author: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Amanda Vendig - Attorney, Foley Hoag LLP </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-blog-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-teaser"> <div class="field-label">Teaser: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> VentureFizz Reader: I am a first time entrepreneur. Can you tell me what I need to be thinking about in terms of incorporating my business? Amanda Vendig, Foley Hoag: When you are thinking of starting a business, some of the first questions you might... </div> </div> </div> <p>Welcome to our first edition of our new Ask the Startup Lawyer series! This is a periodic series where we will cover a variety of topics as it relates to building your business. Questions will be answered by an attorney from Foley Hoag LLP's <a href="http://www.emergingenterprisecenter.com/">Emerging Enterprise Center</a> (a VentureFizz sponsor).</p><p><strong>VentureFizz Reader: </strong>I am a first time entrepreneur. Can you tell me what I need to be thinking about in terms of incorporating my business?</p> <p><strong>Amanda Vendig, Foley Hoag:</strong> When you are thinking of starting a business, some of the first questions you might have are when, where and how can I incorporate my company. Here is a quick primer:</p> <ul><li><strong>When:</strong> The question of when is largely driven by the concept of limited liability. Corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs) can protect their owners’ personal assets from being seized to satisfy the debts and liabilities of the business. Therefore, when you are at the point in your business where you will be entering into contracts that will impose obligations and liabilities on the business, you should be thinking about forming a corporation or an LLC. </li></ul><ul><li><strong>Where:</strong> Most companies are formed in Delaware, which is thought by many to have a sophisticated, well developed and well understood body of corporate law. In many cases, venture capitalists will require incorporation in Delaware in order for them to provide your company with financing. If you expect to obtain venture financing, you should consider forming your company as a Delaware corporation. That being said, if your company will only be controlled by one stockholder and you do not plan to obtain venture financing, forming your company in the state where you are located may be a good way to save on some start up costs as you will not have to bear the cost of qualifying your company to do business in your state as a foreign corporation.</li></ul><ul><li><strong>What:</strong> Corporations are by far the most common entity choice. Venture capitalists will require that you be organized as a corporation. However, if you are not planning on seeking venture capital funding, you may want to consider forming a limited liability company. Whether or not to form a limited liability company, or LLC, is first and foremost a tax question. LLCs are treated as partnerships and are “pass through” entities for federal tax purposes. As a pass through entity, the LLC itself does not pay federal tax on its profits nor does it get a deduction for its losses. The tax profits and tax losses are passed through to the owners of the LLC and are paid directly by them on their tax returns. In the case of a company that expects to produce large amounts of income, this arrangement eliminates the double taxation which occurs in a corporation. However, LLCs can be complex to form and operate and therefore the overall cost of forming and operating an LLC may outweigh its tax treatment benefits. In the case of an ordinary corporation (a so-called "C" corporation), the corporation pays tax on its income and its stockholders pay tax when dividends are paid to them by the corporation. Corporations may also make a "subchapter S" election which allows the corporation to be treated as a pass through entity, but there are certain restrictions on who can be a stockholder of an S corporation and venture capitalists will require an S corporation to convert to be a C corporation before providing funding.</li></ul><ul><li><strong>How: </strong> If you are forming a corporation you will need to file a certificate of incorporation in Delaware, or the equivalent in your chosen state of incorporation. You will also need (a) bylaws, (b) the initial consent of the incorporator which appoints the initial director or directors, and (c) the initial consent of directors approving the bylaws and certain other basic matters and appointing officers. If you are forming an LLC, you will need to file a certificate of formation in Delaware or the state of formation. If you are incorporating in a state other than the state where your business is located, you will also need to file with the state where your business is located to qualify to do business as a foreign corporation. At the time of incorporation, there are also some tax matters to consider. You should apply for an employer identification number from the IRS. In addition if you form a corporation we may advise you to consider Subchapter S election or a Section 83(b) election.</li></ul><p> </p><table style="width: 693px; height: 24px;" border="0"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://www.emergingenterprisecenter.com/"></a></td><td>Have a question for our Ask the Startup Lawyer series? Click <a href="http://venturefizz.com/contact">here</a> to send us your question or send us an email at info @ venturefizz.com. For more information on these topics and many others please visit their website <a href="http://www.emergingenterprisecenter.com/">www.emergingenterprisecenter.com</a> and their blog <a href="http://www.emergingenterprisecenterblog.com/">www.emergingenterprisecenterblog.com</a>. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table>  </article> <article> <h1>VentureFizz - Boston's Weekly Tech Buzz (Oct 11th - Oct 17th)</h1> <p>Keith Cline — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:32:28 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-release-date"> <div class="field-label">Release Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">Mon, 10/18/2010</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-blog-author"> <div class="field-label">Author: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Keith Cline - Founder, VentureFizz </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-teaser"> <div class="field-label">Teaser: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> I am still exhausted from all the networking at the Mass Technology Leadership Council's unConference event. Over 600 people attended last Thursday's... </div> </div> </div> <table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="20"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://www.venturefizz.com/"></a></td> <td align="right" valign="bottom"> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><strong> Follow us on:</strong> </span><a href="http://twitter.com/venturefizz"></a> <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=2586000"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/VentureFizz/125656162239"></a></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="background-image: url(images/banner-gradient.png); width: 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position: 50% bottom; margin-bottom: 20px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="20"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="border-top: 3px solid #374350; border-bottom: 1px solid #dddddd; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em;"> <h1 style="color: #8a949f; font-weight: normal; font-size: 22px;">Buzz from the Week: <strong>Oct 11th – Oct 17th</strong></h1> <p>I am still exhausted from all the networking at the Mass Technology Leadership Council's <a href="http://web.me.com/masstlcwebmaster/MassTLC_2010/Welcome.html"><strong>unConference event</strong></a>. Over 600 people attended last Thursday's event including investors, entrepreneurs (first time & serial), and executives. I loved seeing all the buzz and activity from "Expert Row" where 1-on-1 meetings were being held for sponsored entrepreneurs. Here is a link from one of the popular sessions: <a href="http://inkhousepr.blogspot.com/2010/10/masstlcl2-42-ways-to-get-buzz-for-your.html"><strong>42 Ways to Get Buzz from your Venture</strong></a>. The MassTLC unConference is seriously the best event of the year and if you have never attended...please try to make sure that you attend next year!</p> Other highlights: <br /> <ul><li><a href="http://boston.startupweekend.org/"><strong>Startup Weekend</strong></a> is coming back (Nov 12th - 14th) and this time the 54 hour event will have a <strong>mobile</strong> focus! Have any companies spawned out of Startup Weekend? Just ask the founders of <a href="http://www.getzazu.com/"><strong>Zazu</strong></a>, where the idea behind their product was conceived! Check out all the details <a href="http://boston.startupweekend.org/"><strong>here</strong></a>.</li><li><a href="http://masschallenge.org/"><strong>MassChallenge</strong></a> is hosting their <a href="http://mcfinal.eventbrite.com/"><strong>Final Awards</strong></a> ceremony on Thurs (Oct 21st) where $1M in prizes will be awarded to startups. Check out the details <a href="http://mcfinal.eventbrite.com/"><strong>here</strong></a>.</li><li><a href="http://founderdialogues3.eventbrite.com/"><strong>Founder Dialogues</strong></a> is next Wed (Oct 27th) - this time, <a href="http://foundercollective.com/people/Eric-Paley"><strong>Eric Paley</strong></a> will be chatting with <a href="http://www.communispace.com/about/bio.aspx?id=169"><strong>Diane Hessan</strong></a> from Communispace. Space is limited, so register today by clicking <a href="http://founderdialogues3.eventbrite.com/"><strong>here</strong></a>!!!</li><li>Congrats to online marketplace & video review site - <a href="http://www.dailygrommet.com/"><strong>Daily Grommet</strong></a> on the launch of their new website - check it out <a href="http://www.dailygrommet.com/"><strong>here</strong></a>!</li><li>Interested in learning how to take a company from $10M to over $100M+ in revenues?? <a href="http://www.powerstrategy.com/experience.htm"><strong>Dave Power</strong></a> has put together a new spring semester course at the Harvard Extension School called "<strong>Strategic Management of Growth Companies</strong>" - check out all the details <a href="http://www.extension.harvard.edu/courses/23550.jsp?goback=.gna_2586000.gde_2586000_member_32207064"><strong>here</strong></a>.</li><li>Applications are being accepted for the 2010 Winter session of <a href="http://www.founderinstitute.com/"><strong>The Founder Institute</strong></a> program. Click <a href="http://www.founderinstitute.com/apply/35/ea"><strong>here</strong></a> for all the details.</li><li><a href="../../funding"><strong>Deals</strong></a>: <a href="../../funding/memento-raises-2m-venture-debt-burlington-ma"><strong>Memento</strong></a> ($2M), <a href="../../funding/spark-capital-raises-360m-fund-boston-ma"><strong>Spark Capital</strong></a> (new $360M fund), <a href="../../funding/carecom-raises-20m-funding-waltham-ma"><strong>Care.com</strong></a> ($20M), <a href="../../funding/fashionplaytes-raises-4m-funding-salem-ma"><strong>FashionPlaytes</strong></a> ($4M)</li><li>Lots of great blog posts from our <a href="../../blog"><strong>Voices</strong></a> section last week: <a href="../../blog/marketing-ma"><strong>Dave Power</strong></a><strong> (Power Strategy), <a href="../../blog/three-big-mistakes-new-entrepreneurs-make">Rob May</a> (Backupify), <a href="../../blog/seven-step-approach-agile-marketing">Frank Days</a> (Novell), <a href="../../blog/escapism-vs-engagement-building-better-social-game">Doug Levin</a> (Ayeah Games)</strong>. Also - make sure you read the latest installment of our <strong><a href="../../blog?tid=1679&field_blog_author_value=&body=">Octane</a></strong> series... last week featured <a href="../../blog/octane-coach-wei-ceo-and-co-founder-yottaa"><strong>Coach Wei</strong></a> of Yottaa. Click <a href="../../blog/octane-coach-wei-ceo-and-co-founder-yottaa"><strong>here</strong></a> to check it out.</li></ul> <p>We have a new series on VentureFizz that starts today called <strong>Ask the Startup Lawyer</strong>. This will be a periodic series where an attorney from Foley Hoag LLP's <a href="http://www.emergingenterprisecenter.com/"><strong>Emerging Enterprise Center</strong></a> will answer a specific question from our readers. As you might know, <a href="http://www.emergingenterprisecenter.com/"><strong>Foley Hoag LLP</strong></a> is a sponsor of VentureFizz and a fantastic resource for all entrepreneurs at <strong>any</strong> stage. If you have a question that you would like to see answered in this series, feel free to send me an email. Check out the first post focused on <strong>Incorporation Basics</strong> by clicking <a href="../../blog/atsa-incorporation-basics"><strong>here</strong></a>.</p> <p>As always...thanks for your support!