VULTURE CAPITAL
If you've turned on your television or connected to the Internet in the past few weeks, you've most likely heard this term being thrown around during the Republican Primary. For those that have been under a rock this past month, it's being used as a derogatory term against Mitt Romney for his days as an employee at Bain Capital.
Politics aside (I am a progressive and certainly do not support Mitt Romney), I have a big issue with the fact that his opposition is throwing this word around and relating Bain Capital and their practices to the practices of a Venture Capitalist. As well as using this word Vulture Capital, to imply that Venture Capital is bad and had a part in destroying jobs and our economy.
This could not be further from the truth, and Venture Capital should not be associated with the corporate raiding practices of some Private Equity firms and other employers in the financial sector that don't do anything to help create value in our economy.
There are many of these firms and practices that take the loopholes in regulations and leverage huge amounts of other people's money to take advantage of the system to make a few people extremely rich to the disservice of many. These practices are being defended as capitalism and free markets at work. I disagree and vehemently oppose these practices.
However, Venture Capital is not this, and it should be made known to imply Venture Capitalists as Vultures is simply not right. Good Venture Capitalists create jobs NOT destroy them. They work hand in hand with entrepreneurs to build value for the greater good. They give people a shot to create great companies that probably would not have had that opportunity. Great products, services, and wealth have come from Venture Capital. Yes, they are in the business to make money and they place a lot of bets on companies that have to shut their doors.
But, that is TRUE capitalism at work and they are the ones that should be applauded in times like these. I hope this distinction gets made more clearly in the media over the next few months.
MY 2012 PREDICTIONS FOR DIGITAL VIDEO
1. Apple will launch a TV, but it won't change the world...yet. Yes, it's going to be beautiful and it will be able to run all or most of the applications on iOS, as well as spawn a new crop of app development designed specifically for the TV (just like the iPad did), however it will not replace your main TV in the home just yet. It will take a few years and multiple product launches for it to become as ubiquitous for TV's as the iPad has become for tablet devices.
2. Connected TV will spread, but you will still need a set top box from your cable provider. Yes, there will be more "cord cutters" than last year, however there is too much valuable content held by the cable operator gatekeepers for Connected TV to be meaningful this year.
3. IPTV will be ubiquitous. You'll still need your cable company, but the amount of Internet enabled TV's will continue to grow as manufacturers churn out affordable hardware due to pricing pressures.
4. There will be one or two quality original shows made for the web that garners mass audience. As video production costs continue to decrease and content provider budgets soar, premium original programming will be deployed across the web and will be coupled with significant promotional dollars to drive awareness.
5. Video advertising will get smarter. Budgets are increasing, and efficiencies will continue to be created by the many players in the ad tech landscape. There will be an ever bigger emphasis on the importance of ad creative that is produced for digital video as the medium proves to be a safe and impactful place for marketers to connect with and influence consumers.
A MAGAZINE IS AN IPAD THAT DOES NOT WORK
A bold claim. Yes, most of us have seen this video but it definitely has resonated strongly with me. I've read a lot of comments about how this really isn't important because a one year old will try to play with anything. That may be true, but this really does have to make you think. There is a future of generations that will not be exposed to print media as in generations' past. As more content becomes accessible on tablet devices, and the device itself continues to evolve (which the iPad surely will with or without Steve Jobs), this statement is more important than you may realize today.
APPLYING SCIENCE TO STARTUPS
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I was able to see Eric Ries speak last night at NYU. He discussed his new book, The Lean Startup, and the ideas behind it. I've read the book, and find it very exciting that actual science and real management principles can be applied to starting new businesses. The world is rapidly changing, and business methodologies need to adapt. I highly recommend reading this if you're an entrepreneur or responsible for spearheading new initiatives inside your organization.
THANK YOU STEVE
As most, I was deeply saddened by the news of the loss of Steve Jobs. It impacted me more than I would have thought. I'm happy to see so many great tributes and coverage on how great a person and visionary he truly was. We all know how incredible and rare it is to see someone who has the ability to see the future, trust his own instincts, and take action with undying devotion. That alone is amazing. However, what hasn't been talked about nearly as much is how much of that has led to so much joy in the world. I pre-ordered my iPhone 4GS today, and realized how happy that made me just to order it. Thank you Steve Jobs for all the happinness you've brought to the world.
