Valleywag (Free subscription) | 9 hours ago
"This is not some coordinated cynical attempt by VCs to talk down valuations or put entrepreneurs on the defensive. We are not spreading the contagion of gloom and doom. It's all about acting... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Silicon Alley Insider (Free subscription) | 10/09/2008
... Capital efficiency has found its moment and we must embrace and extend it. SAI contributor Fred Wilson is a partner at Union Square Ventures. He writes the influential A VC , where this post was originally published.
Silicon Alley Insider (Free subscription) | 10/07/2008
... yet seen the big winners emerge. I think we know where to look for them though. SAI contributor Fred Wilson is a partner at Union Square Ventures. He writes the influential A VC , where this post was originally published.
VCinJerusalem (Free subscription) | yesterday
Not much I can add on a formal VC level to the postings by my VC blogging colleagues Brad Feld and Fred Wilson (definitely read what they have to say). Brad and Fred relate to the current financial crisis by...
One Man Band (Free subscription) | yesterday
... working with others and figuring out how to do things without having to do all the work. (Hat tip: Fred Wilson at A VC and Peter Kafka at Silicon Alley Insider .)
One Man Band (Free subscription) | 10/10/2008
Meltdown Buy From Art.com Is your 401(k) now a 201(k)? (That’s a joke, folks, in case the current marketmelt has turned you humorless.) Fred Wilson at A VC is a venture capitalist. His firm has asked its porfolio companies to seriously examine and improve upon their efficienct use of capital. An excerpt: I pointed out that a number of our [...]
TechCrunch (Free subscription) | yesterday
... saying the boom is the VCs fault, and for them to lecture companies on conserving cash is ironic. Fred Wilson wrote about this issue today and says VCs have a responsibility to give their best advice to their portfolio companies: "It's all about acting responsibly and making sure we all survive to fight another day." But he doesn't address the issue head on. I will. What we're talking...
Seeking Alpha (Free subscription) | 10/09/2008
Fred Wilson submits: My partner Albert calculated early last year that it takes about 1/10th the hardware, software, bandwidth, storage, and other expenses to build a web service compared to what it took in the 1999/2000 time period. That was just as services like Amazon Web Services , Google AppEngine , 10Gen , and other "cloud computing" platforms emerged as real options. It's gotten...
Seeking Alpha (Free subscription) | 10/09/2008
Tom Evslin submits: Are American high tech companies the big winner from the current bouts of deflation? Is the US itself a winner? Remember, deflation changes all the rules we've been used to. You've got to think upside down now that cash is king, at least temporarily. Fred Wilson points out that companies like Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL) have loads of cash and...
Mashable (Free subscription) | 10/09/2008
Earlier today, Aaron Brazell over at Technosailor invoked his fellow technology bloggers to speak up and become leaders through what he sees as “the darkest hour in our recent history.” We need leaders. We need people who are going to step up and instill confidence. Fred Wilson did this yesterday and I want to see more from a fiscally minded individual like him (he’s a VC). Scoble is...
Fractals of Change (Free subscription) | 10/09/2008
Are American high tech companies the big winner from the current bouts of deflation? Is the US itself a winner? Remember, deflation changes all the rules we've been used to. You've got to think upside down now that cash is king, at least temporarily. Fred Wilson points out that companies like Microsoft, Google, and Apple have loads of cash and...
Business Opportunities Weblog (Free subscription) | 10/10/2008
... the bills. Especially companies that operate according to the “freemium” model. What’s “freemium”? Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures nicely defines how the model is supposed to work. Give your service away for free, possibly ad-supported but maybe not, acquire a lot of customers very efficiently through word of mouth, referral networks, organic search marketing, etc., then offer...
Texas Startup Blog (Free subscription) | 10/06/2008
Is the Freemium business model dead? It might be if you are looking to raise venture capital. Fred Wilson is suggesting that there is a movement away from the Freemium approach, like it or not. I first wrote about the Freemium business model back in 2006 in a post titled, “Fred Wilson’s Favorite Business Model“, [...]
broadstuff (Free subscription) | 10/08/2008
Dow Jones 1929 - 1933 courtesy About.com Fred Wilson asks why companies in the main are not buying back their shares: In bad bear markets, like we are in, investors look to corporations to defend their stock and Google has not yet shown an interest in doing that. That's something to look for. When you net out Google's cash, it's trading at $100bn, a mere 12x operating cash flow. That's...
Seeking Alpha (Free subscription) | 10/07/2008
Fred Wilson submits: The Treasury, the Fed, and Warren Buffett have been the only buyers in this meltdown and have been largely focused on financial companies. Meanwhile, the rest of the market has gone down 30% year to date and very few, if any, stocks have been spared. What do we look for next? Does the market just keep going down endlessly? What will bring this to an end? Clearly...