</p> <p>Best, Keith</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 4px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>Sponsored Advertisement </strong></span></p> <a href="http://www.utest.com/landing-page/crowdsource-your-mobile-app-testing?ls=Banner%20Ad&mc=DISPLAY-VentureFizz-mobile-728X90-Black-Static-iPhoneBetterTesting"></a> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="4"><p> </p><p><strong>JOB BOARD</strong></p></td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><a href="../../jobs/lead-software-engineer-rails"></a></td> <td valign="top"><span style="color: #929486;"> </span><br /></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><strong><a href="../../jobs/lead-software-engineer-rails">Lead Software Engineer (Rails)</a>, Lattice Engines</strong></p> Location: <em>Boston, MA</em> - Categories: <em>Software Engineering / QA, Web Development & UX</em> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">I am a product manager at Lattice Engines and I am looking to build a team for a very innovative new product. When I joined Lattice a few years... <a href="../../jobs/lead-software-engineer-rails">Details »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><a href="../../jobs/web-operations-managerdirector"></a></td> <td valign="top"><br /></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><strong><a href="../../jobs/web-operations-managerdirector">Web Operations Manager / Director</a>, Ion Interactive</strong></p> Location: <em>Cambridge, MA</em> - Categories: <em>IT / Systems / Networking</em> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Are you passionate about leading web operations? Do you see it as way more than system administration, but rather a key strategic piece of a world-class SaaS... <a href="../../jobs/web-operations-managerdirector">Details »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><a href="../../jobs/senior-engineering-manager"></a></td> <td valign="top"><br /></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><strong><a href="../../jobs/senior-engineering-manager">Senior Engineering Manager</a>, Sonian</strong></p> Location: <em>Needham, MA</em> - Categories: <em>IT / Systems / Networking, Software Engineering / QA</em> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Sonian is looking for an experienced engineering manager to join our team. Reporting to the CTO, this role will be the main interface between the engineering team... <a href="../../jobs/senior-engineering-manager">Details »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><a href="../../jobs/marketing-manager-membership"></a></td> <td valign="top"><br /></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><strong><a href="../../jobs/marketing-manager-membership">Marketing Manager</a>, Sermo</strong></p> Location: <em>Cambridge, MA</em> - Categories: <em>Marketing & Product Mgmt</em> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Would you like to make an impact in the daily lives of tens of thousands of physicians by putting state of the art social media tools to good use? Sermo, the…<a href="../../jobs/marketing-manager-membership">Details »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><a href="../../jobs/technical-solutions-engineer"></a></td> <td valign="top"><br /></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><strong><a href="../../jobs/technical-solutions-engineer">Technical Solutions Engineer</a>, ScanScout</strong></p> Location: <em>Boston, MA</em> - Categories: <em>Professional Services, Software Engineering / QA</em> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">ScanScout is looking to add a talented Technical Solutions Engineer to the team who will be instrumental in growing ScanScout's expanding footprint in the... <a href="../../jobs/technical-solutions-engineer">Details »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"><br /></td> <td colspan="2"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><strong>Looking for more jobs? <a href="../../jobs">Check the website »</a></strong></span></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"><br /></td> <td colspan="2"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><strong>Hiring? Post a job - only $50 for a 30 day listing! <a href="../../user/register">Click here to create an account »</a></strong></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="4"><p> </p><p><strong>COMPANY RESEARCH<br /></strong></p></td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><a href="../../company-research/ksplice"></a></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><strong><a href="../../company-research/ksplice">Ksplice</a></strong></p> Location: <em>Cambridge, MA</em> - Categories: <em>Enterprise Software | Infrastructure, Storage, Security</em> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Ksplice is an enterprise software company making reboots a thing of the past. More than 200 companies and tens of thousands of production systems...<a href="../../company-research/ksplice">Details »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><a href="../../company-research/paperthin"></a></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><strong><a href="../../company-research/paperthin">PaperThin</a></strong></p> Location: <em>Quincy, MA</em> - Categories: <em>Content Management | Enterprise Software</em> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">PaperThin, Inc. is a privately held MA-based company. Founded in 1993, PaperThin’s flagship product CommonSpot™ is a leading content management...<a href="../../company-research/paperthin">Details »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><a href="../../company-research/eons"></a></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><a href="../../company-research/eons"><strong>Eons</strong></a></p> Location: <em>Charlestown, MA</em> - Categories: <em>Consumer Web | Internet | Social Networking</em> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Eons.com is the online community for spirited BOOMers who want to explore their passions, keep in touch with friends, connect with interesting people...<a href="../../company-research/eons">Details »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><a href="../../company-research/accurev"></a></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><strong><a href="../../company-research/accurev">AccuRev</a></strong></p> Location: <em>Lexington, MA</em> - Categories: <em>Other Software | Technology Tools</em> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">AccuRev offers comprehensive solutions for successfully scaling Agile processes across the enterprise. These solutions optimize and automate the software.... <a href="../../company-research/accurev">Details »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br /></td> <td colspan="2"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><strong>Looking for more companies? <a href="../../research">Check the website »</a></strong></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="4"><p> </p><p><strong>DEALS</strong></p></td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 15 2010</span> <a href="../../funding/memento-raises-2m-venture-debt-burlington-ma">- Memento raises $2M in venture debt – Burlington, MA</a> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 14 2010</span> <a href="../../funding/spark-capital-raises-360m-fund-boston-ma">- Spark Capital raises $360M fund – Boston, MA</a> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 12 2010</span> <a href="../../funding/carecom-raises-20m-funding-waltham-ma">- Care.com raises $20M in funding – Waltham, MA</a> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 12 2010</span> <a href="../../funding/fashionplaytes-raises-4m-funding-salem-ma">- FashionPlaytes raises $4M in funding – Salem, MA</a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><span style="font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../funding">Deals archive »</a></strong></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="4"><p> </p><p><strong>NEWS</strong></p></td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 17 2010</span> - Publisher: <strong>Innovation Economy</strong> - <strong><a style="font-size: 12px;" href="../../news/shoe-entrepreneurs-step-design-marketing"> Shoe entrepreneurs step into design, marketing</a></strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px;"> On a Thursday last August, Monika Desai set out a few dozen pair of shoes on tables in the cafeteria at CommuniSpace Inc., a Watertown... <a href="http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/10/17/shoe_entrepreneurs_step_into_design_marketing/">Read the story »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 15 2010</span> - Publisher: <strong>Xconomy</strong> - <strong><a style="font-size: 12px;" href="../../news/10-takeaways-masstlc%E2%80%99s-unconference">10 Takeaways from MassTLC’s UnConference</a></strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px;">Overwhelming. Inspiring. Thought-provoking. These are all words that apply to the spectacle that was yesterday’s Mass Technology... <a href="http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2010/10/15/10-takeaways-from-masstlcs-unconference/">Read the story »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 15 2010</span> - Publisher: <strong>Mass High Tech</strong> - <strong><a style="font-size: 12px;" href="../../news/masschallenge-finalists-abroad101-zyrra-already-amassing-funds">MassChallenge finalists Abroad101, Zyrra already amassing funds</a></strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px;">You heard Thursday about the 26 companies that have a shot at a share of $1 million when the MassChallenge startup competition announces... <a href="http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2010/10/11/daily107-MassChallenge-finalists-Abroad101-Zyrra-already-amassing-funds.html">Read the story »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 14 2010</span> - Publisher: <strong>BostInnovation</strong> - <strong><a style="font-size: 12px;" href="../../news/peekaboo-finds-where-partnership-brings-mobile-coupons-50-million-users">Peekaboo Finds Where: Partnership Brings Mobile Coupons to 50 Million Users</a></strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px;">Boston’s fastest growing mobile coupon provider Peekaboo Mobile has scored a big partnership with Where Inc. Both mobile companies have... <a href="http://bostinnovation.com/2010/10/14/peekaboo-finds-where-partnership-brings-mobile-coupons-to-50-million-users/">Read the story »</a></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="4"><p> </p><p><strong>VOICES</strong></p></td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 15 2010</span> - Blogger: <strong>Dave Power – President, Power Strategy</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../blog/marketing-ma">Marketing for M&A - Read »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 14 2010</span> - Blogger: <strong>Rob May – Co-Founder, Backupify</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../blog/three-big-mistakes-new-entrepreneurs-make">Three Big Mistakes New Entrepreneurs Make - Read »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 13 2010</span> - Blogger: <strong>Frank Days – Director, New & Social Media, Novell</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../blog/seven-step-approach-agile-marketing">A seven step approach to agile marketing - Read »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 12 2010</span> - Blogger: <strong>Keith Cline – Founder, VentureFizz</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../blog/octane-coach-wei-ceo-and-co-founder-yottaa">Octane: Coach Wei – CEO & Co-Founder, Yottaa - Read »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 12 2010</span> - Blogger: <strong>Doug Levin – CEO, Ayeah Games</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../blog/escapism-vs-engagement-building-better-social-game">Escapism vs. Engagement: Building a Better Social Game - Read »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><span style="font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../blog">All Voices »</a></strong></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="4"><p> </p><p><strong>NETWORKING CALENDAR<br /></strong></p></td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 18 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>NEVCA</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-nevca-office-hours-w-jeff-fagnan-atlas-venture">BREW: Office Hours with Jeff Fagnan, Atlas Venture »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 18 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Hebrew SeniorLife</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/hebrew-seniorlife-entrepreneurship-panel">Entrepreneurship Panel »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 18 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>MIT Entrepreneurship Competition</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/mit-100k-elevator-pitch-contest-0">MIT $100K Elevator Pitch Contest »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 18 