THE BATTLE FOR DIGITAL AD DOLLARS
APPLE TV: MORE COMPELLING OR JUST COOLER WITH JOYPAD APP?
Another use case for the iPhone, and cool for Apple TV owners. This could spring game developers into action if it's as easy as they say to integrate. Is this is a killer application and enough of a reason to acquire new Apple TV customers? Doubt it, but I already own one so I'll definitely be checking this out.
ANGRY AND THANKFUL
It's been a long time since my last post. It's tough to start back up again after being dark for a long time, but I feel like Thanksgiving weekend is a good time to start. I've been quiet for a couple of big reasons. Both of which are very positive and happy events in my life. None of which are very good excuses to turn my back on writing posts on my blog, but this is where my time and energy and focus has been dedicated to over the past several months. 1) I got engaged over the summer to my beautiful, loving, soon to be wife. 2) I got a new gig working for an emerging company in one of the fastest growing sectors online - online video. Again, nothing of which should have stopped me from writing, but like I said, it's hard to get back on the wagon once you are off. Now, on to my post... I've been spending a lot of time over the course of the last several months attempting to grasp what really happened to our economy, and to get an understanding of what exactly caused the financial crisis that we find ourselves digging out of today. This has not been as easy task, as I've been sifting through commentary from journalists, economists, and business heads to get perspectives from all angles. Luckily I've been helped by the few good writers and journalists that are trying hard to uncover the truth surrounding this mess. Most recently I have read Matt Taibi's Griftopia, Andrew Ross Sorkin's Too Big to Fail, and Michael Lewis' The Big Short. Now that I feel somewhat knowledgeable on the subject, I am mad, very mad. I am mad at everyone that was involved in what essentially was a massive ponzi scheme, a con game, on a scale that nobody has ever seen. I am not mad at a particular political party, or a particular group of people, as there were many involved. For one, the government, for not intervening to correct the loopholes in our financial system that essentially opened up a casino on Wall Street (which has still not been corrected). So, a hot potato could be passed around while many people got very, very rich moving money around while creating zero tangible value in our economy. To the contrary, they evaporated value out of the economy (some of which will never be recovered). So what I'm trying to say, is that this is not a political thing, this is a human thing. And what I'm mad about most, is that only a select few people seem to really care. This is having a major impact on all of our lives, and it directly impacts our future. We all need to take responsibility for what is happening in our economy, and we all need to get serious about creating real value in order to correct this. On that theme, I am also very thankful. I'm thankful that we actually do have an opportunity to create real value, now more than ever. Being that I'm in the technology/new media industry, I can see first-hand what is happening all around us. The promise of a entrepreneurial revolution is closer than it has ever been. Technology is enabling startups to get off the ground quickly and with little investment, social media and mobile technology is enabling businesses to get closer to their customers and engage with them in real-time, and analytics and optimization tools are enabling companies to make faster and smarter decisions. These are real, tangible improvements to how business can be done. Whole industries will be disrupted by the combination of technology and smart, nimble entrepreneurs. With these market disruptions, people will get rich (both the entrepreneurs and the investors who invested in them). The difference is that these people will be getting rich by building things that are improving businesses, creating jobs, and producing value that our country can both consume and export. There is always the chance a new tech bubble will emerge and burst. Short-term greed is not limited to a select few people. We as entrepreneurs and the investors that in invest in us, have a responsibility to keep an eye on tangible value. If we do this, there will be enough money to go around, and value creation will be something we can all be thankful for.
