Startup Revolution

HELPFUL since this is truly a TRIBE unto itself. VCs are all about mitigating risks and finding teams they trust. Strange to think of a high risk profession as being risk adverse, but VCs are the card counters in vegas. They want the odds to be at least even and no so much wiht the house.

ReelSurfer Knows Video Marketing Is A Pain
Video Marketing isn't easy. ReelSurfer promises to make it easier with the ability to clip and mashp video from almost any source. Can I hear an AMEN? and an About Time :).

Startups Disrupt To Win
Agree with Zachary Gerhman (@ZachGersh). There is no reason to devote money and years of your life to an incremental improvement on what is already out there when there are such HUGE needs virtually untouched.

A few months ago I wrote about how Internet marketing must disrupt to win (http://scenttrail.blogspot.com/2012/12/why-your-internet-marketing-must.html) in this well written and comprehensive post on startups Zachary conclusively argues the same idea for startups.

Zachary is working on a sequel so stay tuned.

Interesting move by Yahoo and anytime someone throws around the B word you have to listen. Is Tumblr worth a billion? Maybe to Yahoo since they could sure use some relevance and COOL. Tumbr could sure use some ways to make money so maybe everyone wins.

Disruption In BSchool Education

Most of this talk is about disruption in education, but Christensen is the "master of disruption" and this conversation with Mark Suster is fascinating for Internet marketers.

Lack of technological core means an industry can't be disrupted. Education was in this boat for a long time. Online learning brings to education a "technological core" matched with pricing that has lost touch with reality means disruption is possible and likely.

Online learning and corporate learning programs are killing Harvard Business School. Christensen says half of the University business schools are in trouble and will be forced to get with it or close in ten years.

Apple Computer
Fascinating discussion of Apple & proprietary architecture at 10:33. The inevitable opening of a once proprietary operating system means prices fall and the money is made in "sophisticated manufacturing". "It really is scary," says Christensen about the loss of sophisticated manufacturing.

He goes on to blame business school for looking to layoff costs because of the way we teach people to measure things.

Freemiums
Another fascinating conversation about Fremiums at 14:30. "As a general rule if you have a product that doesn't get the job done you have to offer it for free," with Suster weighing in on charging for services. Modularity drives commoditization and that drives profit out.

Crowdfunding
Free usually means there is money to be made, "Above and below and you can invest or be an entrepreneur there and you can make money". Suster then talks about Venture Capital disruption and crowdfunding at 19:50.

Royalty Capital
Royalty Capital = movement in Boston to license capital as a way around limitations of venture capital at 24:00. When revenue starts there is a royalty rate returned to the capitalists. Fascinating alternative financing experiment going on in Boston.

There Is HOPE
Great article showing Wall Street employment falling as startups capture hearts and minds of the young and gifted. While I don't want to bite the hand that put me through college, my father worked on Wall Street, I do want great minds to MAKE THINGS not just shuffle money.

I'm sure such a characterization isn't fair to Wall Street, but I see Wall Street as unlikely to cure cancer, solve our energy problems or save the world. I understand the "money is at the core of everything" argument, but don't believe it. 

Money Is As Money Does
Money is usually dedicated to its singular mission - the production of more money. Living out on the hairy edge of startup land may mean starving a little but it passes the Steve Jobs test. Jobs famously said if you can't look in the mirror every morning and be excited and LOVE what you do then why do it. 

Startups not Wall Street will save the world and that is both a sign of the times and HOPE for our futures.  

I've met and worked with several startups from Israel and they ROCK. 

Online Reputation Mangement Tool
Trackur looks like a cool suite of tools. Will investigate and report back. 

Note On Trackur's Website Explains...
More than 60,000+ registered users trust Trackur to monitor 10+ million media mentions a day across more than 100+ million news sites, blogs, forums, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook!  They enjoy accurate results, powerful tools, and no long-term contracts.