The Equity Kicker - Latest Comments

Re: Convertible bridge loans – look beyond the headline terms

brisbourne — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:20:06 -0000

Hi Paul – you are right – most notes specify a valuation at which they convert if there is no round, so valuation should be discussed, and I agree that it is usually simpler to use equity. And I like simple ☺

Re: Advertising is becoming less effective, bringing product quality and service to the fore

brisbourne — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:06:53 -0000

Thanks Ben. I will take a look.

Sent from my Android phone using TouchDown (www.nitrodesk.com)

Re: Advertising is becoming less effective, bringing product quality and service to the fore

Ben — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:38:39 -0000

Hello Nic,
This is something that we at Samba are keenly aware of. We are a video advertising value exchange - targeting customers on both real and claimed behaviour. We have seen CTRs of 6-7x market norms and v positive qual feedback (after a 3 month trial). In short we have engaged customers, which drives premium CPEs. Don't take my word for it! Check out our FB page: http://www.facebook.com/SambaM....
FYI we launch soon...

Re: Convertible bridge loans – look beyond the headline terms

Paul Walsh — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:06:53 -0000

Nic - I'm assuming that notes are only beneficial to the entrepreneur if they're very confident about raising the next round? And the investor is more likely to agree to notes if the price is right should follow on money not happen, in which case, it's not favourable to the entrepreneur? And in order to even discuss what the share price should be in the event of a follow on round not taking place, they must discuss valuation at some level - so notes don't completely remove the necessity to discuss valuation. Am I right?

My gut tells me that an entrepreneur is better off allocating stock to ensure they don't spend too much of their time worrying about raising the next round by date x as new opportunities may arise and they may not wish to raise the money just yet? Stock allocation seems much cleaner and easier to me - assuming you have the money to pay for the lawyers of course.

Re: Just installed Disqus commenting

seo services — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 05:44:03 -0000

Disqus provides us the capability to thoughts using your Tweets consideration. This doesnot to give up your real Tweets experience since Disqus uses Twitter’s support.

Re: Eight interesting health oriented startups

brisbourne — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 06:28:44 -0000

Thanks Marek

Re: Eight interesting health oriented startups

Marek Karwowski — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:08:17 -0000

PromoSquare is a platform helping people to get connected with each other based
on matching score between published alerts. Available at: http://www.promosquare.com. It might be interested for people who are looking for new opportunities. You can follow @promosquare to stay in touch.

Re: 50 Questions: How can I tell when a VC won’t invest when they aren’t saying ‘no’?

brisbourne — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:16:09 -0000

Hi Ced – VCs keeping busy for the sake of it is a great point. tks

Re: 50 Questions: How can I tell when a VC won’t invest when they aren’t saying ‘no’?

Céd — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:58:37 -0000

As a rule I think it is absolutly key for an entrepreneur to understand the VC's investment process.

Another (not flattering) reason might be that the VC in question is just out fishing for deals but with no money to invest therefore keeping a deal alive might be a way to show "deals in the pipe" to his/her potential LPs as well as -genuinelly- thinking that they will have soon a first closing and want to be able to close quickly a few deals....Here the easy way to find out for an entrepreneur is to look if the VC in question has closed a NEW deal within 12-18 months max (and the vintage of his/her fund, 5 YO or older usually is an indication they have no money for new deals). If the company is VC backed (or proper advisors) his investors shall be able to help here too.On your 3rd point. There might be an element of this but also it might mean too that the VC (his firm) likes the deal but the space is complicated/he's less comfortable with so after this initial period of excitment, it is followed by doubts (when the VC realises how many companies are doing something similar etc. for example) to try to get comfortable while having XXX things to do in the meantime.
To be also fair to VCs very often we are put in front of aggressive business plan with big contracts coming in the next 2-3 months so delaying a bit the investment process is also a way to see if the company really is on the trajectory it is selling...

Re: Over the top TV – plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

brisbourne — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:12:07 -0000

Hi Damon – I fear that most of the innovation is happening in the US and that the opportunities for startups here will be fewer. I’d love to be wrong about that.