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>ENET</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-enet-jeffrey-glass-bain-capital-ventures">BREW: Jeffrey Glass, Bain Capital Ventures »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 18 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>MIT Enterprise Forum</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/mit-ent-forum-interactive-advertising">Interactive Advertising »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 19 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Constant Contact</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-social-media-marketing-made-simple">BREW: Social Media Marketing Made Simple »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 19 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>NEVCA</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-nevca-office-hours-w-chip-hazard-flybridge-capital-partners">BREW: Office Hours w/ Chip Hazard, Flybridge Capital Partners »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 19 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Chai Tech</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/chai-tech-featuring-vc-jeff-bussgang">Oct meeting featuring VC Jeff Bussgang »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 19 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>EntreTech</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-entretech-simple-internet-based-business-models-work">Simple internet based business models that work »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 19 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>DartBoston</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/dartboston-capitalize-embedly-pitching-highland-capital-partners">Capitalize with Embedly pitching Highland Capital Partners »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 20 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>McCarter & English LLP</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/insiders-guide-early-stage-fundraising">Insider’s Guide to Early Stage Fundraising »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 20 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>OpenCoffee Club</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/opencoffee-cambridge-meetup-34">OpenCoffee Cambridge »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 20 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>MassTLC</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/improving-quality-healthcare-robotics">Improving the quality of healthcare with robotics »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 20 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>NEVCA</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-nevca-office-hours-w-charles-huang-spark-capital">BREW: Office Hours with Charles Huang, Spark Capital »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 20 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Internet Society of New England</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-internet-its-past-and-possible-futures">BREW: The Internet – Its past and possible futures »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 20 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>MassDevice and Propel Careers</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-profiling-entrepreneurial-healthcare-it-companies">BREW: Profiling Entrepreneurial Healthcare IT Companies »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 20 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Super Web-O-Matic</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-website-makeover-event-future-face-digital-business">BREW: A Website Makeover Event – The Future Face of Digital Business »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 20 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Vilna Shul</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/vilna-shul-google-v-facebook-whose-hand-would-you-rather-be-holding">Google vs. Facebook: Whose hand would you rather be holding »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 20 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Boston BizSpark Meetup</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/boston-bizspark%E2%84%A2-financial-projections-pitch-decks-wraise-huddlehub-live-pitches">Financial Projections for Pitch Decks / wRaise & HuddleHub live pitches »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 21 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Boston Business Journal</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/bbj-leaders-diversity">Leaders in Diversity »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 21 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>The Capital Network</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/tcn-expert-lunch-angel-venture-term-sheets">Angel & Venture Terms Sheets »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 21 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Dogpatch Labs</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/dogpatch-labs-office-hours-21">Office Hours »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 21 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>NEVCA</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-nevca-office-hours-w-matt-witheiler-flybridge-capital-partners">BREW: Office Hours w/ Matt Witheiler, Flybridge Capital Partners »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 21 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>MassChallenge</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/masschallenge-final-awards-ceremony">Final Awards Ceremony »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 21 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>NETSEA</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/business-mixer-technology-sales-executives">Business Mixer for Technology Sales Executives »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 21 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Brown Enterprise Forum</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-brown-enterprise-forum-cap-table-basics">BREW: Cap Table Basics »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 22 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Mass Innovation Nights</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/massinno-innovation-breakfast-20">Innovation Breakfast »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 22 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Supporting Strategies & Acceleration Partners</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/business-fundamentals-bootcamp">Business Fundamentals Bootcamp »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 22 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Bain Capital Ventures</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/bain-capital-ventures-office-hours-9">Office Hours »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 22 & 23 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>BostInnovation</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/shutup-startup-weekend">ShutUp & StartUp Weekend »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><span style="font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events">All Networking Events »</a></strong></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 4px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong> </strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><strong> Follow us on:</strong> </span><a href="http://twitter.com/venturefizz"></a> <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=2586000"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/VentureFizz/125656162239"></a></p>  </article> <article> <h1>Marketing for M&A</h1> <p>Keith Cline — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 17:25:58 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-release-date"> <div class="field-label">Release Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">Fri, 10/15/2010</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-blog-author"> <div class="field-label">Author: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Dave Power - President, Power Strategy </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-blog-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-teaser"> <div class="field-label">Teaser: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> The conventional wisdom in M&A is that ‘companies are bought not sold’. But companies that market themselves to strategic buyers — in a subtle way — can attract the right buyers at better valuations. How can executives and their boards engage in Marketing for M&A... </div> </div> </div> <p>The conventional wisdom in M&A is that ‘companies are bought not sold’. But companies that market themselves to strategic buyers — in a subtle way — can attract the right buyers at better valuations. How can executives and their boards engage in <em>Marketing for M&A</em> without appearing to hang a ‘For Sale’ sign on the company?</p> <p>Some boards are reticent to even tee up the topic of exit strategy until an exit is imminent. Perhaps it’s the remnant notion that <em>real CEOs focus on IPOs</em> – even though less than 1 percent of private companies go public. This sentiment can make it difficult for a CEO to introduce the topic of exit strategy for fear of looking too anxious to sell. But just because a potential acquirer shows interest doesn’t mean you have to sell.</p> <p>In fact, <em>Marketing for M&A</em> well in advance of an exit makes good business sense because it can:</p> <ul><li>Identify a broader range of potential acquirers from different sectors.</li><li>Ensure that high potential acquirers are aware of the company and its solutions.</li><li>Help management understand why different acquirers might be interested, and how they would value of the business (e.g., revenue growth and profit potential, customer base, technology, people, partnerships).</li><li>Define new business development priorities; that is, find a reason to do business with strategic partners who are high potential acquirers.</li><li>Shape product development priorities by giving higher priority to features that strategic buyers would value.</li></ul> <p><strong>The Novera Experience</strong></p> <p>When I joined Novera Software most experts agreed that the application server would not be a standalone category; startups would be bought by systems vendors. Unfortunately, Novera had already missed the first wave of consolidation. BEA bought our direct competitor, Weblogic, without considering Novera; our engineering-centric, Boston-based team had not met with BEA management. Weblogic, on the other hand, had as an angel investor and board member Regis McKenna, the well-connected West Coast PR expert. Sun Microsystems bought two applications server companies – Kiva and NetDynamics – passing over Novera even though it was the only one of the three companies that had build a Java application server to Sun’s J2EE standard. HP bought Bluestone.</p> <p>With only IBM, Oracle and Novell uncommitted to an application server platform the prospects for an exit via the systems vendors was bleak. The Novera team created a <em>Marketing for M&A</em> plan and discovered an entire sector we had overlooked – the enterprise application integration or EAI vendors.</p> <p>EAI vendors such as Tibco, Active Software, and TSI International were in the business of integrating back office applications such as Oracle and SAP. However, because their technology for exchanging data between applications was <em>asynchronous</em> (that is, a publish-and-subscribe model) they were about to be shut out of the market for integrating with web applications built for the <em>synchronous</em> world of the internet. The solution was to use a Java application server. WebMethods, the XML pioneer, understood this when they bought Active Software en route to a spectacular IPO. Through our <em>Marketing for M&A</em> campaign we made the case to TSI that Novera’s Java application server was the perfect complement to their Mercator data transformation engine. TSI International acquired Novera and repositioned itself as Mercator Software.</p> <p><strong>Best Practices In Marketing for M&A</strong></p> <p>Having seen many excellent <em>Marketing for M&A</em> campaigns, here are some best practices:</p> <ul><li>Start with the big picture view of the major players in your industry. It’s helpful to create a visual map of your market sector and adjacent sectors – the ecosystem of your industry. A good business development executive can easily construct this.</li></ul> <ul><li>Brainstorm the possible consolidation scenarios. It’s apparent, for example, that Google and Apple are going head-to-head to create one-stop-shopping platforms for marketing on mobile devices. Microsoft and Yahoo will not be far behind given their investments in internet marketing solutions. What else will these companies need to acquire?</li></ul> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">Jumping to another sector, will wind energy be a standalone industry, or will the many wind information solutions and wind energy production companies end up in the hands of electric utilities or energy systems providers such as GE.