DOING ONE THING WELL
The much anticipated Apple tablet, the iPad (not a fan of the name btw), has finally launched and has the tech and media world abuzz with predictions, criticisms, and opinions. I admire Apple's attempt to create a new category of a device. Somewhere in between a laptop and a Smartphone. If there is any company that can succeed in doing this, it's Apple. I for one will not be a first adopter of the iPad for a few reasons. Most notably, the lack of running multiple applications simultaneously and the lack of flash support (which is necessary at this time for a superior web browsing experience). However, I can see how one would be attracted to such a device, especially considering the flood of applications that will be developed specifically for the iPad will be sure to include some must-haves. One such application that is getting a lot of hype is the iPad's e-reader, which has it's own store named iBooks. From the looks of it, the books are visually stunning (it actually displays like you're looking at and reading a real book) and the big screen should make it nice to read. However, the buzz that this will be the e-book killer is, in my opinion, grossly over exaggerated. This brings me back to the point of this post. For my money, the e-book of choice is the Amazon Kindle. There's something to be said about doing one thing well. The kindle doesn't pretend to be a web browser, or try to be a rich media experience. You can't really use it for email, you can't play games on it (though Amazon's move to open up the Kindle to 3rd party applications that includes games is questionable), and it's not going to make you a more productive human being. What it does do is give you the ability to consume books. It's close to perfect at doing this. The e-ink technology is easy on the eyes and almost looks as if you're reading a real book. This allows the battery life to last a long time, and allows you to turn pages quickly. Not to mention, the vast amount of books and publishers that are available to download. There's a lot to be said about doing one thing very well. I don't think comparing the iPad to the Kindle is a fair comparison. If I want to have a library of books at my fingertips without sacrificing too much in terms of my reading experience, I'll be sticking with my Kindle for now.
ONE FOR THE GOOD GUYS
After watching the entire season of the latest celebrity apprentice, I was pretty much convinced going into the season finale last night that Annie Duke, the poker playing champion, was going to win. Then, after watching the episode, something miraculous happened- she didn't. The top prize of being named the "Celebrity Apprentice" to the one and only Donald Trump was given to Joan Rivers. Now, to be honest I've never really thought much of Joan Rivers except for the fact that she was annoying (and I'm trying hard not to mention her daughter who I always thought as equally or even more annoying) but the show changed my perception big time. Now I'm sure masterful editing was involved in this so called "reality show", but I'm pretty sure my feelings would be the same without it. I think we can all learn a giant lesson about business from this past season of the show, and I have a newfound respect for "The Donald" that he chose Joan. Both finalists played completely different "games" to get to the finish line. Annie was a hard nose player always with an eye on the finish line and how she could manipulate the situation in her favor. That's what she does for a living, she plays people, and she did it throughout the show. She raised the most money for charity, by far, and beat opposing players down. Annie controlled the situation and made sure she got her way every step of the way. Joan, on the other hard, played the game equally as hard, but in a very different style. She led in a way that inspired whatever team she was on and was able to step up or step down effectively depending on the situation. She was genuinely trying to accomplish good things and enable others to share in her spotlight. As she says, she played the game with honor. The most brilliant thing Joan could have said in the final boardroom, and it's what may have put Donald over the edge, is the fact that because of her accomplishments in including her charity in the final task and elevating the awareness of her cause, even if she didn't win the apprenticeship, she already won. That is an amazing lesson. When you are true to yourself the people you work with, that cannot ever be taken away from you. Sales and winning is all about leverage. When you are confident with who you are and how you are playing "the game", you have all the leverage in the world. Joan knew she couldn't be beat before the game ended, and she was right. Now, I've been in the business world for several years and I've been in many different environments. I've seen many people try to manipulate situations and play politics to get ahead just like Annie did. Many of those people indeed did get ahead (got the promotion, made more money, etc.), but I ask at what expense, and just how far does that take you. I've always known that living your life with integrity and honor is your greatest asset in business and in life- that is all you have and it is what people will base their relationships with you on. That means taking advantage of other people to get ahead and not being honest with yourself will only take you so far. Because guess what, its people just like you that will be looking to do the same to you. The problem with that strategy is that when you fall at some point in the future, AND YOU WILL FALL, who is going to be there to pick you up? That is the question you should ask yourself if you're playing for the short-term wins. The integrity road is definitely the harder road to take (trust me), but it is one that I truly believe will take you the farthest in the game of business and in life. I'm happy with where it's taken me so far, and I look forward to the future. I'm glad Joan won one for the good guys. Go Joan.