</p> <ul><li>Boil this work down to the list of 5 or 10 most attractive and high potential acquirers of your business.</li></ul> <ul><li><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Here’s the critical step</span>: For each of the 5 or 10 high potential acquirers, define <span style="text-decoration: underline;">exactly</span> what they would value about your company. Stand in the shoes of each potential acquirer, with an appreciation for their market opportunity, competitive challenges and product gaps. How would your company’s assets accelerate their strategic agenda?</li></ul> <ul><li>A creative approach: Imagine that you are a stock or industry analyst writing about the acquisition of your company after the <span style="color: #000000;">fact.</span> How might you make the case that this was a brilliant move on the part of the acquirer? (I didn’t really understand the EMC/VMWare acquisition of SpringSource until I read an analysis by the research firm 451).</li></ul> <ul><li>Finally, look for opportunities to tell your story to these strategic partners. Don’t assume they understand the strategic fit. You need to connect the dots … in a subtle way!</li></ul><p><em><a href="http://wdpower.wordpress.com/about/"><strong>Dave Power</strong></a> is the President of <a href="http://www.powerstrategy.com/"><strong>Power Strategy</strong></a> in Cambridge. He was previously a Partner with Fidelity Ventures and Charles River Ventures. You can find this post, as well as additional content on his blog called <a href="http://wdpower.wordpress.com/"><strong>Barriers to Growth</strong></a>. You can also follow Dave (<a href="http://twitter.com/techpower"><strong>@techpower</strong></a>) on Twitter by clicking <a href="http://twitter.com/techpower"><strong>here</strong></a>.</em></p>  </article> <article> <h1>Three Big Mistakes New Entrepreneurs Make</h1> <p>Keith Cline — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 19:48:52 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-release-date"> <div class="field-label">Release Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">Thu, 10/14/2010</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-blog-author"> <div class="field-label">Author: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Rob May - Co-Founder, Backupify </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-blog-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-teaser"> <div class="field-label">Teaser: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Backupify has now raised a total of $5.6M. My fundraising success has led to many entrepreneurs reaching out to ask for advice. I see a common set of mistakes that people make when they think about raising money, based on my conversations with other entrepreneurs. Below are the three... </div> </div> </div> <p><a href="http://www.backupify.com/">Backupify</a> has now raised a total of $5.6M. My fundraising success has led to many entrepreneurs reaching out to ask for advice. I see a common set of mistakes that people make when they think about raising money, based on my conversations with other entrepreneurs. Below are the three key things you need to think about to be successful.</p> <p><strong>1. It’s never the right time. Talk to investors now.</strong><br /> There is a common pattern where people reach out and ask me questions and, when I like their business idea I offer to introduce them to some investors who may like it. “We aren’t ready for that,” they always say. This is mistake number one. You should always be building relationships with investors. </p> <p>I know what most of these entrepreneurs are thinking. They are thinking that if they go to talk to somebody once they have a kick ass product and a bunch of users, the investors will be impressed and cut them a check. And maybe that will happen. But business isn’t about magic milestones, it’s about grinding it out through the good days and bad. So if you talk to an investor in the early early days, when they won’t fund you, and they see you make progress as you keep checking in every few months, that is so much more impressive. </p> <p>Reach out to investors early and often. Tell them what you are going to do, then do it. That is the best way to get funded.</p> <p><strong>2. Ask for money</strong>.<br /> I see way too many entrepreneurs dancing with investors waiting for the investors to make an offer. Don’t wait. If you think you are at a point where you need or want funding, ask directly. Don’t keep pitching without asking. If you don’t force investors to make a decision now, it is in their best interest to wait, so that is what they will do. I realize it’s scary because when you start asking you will get a bunch of NOs. But I guarantee you that almost every VC backed entrepreneur in the world has gotten way more NOs than YESs. Dozens of people have passed on Backupify. But what do I care? I found a few believers. That’s all that matters. If you are uncomfortable asking for money and being told NO, you are probably in the wrong business.</p> <p><strong>3. Don’t get hung up on valuation.</strong>.<br /> I see too many entrepreneurs who are concerned about their ownership percentage. Don’t be. Instead, be concerned about being easy to work with and providing a good return to your investors, and then you are backable again. Get a big win under your belt, and trust me, you can negotiate a much better premoney valuation next time around. For now, just get it done and get a win. Too many good ideas never make it because the entrepreneurs get offended by what they believe are lousy funding terms. </p> <p>It’s never easy to raise money. It requires gumption, persistence, and hard work. Each time you get told NO, don’t look at it as a failure - look at it as a learning experience that puts you that much closer to a YES.</p><p><em><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/robmay"><strong>Rob May</strong></a> is a Co-Founder of <a href="http://www.backupify.com/"><strong>Backupify</strong> </a>in Cambridge, Massachusetts. You may find this blog post, as well as additional content on his blog called <a href="http://coconutheadsets.com/"><strong>Coconut Headsets</strong></a>. You can also follow Rob (<a href="http://twitter.com/robmay"><strong>@robmay</strong></a>) on Twitter by clicking <a href="http://twitter.com/robmay"><strong>here</strong></a>.</em></p>  </article> <article> <h1>A seven step approach to agile marketing</h1> <p>Keith Cline — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:08:43 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-release-date"> <div class="field-label">Release Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">Wed, 10/13/2010</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-blog-author"> <div class="field-label">Author: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Frank Days - Director, New and Social Media, Novell </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-blog-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-teaser"> <div class="field-label">Teaser: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> In the past, I’ve discussed the benefits of applying agile project management to marketing programs without actually discussing the details of how it works. Here is the agile process I frequently use for managing marketing projects. Keep in mind, that this is not great for projects with... </div> </div> </div> <p>In the past, I’ve discussed the benefits of applying agile project management to marketing programs without actually discussing the details of how it works. Here is the agile process I frequently use for managing marketing projects. Keep in mind, that this is not great for projects with many hard deadlines like tradeshows, direct mail or print advertising.</p> <p><strong>1. Assign roles</strong> – The key stakeholders are the “scrum master” (the person who runs the daily scrum meetings), “program owner” (clearly articulates the goals for the project), “chickens” (people involved in the project from an informational standpoint), and “pigs” (the people who will do the heavy lifting for the project).</p> <p><strong>2. Decide on the duration and frequency of the sprints</strong> – In the world of agile project management, the idea is to break the work into smaller digestible chunks (ie sprints) and meet frequently to discuss progress on the specific tasks. I prefer two to three week sprints. In a perfect world we would have short scrum meetings daily but most of my agile marketing projects have meetings every other day. The scrum frequency depends on the work velocity.</p> <p><strong>3. Set goals for first sprint</strong> – The first one is the most difficult. I suggest first convening a “sprint planning meeting”. Before starting the sprint, we discuss the theme, review tasks and estimate time requirements. We’ll then put these tasks on post-it notes on a dedicated wall. I prefer Post-its to note cards to avoid the need for pushpins. Finally, we segregate the Post-its into the current sprint (what we will work on for the next two weeks) vs. the sprint backlog (what will come in later sprints). If there is time, we’ll also discuss who will handle specific tasks.</p> <p><strong>4. Sprint meetings</strong> – I put the scrum meetings in the calendar for all the stakeholders except the “chickens”. I’ll send the birds an email letting them know about the meetings and welcoming them to join us. My logic is that this is an open meeting but only the people with real tasks responsibilities are required to attend.</p> <p><strong>5. Discuss, discuss, and discuss again</strong> – We basically run through the Post it notes on the wall and sort them into “in process” tasks vs. the “spring backlog”. We then close the meeting by asking the “pigs” “what have you completed”, “what are you working on next” and “what are the risks”. The goal is to quickly identify risks. These meetings should be short (under 20 mins) so there is nothing wrong with taking issues offline to keep things moving.</p> <p><strong>6. Move the Post-its</strong> – When tasks are completed, move the cards to the done column.</p> <p><strong>7. Sprint planning (again)</strong> – As you approach the end of the sprint, it is time to think about the next one. This meeting will review the last sprint’s results and look at what is next.</p> <p>It is sort of like the instructions on the shampoo bottle … lather, rinse, repeat as needed…</p> <p>I hope this is helpful. Please let me know if you have anything to add. I am by no means a scrum or agile expert and would value people’s suggestions on ways to improve this process.</p><p><em><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/tangyslice"><strong>Frank Days</strong></a> is the Director, New & Social Media at Novell and former COO of <a href="http://www.firstgiving.com/">Firstgiving</a>. You can find this post, as well as additional content on his blog called: <a href="http://www.agilemarketingblog.com/"><strong>Agile Marketing Blog</strong></a>. You can also follow Frank on Twitter (<a href="http://twitter.com/tangyslice"><strong>@tangyslice</strong></a>) by clicking <a href="http://twitter.com/tangyslice"><strong>here</strong></a>.</em></p>  </article> <article> <h1>Octane: Coach Wei - CEO and Co-Founder, Yottaa</h1> <p>Keith Cline — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 20:11:40 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-release-date"> <div class="field-label">Release Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">Tue, 10/12/2010</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-blog-author"> <div class="field-label">Author: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Keith Cline - Founder, VentureFizz </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-blog-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-teaser"> <div class="field-label">Teaser: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Our guest on Octane this week is Coach Wei! Coach is serial entrepreneur, who has been busy building his latest startup called Yottaa, which is a cloud computing startup focused on website performance. He recently raised $4M in venture capital funding for Yottaa. He is also the founder... </div> </div> </div> <p>Our guest on Octane this week is <a href="http://www.coachwei.com/blog/about/"><strong>Coach Wei</strong></a>! Coach is serial entrepreneur, who has been very busy building his latest startup called <a href="http://www.yottaa.com"><strong>Yottaa</strong></a>, which is a cloud computing startup focused on website performance. He recently <strong><a href="http://venturefizz.com/funding/yottaa-raises-4m-funding-cambridge-ma-0">raised</a></strong> $4M in venture capital funding for Yottaa. He is also the founder and Chairman of <a href="http://www.nexaweb.com/"><strong>Nexaweb Technologies</strong></a> in Burlington. </p><p>As part of this interview, Coach touches upon a variety of topics such as his latest startup, why it is a great time to be an entrepreneur, and his ideas around emerging technologies where opportunities exist for entrepreneurs.</p><p><a href="http://www.yottaa.com/"></a></p><p><strong>VF: Can you provide an overview as to your background and professional history?</strong></p><p>CW: I am an engineer by training. I used to code in 7-8 languages - none of them is as hard as the English language though : ) </p><p>My career started at EMC Corporation as an engineer developing software to manage storage networks. We built V1.0 of EMC ControlCenter, one of the most successful software products in the industry (very proud!). It was a great learning process for me at EMC. In 2000, I left EMC to start a software company called “Nexaweb”. Over the last 8-9 years, I have been very busy at Nexaweb as it grew from ground zero to profitability. In 2009, I started Yottaa with my co-founder Bob Buffone (Bob is actually my Chief Architect at Nexaweb), an exciting venture breaking new ground in cloud computing. </p><p><strong>VF: What does your latest startup <a href="http://www.yottaa.com">Yottaa</a> do?</strong></p><p>CW: Yottaa makes web sites faster. Yottaa is a cloud service company – we are initially focused on web performance. Yottaa products help site owners analyze, monitor and optimize web performance. </p><p><strong>VF: How did you come up with the idea behind <a href="http://www.yottaa.com">Yottaa</a>?</strong></p><p>CW: In some way, I have been obsessed with user experience, starting as far back as in graduate school. My first company, Nexaweb, aims to bring a richer user experience to business applications, such as Rich Internet Application (RIA) and Ajax. Yottaa is about a faster and speedier experience. We are working towards a vision of “Instantaneous Internet”. </p><p>More specifically, over the last many years, I have been involved with many situations dealing with web performance. Web application performance depends on hundreds of factors, ranging from server side issues, network issues, protocol concerns, page composition to browser performance, etc. Many of these factors are outside of a web site owner’s control. To provide a good performance to end users, a web site owner needs to continuously assess the current performance, track the impact of changes over time, do performance benchmarks, and perform optimizations. To effectively carry out these activities, a significant amount of technical resources as well as substantial hardware and software investments are required. Large organizations may be able to do so. But small to median sized businesses are left out of luck. </p><p>So we saw the need for an integrated platform that makes it very easy and cost effective for customers to handle these challenges. Yottaa is the one place that answers all performance questions and auto-magically fixes performance problems. There is no software to install and there is no hardware to purchase. The value proposition is simple and clear for web site owners, especially small to median sized businesses: All you need to do is to sign up on yottaa.com, and your site will automatically become faster. </p><p><strong>VF: You recently raised venture capital funding from General Catalyst, Stata Venture Partners, and CambridgeWest Ventures. How is the fund raising climate out there?</strong></p><p>CW: Fund raising climate is fantastic for entrepreneurs! The early stage investment industry is going through a major transformation. There are a few interesting changes:</p><ol><li>There are many more funding sources now beyond the traditional VC funding. Examples include accelerator/mentorship programs, super angels and micro-cap VC firms. In Boston, <a href="http://www.techstars.org/">TechStars</a>, <a href="http://hackerangels.com/">HackerAngels</a>, <a href="http://foundercollective.com/">Founder Collective</a>, <a href="http://www.nextviewventures.com/">NextView Ventures</a>… just to name a few. None of them was available just a couple of years ago. </li><li>The emergence of super angels and micro-cap VC firms brings structural changes to the early stage investment industry. These groups typically invest a smaller amount (a few hundred thousand to a million dollars) into a startup and typically come in at an earlier stage than a typical VC round. So the bar to raise seed financing is lower and much more flexible. Super angels and Micro-cap VC firms are the reasons that so many early stage companies get funded and become successful. A good example Micro-cap VC firm in the Boston area is NextView Ventures, founded by David Beisel, Rob Go and Lee Hower. </li><li>The emergence of mentorship programs. TechStars is a good example. TechStars combines seed investment, a mentorship program, and a 3-month bootcamp. It is the best path to transform a student or an engineer into an entrepreneur, with the bonus of building a real community and connections. I just wish TechStars existed when I was starting out ten years ago!</li><li>The emergence of younger and more tech savvy “investors”. In Boston area, folks like Roy Rodenstein, Dharmesh Shah and Sim Simeonov are super smart and visionary. They can spot an opportunity long before others. We are lucky to have them. </li></ol><p>So it is great to be an entrepreneur right now!</p><p>That being said, raising financing is never an easy task. You have to make sure that you have a solid business case, and work hard to get financing done. If you are Brett Favre, NFL teams sought you out to play for them. For the rest of us, you have to fight hard to get on the roster. </p><p><strong>VF: What advice would you give first time entrepreneurs trying to raise capital?</strong></p><p>CW: I developed lots of opinions over the last ten years. Most of them are fairly useless. A few helpful ones are:</p><ul><li>If you haven’t, try to participate in a mentorship program such as TechStars. </li><li>Establish an advisory board. Find and reach out to entrepreneurs who have been there and done that before, talk to them about your startup and get their feedback. If you feel there is a connection, ask them to be on your advisory board. Don’t be offended or discouraged if some of them didn’t get back to you or said “no”. Be respectful for their time. A good advisory board can make a huge difference in an early stage startup. </li><li>Be a networking maniac! When I was starting Nexaweb, I didn’t know anybody. But I was out networking every night for 6 months (That means a lot of beer)! </li><li>Learn and connect with angels, super angels, micro-cap and VC firms. </li><li>Don’t fool yourself on your capital needs. Building a substantial business takes a substantial amount of capital. Make sure you raise a meaningful amount of money so that you can get to a meaningful milestone. </li></ul><p><strong>VF: How different is it building a company today versus when you started Nexaweb in 2000?</strong></p><p>CW: Well, the biggest difference is that I’m older now and actually need 7 hours sleep per day : )</p><p>There is amazing similarity – both periods are major economic downturns. Fortunately high tech industry is not the criminal in the current downturn. The environment for entrepreneurship is better now and the climate for startup is better now:</p><ol><li>The emergence and wide acceptance of “customer development”, “agile development” and “lean startup” methodology are extremely helpful to entrepreneurs. I highly recommend them. None of them existed ten years ago. At that time, I was trying really hard to learn and apply the “waterfall” development methodology and “enterprise software business model”. </li><li>Early stage investing has shifted and is getting better. The lack of super angels, micro-cap and tech savvy young investors during early 2000s made a VC round as the viable option. It is so much better now. </li><li>Cloud computing is a major game changer. During 2000 to 2002, the only thing related to “cloud” was Marc Andreessen’s “LoudCloud” (which shifted into OpsWare and sold to HP). LoudCloud itself was at the brink of collapsing. Today, cloud computing opens the door to so many innovations. Startups should think hard on how to leverage the cloud. I am actually working on something for the community with General Catalyst and Sim Simeonov’s FastIgnite called “Cloud Innovation Summit”. Stay tuned. </li></ol><p><strong>VF: For any company, the team is very critical...especially the first 10-15 hires. How are you going about building out the initial team at Yottaa?</strong></p><p>CW: This is a tough one. I have made mistakes and will definitely continue to make mistakes going forward. </p><p>Nevertheless, I follow four criteria in evaluating candidates, in the order of priority: 1. Integrity; 2. Motivation; 3. Intelligence; 4. Domain expertise. </p><p>Needless to say that “integrity” is the most important factor. You need to believe that you can trust this person and have the confidence to have this person cover your back for you in a battle field. “Motivation” is the 2nd most important factor to me (Sometimes I phrase it as “passion”). Someone highly motivated or someone with passion for the job has a much higher likelihood to perform well. I place “intelligence” above “domain expertise”. There are many studies on what qualities of successful CEOs have in common. The conclusion is actually none except for “intelligence”. Some are introverts and some of extraverts. Their backgrounds vary. The only consistent common trait of them is that they are all highly intelligent. </p><p>At Yottaa, we are still building our team. We are currently about 25 people now (mostly technical). Right now, I am actually looking for a <a href="http://venturefizz.com/jobs/marketing-leader">VP or Director of Marketing</a> as well as a Sales and Biz Dev Leader. Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have recommendations. </p><p><strong>VF: If you weren't focused on building Yottaa, what are some other underserved markets or emerging technologies where you could build a business?</strong></p><p>CW: I was going to say buying an underdeveloped island, but Hawaii is already taken. So beyond the Hawaii idea, what I would be interested in working on include:</p><ul><li>Digital life solutions or services: services for consumers in the context of connected home entertainment and mobility (iPhone, iPad, Android) are fascinating and have huge potential.</li><li>Marketing software and services. This is a significant space that is still wide open. Companies like <a href="http://www.hubspot.com/">HubSpot</a> and <a href="http://www.performable.com/">Performable</a> have been doing very well and will become huge successes (I have HubSpot envy, <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/bhalligan">@bhalligan</a>). But there are still many underserved needs in this space. There are plenty of opportunities for successful startups here. </li><li>Consumerization of enterprise offerings. I am not sure whether the word “Consumerization” exists. What I mean is to take a consumer web application approach to enterprise technology. I think there are many enterprise product categories can be disrupted and transformed using such an approach. </li></ul><p>If you happen to be working in these areas, feel free to get in touch with me as I have spent some time thinking about them over the last few years. Given that I have Yottaa and the Hawaii idea to get me fully occupied, I’d be happy to share with you my thoughts on them.</p>  </article> <article> <h1>Escapism vs. Engagement: Building a Better Social Game</h1> <p>Keith Cline — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:40:13 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-release-date"> <div class="field-label">Release Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">Tue, 10/12/2010</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-blog-author"> <div class="field-label">Author: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Doug Levin - CEO, Ayeah Games </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-blog-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-teaser"> <div class="field-label">Teaser: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> “Mindless fun.” “Collective socializing.” “Escapism.” These are words that observers have used to describe the drive behind the sharp uptake in social gaming this past summer. According to the Neilson Company, social networks and blogs have experienced a large jump... </div> </div> </div> <p>“Mindless fun.” “Collective socializing.” “Escapism.” These are words that observers have used to describe the drive behind the sharp uptake in social gaming this past summer.</p> <p>According to <a href="http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/what-americans-do-online-social-media-and-games-dominate-activity/">the Neilson Company</a>, social networks and blogs have experienced a large jump in their share of user-time recently—from 16% in June 2009 to 23% in June 2010. Online usage of email, portals, and instant messaging, conversely, have declined sharply. <em>Coincidently,</em> all these functions have been—during the same timeframe—newly implemented through Facebook. This shift indicates a fundamental change in the way people are choosing to communicate with their friends, family and colleagues. <a href="http://www.siliconvalley.com/ci_15655431?IADID=Search-www.siliconvalley.com-www.siliconvalley.com">Nielsen found</a> that, overall, a combination of social networks and online games are consuming 33% of internet time, up from a combined 25%.</p> <p>To me, this increase is more than simply a growing trend; games <em>themselves</em> are more engaging as more and more users are drawn to the rapid advancements in virtual aesthetics and quality game play.</p> <p>So, <em>how</em> do you make a game engaging? <em>How</em> do you sustain a player’s interest in a game?</p> <p>Here’s what we’re concentrating on as we build the next <strong>great</strong> Facebook game:</p> <ul><li>Providing a clear and coherent purpose for our game, <em>upfront</em></li><li>Generating real-time suggestions for improving game play as users begin interacting with the game</li><li>Delivering great graphics and production, for an all around “easy-swallow” of the game</li><li>Introducing <em>just</em> the right number of surprises and incentives to stay in the game</li><li>Minimizing repetitive activities</li><li>Making the game accessible to players of all backgrounds, ages, and interests</li><li>Providing clear, achievable, and intuitive earning structures and player achievements</li><li>Building a simple and user-friendly game economy </li><li>Giving players multiple ingress and egress points, thus making the game experience both accessible and flexible</li><li>Instilling a sense of uniqueness: there’s no other game like this on the market</li><li>Generating a renewable stream of gameplay; the game never gets “old” because new content is constantly being fed into the system.</li><li>Enabling players to easily, instinctively, and frequently make in-game purchases</li><li>Offering new and exciting types and levels of interaction with friends and family</li></ul> <p>What do <em>you</em> think of this list? What’s most important to <em>you</em>?</p> <p>Altogether, our game mechanics and design points produce a “psychic takeaway” from the game experience, polarizing users nearly immediately (and, as we’ve tested, in a way that <em>most often</em> brings them back). <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/production_values">Production values</a> help, but the bottom line is that people play games for fun; without an engaging concept for a game, players just don’t feel any incentive to continue. When all of the pieces of the puzzle come together with a holistic synergy, these features generate “player-commitment” to a project—<span style="text-decoration: underline;">a</span> game becomes <span style="text-decoration: underline;">their</span> game. (This week, for example, my favorite social game was <a href="http://www.fruitninja.com/">“Fruit Ninjas</a>” for the iPad, that combines clever game mechanics with excellent production values, from <a href="http://www.halfbrick.com/">Halfbrick Studios</a>. Within the next week or two, however, I’m confident I’ll have shifted to another.)</p> <p>As we move forward with our design, we’re actively building a game that draws increasing interaction between friends and family. In future blogs, we’ll tackle this subject more directly. Suffice to say, however, we aspire to a Disney-esque goal: wholesome fun for the family with high production values.</p><p><a href="http://www.ayeahgames.com/about-us.php"><strong><em>Doug Levin</em></strong></a><em> </em><em>is the Chief Executive Officer of Ayeah Games, Inc. For more information about Ayeah Games see </em><a href="http://www.ayeahgames.com/"><em>www.ayeahgames.com</em></a><em>, or</em><em> </em><a href="http://twitter.com/ayeahgames"><em>@ayeahgames</em></a><em> </em><em>or </em><a href="http://www.facebook.com/AyeahGames"><em>www.facebook.com/AyeahGames</em></a><em>. You can also follow Doug (<a href="http://twitter.com/dalev"><strong>@dalev</strong></a>) on Twitter by clicking <a href="http://twitter.com/dalev"><strong>here</strong></a>.</em></p>  </article> <article> <h1>VentureFizz - Boston's Weekly Tech Buzz (Oct 4th - Oct 10th)</h1> <p>Keith Cline — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 18:49:42 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-release-date"> <div class="field-label">Release Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">Mon, 10/11/2010</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-blog-author"> <div class="field-label">Author: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Keith Cline - Founder, VentureFizz </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-teaser"> <div class="field-label">Teaser: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Last week was FutureM... this week the focus turns to BREW (Boston Region Entrepreneurship Week). Although BREW has expanded into a whole month's worth of events, the main emphasis is between Oct 13th & 21st. There are several great events which are all posted on our... </div> </div> </div> <table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="20"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://www.venturefizz.com/"></a></td> <td align="right" valign="bottom"> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><strong> Follow us on:</strong> </span><a href="http://twitter.com/venturefizz"></a> <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=2586000"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/venturefizz"></a></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="background-image: url("\"images/banner-gradient.png\""); width: 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position: 50% bottom; margin-bottom: 20px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="20"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="border-top: 3px solid #374350; border-bottom: 1px solid #dddddd; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em;"> <h1 style="color: #8a949f; font-weight: normal; font-size: 22px;">Buzz from the Week: <strong>Oct 4th – Oct 10th</strong></h1> <p>Last week was <a href="http://futurem.org/"><strong>FutureM</strong></a>... this week the focus turns to <a href="http://www.brewboston.org/"><strong>BREW</strong></a> (Boston Region Entrepreneurship Week). Although BREW has expanded into a whole month's worth of events, the main emphasis is between Oct 13th & 21st. There are several great events which are all posted on our <a href="../../events"><strong>calendar</strong></a>. The must attend event for BREW is <strong>Mass Technology Leadership Council's <a href="http://web.me.com/masstlcwebmaster/MassTLC_2010/Welcome.html">2010 unConference</a></strong>. I attended last year's event and it exceeded all expectations. What makes it special? First... the people who attend. Second... the content - which is ultimately created by the attendees. Check out all the details <a href="http://web.me.com/masstlcwebmaster/MassTLC_2010/Welcome.html"><strong>here</strong></a>. We hope to see you there!</p> <p>Speaking of <a href="http://www.brewboston.org/"><strong>BREW</strong></a>... get a <strong>free</strong> cup of coffee from <a href="http://www.kangogift.com/rosies-bakery"><strong>Rosie's Bakery</strong></a> or <a href="http://www.kangogift.com/beantowne-coffee-house"><strong>BeanTowne Coffee House</strong></a> as the official "brews" of BREW. Text the word "brew" to 32075 and you will receive a <a href="http://www.kangogift.com/"><strong>KangoGift</strong></a> for a free cup of coffee. Nice!!!</p> Other highlights: <br /> <ul><li>I'm looking forward to the new book coming out on Oct 19th by <a href="http://www.feld.com/about"><strong>Brad Feld</strong></a> & <a href="http://www.davidgcohen.com/bio/"><strong>David Cohen</strong></a> of <a href="http://www.techstars.org/"><strong>TechStars</strong></a>. It is called: <em><strong>Do More Faster: TechStars Lessons to Accelerate Your Startup</strong></em>. The book also features a couple of chapters from <strong>Bill Warner</strong>. Check out the details <a href="http://www.domorefasterbook.com/"><strong>here</strong></a>.</li><li>Missed out on a <a href="http://futurem.org/"><strong>FutureM</strong></a> event? On their <a href="http://futurem.org/"><strong>website</strong></a>, they have 22 videos from their YouTube channel. You can also check out the event hosted by <a href="http://fastignite.com/"><strong>FastIgnite</strong></a> and <a href="http://www.generalcatalyst.com/"><strong>General Catalyst</strong></a> called: <em><strong>Customer Development - The Second Decade</strong></em> by clicking <a href="http://www.livestream.com/brilliantvideoproductions/video?clipId=pla_b4ea43b7-9947-4085-a9a9-97d097501c2c&utm_source=lslibrary&utm_medium=ui-thumb"><strong>here</strong></a>.</li><li>The latest version of the - <a href="http://www.massitsallhere.com/"><strong>Massachusetts It's All Here</strong></a> - website launched last week, as part of the statewide college student retention effort.</li><li>Our latest installment of <a href="../../blog?tid=1679&field_blog_author_value=&body="><strong>Octane</strong></a> features <strong>Steven Lee</strong> - Co-Founder & CTO of <a href="http://www.scanscout.com/"><strong>ScanScout</strong></a> in Boston. How did Steven, as a first time entrepreneur, raise angel funding from Ron Conway? Find out <a href="../../blog/octane-steven-lee-co-founder-cto-scanscout"><strong>here</strong></a>.</li><li>Check out all the great blog posts from our <a href="../../blog"><strong>Voices</strong></a> section: <a href="../../blog/can-vcs-be-value-investors"><strong>Jeff Bussgang</strong></a> (<strong>Flybridge Capital Partners</strong>), <a href="../../blog/agile-next-generation-three-ways-go-beyond-scrum"><strong>Andy Singleton</strong></a> (<strong>Assembla</strong>), <a href="../../blog/focus"><strong>Philip Jacob</strong></a> (<strong>StyleFeeder</strong>), <a href="../../blog/looking-tom-brady"><strong>Lee Hower</strong></a> (<strong>NextView Ventures</strong>).</li></ul> <p>We value your opinion and we want your feedback! What can we do to make VentureFizz an even better resource for you? Please drop us an email. We are interested in hearing all of your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions.</p> <p>Happy Columbus Day!</p> <p>Best, Keith</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 4px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>Sponsored Advertisement </strong></span></p> <a href="http://www.generalcatalyst.com/"></a> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="4"><p> </p><p><strong>JOB BOARD<br /></strong></p></td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><a href="../../jobs/marketing-software-engineer"></a></td> <td valign="top"><span style="color: #929486;"> </span><br /></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><strong><a href="../../jobs/marketing-software-engineer">Marketing Software Engineer</a>, uTest</strong></p> Location: <em>Southborough, MA</em> - Categories: <em>Marketing & Product Mgmt, Software Engineering / QA</em> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">uTest is looking for a software developer who can bring exceptional technical acumen and vision to our team. We’ve built the world’s…<a href="../../jobs/marketing-software-engineer">Details »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><a href="../../jobs/co-founder"></a></td> <td valign="top"><br /></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><strong><a href="../../jobs/co-founder">Co-Founder</a>, RippleFunction.com</strong></p> Location: <em>Boston, MA</em> - Categories: <em>Software Engineering / QA</em> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">RippleFunction is a graduate of Capital Factory 2010 program. RippleFunction creates, manages and tracks event promotions. We... <a href="../../jobs/co-founder">Details »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><a href="../../jobs/software-engineer-ii-java-sensor-processingnetworking-cse0501-dg"></a></td> <td valign="top"><br /></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><strong><a href="../../jobs/software-engineer-ii-java-sensor-processingnetworking-cse0501-dg">Sofware Engineer II - Java</a>, Charles River Analytics</strong></p> Location: <em>Cambridge, MA</em> - Categories: <em>Software Engineering & QA</em> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Charles River Analytics is seeking an experienced software engineer to develop software for innovative sensor processing applications... <a href="../../jobs/software-engineer-ii-java-sensor-processingnetworking-cse0501-dg">Details »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><a href="../../jobs/product-manager-5"></a></td> <td valign="top"><br /></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><strong><a href="../../jobs/product-manager-5">Product Manager</a>, ATG</strong></p> Location: <em>Cambridge, MA</em> - Categories: <em>Marketing & Product Mgmt</em> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">A trusted, global specialist in e-commerce, ATG has spent the last decade focused on helping the world's premier brands....<a href="../../jobs/product-manager-5">Details »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><a href="../../jobs/manager-development-infrastructure"></a></td> <td valign="top"><br /></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><strong><a href="../../jobs/manager-development-infrastructure">Manager, Development Infrastructure</a>, Endeca</strong></p> Location: <em>Cambridge, MA</em> - Categories: <em>IT / Systems / Networking</em> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Endeca is a leading provider of search applications. Search applications built on Endeca’s technology deliver the clearest visibility into information... <a href="../../jobs/manager-development-infrastructure">Details »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><a href="../../jobs/software-engineer-9"></a></td> <td valign="top"><br /></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><strong><a href="../../jobs/software-engineer-9">Software Engineer</a>, KnowledgePath</strong></p> Location: <em>Burlington, MA</em> - Categories: <em>Professional Services, Software Engineering / QA</em> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Have you wanted to be part of the growing ecommerce market? Here’s your chance to join a young, growing ecommerce consulting company... <a href="../../jobs/software-engineer-9">Details »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"><br /></td> <td colspan="2"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><strong>Looking for more jobs? <a href="../../jobs">Check the website »</a></strong></span></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"><br /></td> <td colspan="2"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><strong>Hiring? Post a job - only $50 for a 30 day listing! <a href="../../user/register">Click here to create an account »</a></strong></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="4"><p> </p><p><strong>COMPANY RESEARCH<br /></strong></p></td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><a href="../../company-research/decktout"></a></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><strong><a href="../../company-research/decktout">decktOut</a></strong></p> Location: <em>Boston, MA</em> - Categories: <em>Consumer Web | Internet</em> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">decktOut is a high-end, online luxury handbag exchange service. This members’ only website allows users to refresh their designer collection in...<a href="../../company-research/decktout">Details »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><a href="../../company-research/blogcastr-0"></a></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><strong><a href="../../company-research/blogcastr-0">Blogcastr</a></strong></p> Location: <em>Cambridge, MA</em> - Categories: <em>Consumer Web | Internet</em> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Blogcastr is a free, easy-to-use live blogging service that solves these problems. It enables anyone to blogcast events in real-time, organize...<a href="../../company-research/blogcastr-0">Details »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><a href="../../company-research/experience"></a></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><strong><a href="../../company-research/experience">Experience</a></strong></p> Location: <em>Boston, MA</em> - Categories: <em> Consumer Web | Internet </em> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Experience is the only university-endorsed career network bridging the gap between college and the working world. Since 1996, we have...<a href="../../company-research/experience">Details »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><a href="../../company-research/ptc-parametric-technology-corporation"></a></td> <td colspan="2"> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 4px;"><strong><a href="../../company-research/ptc-parametric-technology-corporation">Parametric Technology Corporation</a></strong></p> Location: <em>Needham, MA</em> - Categories: <em>CAD | Enterprise Software | Manufacturing</em> <p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">PTC provides discrete manufacturers with software and services to meet the globalization, time-to-market and operational efficiency objectives... <a href="../../company-research/ptc-parametric-technology-corporation">Details »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br /></td> <td colspan="2"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><strong>Looking for more companies? <a href="../../research">Check the website »</a></strong></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="4"><p> </p><p><strong>DEALS</strong></p></td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 8 2010</span> <a href="../../funding/nitrosecurity-raises-6m-funding-portsmouth-nh">- NitroSecurity raises $6M in funding – Portsmouth, NH</a> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 7 2010</span> <a href="../../funding/play140-raises-500k-funding-cambridge-ma">- Play140 raises ~$500K in funding – Cambridge, MA</a> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 6 2010</span> <a href="../../funding/echo-nest-raises-7m-funding-somerville-ma">- The Echo Nest raises $7M in funding – Somerville, MA</a> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 5 2010</span> <a href="../../funding/black-duck-software-acquires-ohlohnet-waltham-ma">- Black Duck Software acquires Ohloh.net – Waltham, MA</a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><span style="font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../funding">Deals archive »</a></strong></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="4"><p> </p><p><strong>NEWS</strong></p></td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 10 2010</span> - Publisher: <strong>Innovation Economy</strong> - <strong><a style="font-size: 12px;" href="../../news/how-raise-money-if-you-haven%E2%80%99t-started-start">How to raise money if you haven’t started a start-up</a></strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px;">This is the easiest way to get money from investors for your business idea: Be a person who has made millions of dollars... <a href="http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2010/10/10/how_to_raise_money_if_you_havent_started_a_start_up/">Read the story »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 10 2010</span> - Publisher: <strong>Innovation Economy</strong> - <strong><a style="font-size: 12px;" href="../../news/more-advice-raising-money-first-time-entrepreneurs">More advice on raising money, for first-time entrepreneurs</a></strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px;">Today's Globe column collects advice from local investors and entrepreneurs about raising money — specifically for first-time... <a href="http://www.boston.com/business/technology/innoeco/2010/10/more_advice_on_raising_money_f.html">Read the story »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 8 2010</span> - Publisher: <strong>Mass High Tech</strong> - <strong><a style="font-size: 12px;" href="../../news/mass-gaming-firms-aim-bring-social-games-next-level">Mass. gaming firms aim to bring social games to next level</a></strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px;">A handful of Massachusetts companies are out to change social gaming from a way to annoy your Facebook friends with... <a href="http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2010/10/04/daily55-Mass-gaming-firms-aim-to-bring-social-games-to-next-level.html">Read the story »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 6 2010</span> - Publisher: <strong>Xconomy</strong> - <strong><a style="font-size: 12px;" href="../../news/crimson-hexagon-edges-forward-social-media-analysis-big-customers-bing">Crimson Hexagon Edges Forward in Social Media Analysis with Big Customers Like Bing</a></strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px;">OK, I think both the Boston and Seattle tech communities should pay attention to this startup. Mostly because it overlaps with a number of local... <a href="http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2010/10/06/crimson-hexagon-edges-forward-in-social-media-analysis-with-big-customers-like-bing/">Read the story »</a></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><span style="font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../news">More News »</a></strong></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="4"><p> </p><p><strong>VOICES</strong></p></td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 8 2010</span> - Blogger: <strong>Jeff Bussgang – General Partner, Flybridge Capital Partners</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../blog/can-vcs-be-value-investors">Can VCs Be Value Investors? - Read »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 7 2010</span> - Blogger: <strong>Andy Singleton – Founder & President, Assembla</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../blog/agile-next-generation-three-ways-go-beyond-scrum">Agile, the next generation: Three ways to go beyond Scrum - Read »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 6 2010</span> - Blogger: <strong>Philip Jacob – Founder & CTO, StyleFeeder</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../blog/focus">Focus - Read »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 5 2010</span> - Blogger: <strong>Keith Cline – Founder, VentureFizz</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../blog/octane-steven-lee-co-founder-cto-scanscout">Octane: Steven Lee, Co-Founder & CTO, ScanScout - Read »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 4 2010</span> - Blogger: <strong>Lee Hower – Partner & Co-Founder, NextView Ventures</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../blog/looking-tom-brady">Looking for Tom Brady - Read »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><span style="font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../blog">All Voices »</a></strong></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="4"><p> </p><p><strong>NETWORKING CALENDAR<br /></strong></p></td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 11 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>IBM Center for Social Software</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/ibm-center-social-software-speaker-series-s-craig-watkins-young-and-digital">Craig Watkins on the Young and the Digital »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 12 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>The Capital Network</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/tcn-breakfast-roundtable-angel-group-and-venture-capital-term-sheets-0">Angel Group and Venture Capital Term Sheets »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 12 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>WPI Venture Forum</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/wpi-venture-forum-opportunities-healthcare-it-0">Opportunities in Healthcare IT »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 12 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Future Forward Events</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-take-flight-paper-airplane-design-contest-networking-night">BREW: Take Flight, Paper Airplane Design Content & Networking Night »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 12 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Punchbowl.com</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-punchbowlcom-celebrates-brew-week">BREW: Punchbowl.com Celebrates BREW Week »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 12 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>South Shore Innovation</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-startup-story-slam">BREW: Startup Story Slam »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 12 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Boston Young Entrepreneurs</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/boston-young-entrepreneurs-lets-get-together">Let’s Get Together »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 12 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Boston Nightowls</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/boston-nightowls-meetup-2">October Meeting »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 12 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Boston Ruby</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/boston-ruby-websockets-ruby">Websockets with Ruby »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 13 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>OpenCoffee Club</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/opencoffee-cambridge-meetup-33">Cambridge Meetup »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 13 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Project 11 Ventures</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-build-your-prioritized-product-customer-development">BREW: Build Your Prioritized Product & Customer Development »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 13 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>New England Venture Capital Association</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-nevca-office-hours-w-andrew-parker-spark-capital">BREW: Office Hours w/ Andrew Parker, Spark Capital »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 13 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>North Shore Technology Council</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/nstc-fall-networking-event">Fall Networking Event »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 13 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Open Angel Forum</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/open-angel-forum">Open Angel Forum Boston »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 13 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Mass Technology Leadership Council</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/masstlc-unconference-pre-party">BREW: MassTLC unConference Pre-Party »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 13 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Mass Innovation Nights</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-mass-innovation-nights-october">BREW: October Mass Innovation Nights »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 13 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>New England Venture Network</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-nevn-using-pr-social-media-generate-buzz-your-startup">Using PR & Social media to Generate Buzz for your Startup »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 13 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>BostonPHP</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/bostonphp-learn-css">Learn CSS »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 13 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>128 Innovation Capital Group</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/128-innovation-capital-group-5-things-you-must-know-about-raising-angel-investment-presented-">The 5 Things You Must Know About Raising Angel Investment »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 14 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Mass Technology Leadership Council</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/masstlc-innovation-2010-unconference">BREW: MassTLC Innovation 2010 unConference »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 14 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>South Shore Innovation</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-south-shore-innovation-round-table">BREW: South Shore Innovation Round Table »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 14 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>PoweredUp</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-poweredup-boston">BREW: PoweredUp Boston »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 14 & 15 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>eCoast & NH High Technology Council</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/techworld-2010-1">TechWorld 2010 »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 14 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Dogpatch Labs</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/dogpatch-labs-office-hours-20">Office Hours »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 14 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>New England Venture Capital Association</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-nevca-office-hours-w-paul-flanagan-sigma-partners">BREW: Office Hours with Paul Flanagan, Sigma Partners »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 14 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Harvard Business Forum</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-hbs-entrepreneurship-forum">BREW: HBS Entrepreneurship Forum »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 15 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Mass Innovation Nights</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/massinno-innovation-breakfast-19">Innovation Breakfast »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 15 & 16 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Dealer.com</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/vermont-tech-jam-30">Vermont Tech Jam 3.0 »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 15 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>New England Venture Capital Association</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-nevca-office-hours-w-axel-bichara-atlas-venture">BREW: Office Hours with Axel Bichara, Atlas Venture »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 15 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Bain Capital Ventures</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/bain-capital-ventures-office-hours-8">Office Hours »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 15 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>HubSpot</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-hubspot-tv">BREW: HubSpot TV »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 15, 16 & 17 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>OpenSQL</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/opensql-camp-boston-2010">OpenSQL Camp Boston 2010 »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 15, 16 , & 17 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Startup Weekend</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/brew-new-england-startup-weekend">BREW: New England Startup Weekend »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 16 & 17 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>jQuery</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/jquery-boston-conference">jQuery Boston Conference »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-size: 11px;"> <td><span style="color: #929486;">Oct 16 & 17 2010</span> - Organization name: <strong>Music Hack Day</strong> <p style="margin: 4px 0px 0px; font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events/music-hack-day-boston-2010">Music Hack Day Boston 2010 »</a></strong></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><span style="font-size: 12px;"><strong><a href="../../events">All Networking Events »</a></strong></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 4px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong> </strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><strong> Follow us on:</strong> </span><a href="http://twitter.com/venturefizz"></a> <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=2586000"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/venturefizz"></a></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table><p> </p>  </article> <article> <h1>Can VCs Be Value Investors?</h1> <p>Keith Cline — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 03:50:33 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-date field-field-release-date"> <div class="field-label">Release Date: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <span class="date-display-single">Fri, 10/08/2010</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-blog-author"> <div class="field-label">Author: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Jeff Bussgang - General Partner, Flybridge Capital Partners </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-blog-thumbnail"> <div class="field-label">Thumbnail: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-teaser"> <div class="field-label">Teaser: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Security Analysis is cited by Warren Buffet as one of his top four favorite and most influential books. Written by Columbia University Professors Benjamin Graham and David Dodd, it was first published in 1934. The book is a thick tome that articulates the thesis of value investing – the analytical techniques for valuing... </div> </div> </div> <div class="entry-body"><div><div class="item-body"><div><div><p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Security-Analysis-Foreword-Buffett-Editions/dp/0071592539" target="_blank">Security Analysis</a> is cited by Warren Buffet as one of his top four favorite and most influential books. Written by Columbia University Professors Benjamin Graham and David Dodd, it was first published in 1934. </p> <p>The book is a thick tome that articulates the thesis of value investing – the analytical techniques for valuing securities and seeking to invest in those securities in the context of their underlying value. The latest printing, the sixth edition, contains a foreword from the Oracle of Omaha himself as well as a preface from hedge fund investor <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAYNXzill3A" target="_blank">Seth Klarman of The Baupost Group</a>, who is regarded by many to be one of the modern masters in the art of value investing.</p> <p>As a venture capitalist reading the book and trying to absorb its investment lessons, I wondered – can VCs be value investors? After all, the philosophy of value investing, in theory, should cut across all asset classes and managers. The precepts and principals therefore should apply to the venture capital business as well.</p> <p>Sadly, they don’t. </p> <p>Klarman writes: "Investing in bargain-priced securities provides a "margin of safety"-room for error, imprecision, bad luck, or the vicissitudes of the economy and stock market.” </p> <p>Unfortunately, VCs don’t operate with a margin of safety, even if they are able to find and negotiate good deals. Later stage investors may have downside protection if they buy smart, but early-stage VCs do not. If a portfolio company goes bad, there is typically barely any salvage value. </p> <p>As one of my partners is fond of saying, “A good price doesn’t help a bad investment”. That is why VCs tend to emphasize “clean terms”, which are entrepreneur-friendly rather than focus on complex bells and whistles to protect downside. And that is why you will see large loss ratios in VC portfolios, sometimes as high as 20-30%. In fact, if a VC doesn’t have high a loss ratio, one might argue they aren’t taking enough risk. As one Silicon Valley veteran put it to me the other day, “I can only lose 1 time my money.”</p> <p>There is a see saw debate often heard in the hallways of VC firms – does success come from being a good stock-picker or company-builder? In other words, will a VC generate strong returns because they are good at finding the best companies and entrepreneurs to invest in, or will the returns be generated by adding value to companies through shrewd strategic guidance and savvy recruiting and team-building?</p> <p>The answer appears to be both, but even the debate itself is also framed incorrectly, I would argue. Entrepreneurship is all about people. The VC business has evolved into a world where the challenge is less about choosing the best entrepreneurs to invest in, bur rather convincing the best entrepreneurs to take your money. This dynamic is unique as compared to other asset classes. Imagine a world where the highest quality forests choose which endowment they’d like as their owner; or a public stock chooses which hedge fund they want to own 10% of their outstanding stock. Sounds ridiculous? That’s precisely what is happening when VCs compete with each other and chase after the best entrepreneurs, offering entrepreneur-friendly terms, supportive advice and value-add.</p> <p>But although the VC business doesn’t lend itself to value investing, VCs would benefit from many of its lessons. For example, placing an emphasis on thoughtful analysis and due diligence of business models and market dynamics rather than pure, instinctual speculation. Further, in a world of multi-hundred million dollar exits and a weak IPO environment, exerting some price discipline makes sense for VC investors, who are often pushed by entrepreneurs beyond their limits (“If you like the deal at $20 million pre, why wouldn’t you like it at $25 million?”). Deal prices must be scrutinized in the context of realistic growth assumptions, future capital intensity and target market sizes. As Graham and Dodd put it, when an investor is blinded by the pursuit of growth, “Carried to its logical extreme, there is no price too high for a good [company], and that such an issue was equally ‘safe’ after it had advanced to 200 as it had been at 25.”</p> <p>That’s why, in the end, the VC business is still a blend of art and science. It is part financial asset class, part creative entrepreneurial endeavor. And, under any analysis, is not for the faint of heart.</p><p><strong><em><a href="http://www.flybridge.com/team/Jeffrey-Bussgang">Jeff Bussgang</a></em></strong><em> is a General Partner with <strong><a href="http://www.flybridge.com/">Flybridge Capital Partners</a></strong>. You can find this post, as well as additional content on his blog called: <strong><a href="http://www.seeingbothsides.com/">Seeing Both Sides</a></strong>. You can also follow Jeff on Twitter (<a href="http://twitter.com/bussgang"><strong>@bussgang</strong></a>) by clicking <a href="http://twitter.com/bussgang"><strong>here</strong></a>.</em></p></div></div></div></div></div>  </article> </main></body></html>