Re: Over the top TV – plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

Damon Oldcorn — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:24:40 -0000

Interested in your thoughts as to whether you think UK or Europe will have much say on how this will play out given the dominance both in volume of market consumption and control of content that the US has. Also where does the emergence of the BRIC block sit with their rapidly increasing consumption and buying power in this powerplay.

Re: As Samsung starts to dominate is Android’s promise of ‘open’ under threat?

brisbourne — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:33:09 -0000

Hi Damon – Microsoft’s WP7.5/8 seems to be generally well regarded, although I haven’t played with it myself. I wouldn’t write the old dog off yet, but I do think their tiny mobile OS market share, lack of decent handset partners and small app offering (all related) mean they face an uphill battle. Maybe Nokia will change that. The Lumina looks cool.
I’m still betting on Android though.

Re: Over the top TV – plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

brisbourne — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:26:20 -0000

So far it seems to me that content bundles are going to be as much a feature of the new world as they were of the old, and that is in-spite of the delivery economics now being almost identical for bundles and pay as you go. I guess that means marketing economics are the driver – it is more efficient to recruit a subscriber to a bundle than a consumer to a purchase, possibly because we are seduced (or dragged) into bundles by the killer piece of content that we can’t live without (e.g. premiership football on Sky).
Maybe more innovative and interesting gatekeepers will emerge. That would be great, and I can’t think of any reason why they shouldn’t. Could be an interesting area to go looking for investments – thank you.

Re: Over the top TV – plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

Roger Ellman — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:55:34 -0000

Nic,

Very good and important points, well said.

I think a few mentions of this concern such as by you, will see us offered many evolving "forms" so what is available or how it is made available, will morph into something different yet again. It does usually happen - markets/p[roduct innovations/services seem to open up, then close up only to open again as an innovator comes along. The UK is different and has a prised-open market (by regulation to some extent!) but suffers from a lack of true competition so far in this and many other areas. (BT Openzone being an example regarding broadband/internet connections).

It would be a good for customers/consumers to be able to buy what they want on an as-wanted basis, but all too offten the pieces chosen one-by-one are overpriced. The cost difference of delivery in bulk (a whole programme bundle) versus piece by piece choices has shrunk to near zero. There seems to be an opportunity to provide what viewers want, but this does also seem to be constipated by regulation and backward-looking licensing of entertainment programmes.

I think - hope - the appetite for original, fresh, creative and adventurous material is entrenched and theren will be a rush to fill any lack of place for this to be showcased and offered to those who seek it. In other words new "gatekeepers" will emerge to satisfy appetites. Don't you?

Re: The hubris of a (not young anymore) man

Jeff Robinson — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:48:07 -0000

Hi Nic and thank you for all the hard work you put into your blog. Like most things in life, too much of anything is most likely not good for you. Eating however a fresh piece of tuna once a month I would argue is part of a good balanced diet.
All the best and have a great weekend!
Jeff

Re: The hubris of a (not young anymore) man

Paul Jozefak — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:11:11 -0000

Nic, I'd add one probably most important point: get checked out regularly. So many people I know try to eat and live healthy. Then I ask them if they've been to see a doctor recently and 9 out of 10 times, the answer is no. I'm whacky in the lifestyle and eating sense as well but one of the things I learned with age is to balance all my excess (in sports and diet) with regular check-ups just to make sure something isn't going haywire.

Re: 2012 – the year when traditional retail really starts to hurt

WisdomAndHealth — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:16:57 -0000

The other huge advantage that eCommerce has is the richness of information and customer reviews that are present at the time of purchase. If I'm in a bookstore, and I see a book that may be of interest, I have to pick up my smart phone to read reviews. While I'm at it, I can find a e-store that sells the book at a lower price. Better still, I can buy it and download it right to my phone. It's touch to compete with this if you're a bricks & mortar retailer. So that retail experience has to be really really special to justify hopping into the car.

Re: The hubris of a (not young anymore) man

Damon Oldcorn — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:22:43 -0000

Well you are certainly going to feel older after the ICE trip .... closer to 49 maybe.... by the way all this worry puts years on you....

Re: The hubris of a (not young anymore) man

Andrew Buckman — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:37:04 -0000

Just because you eat too much tuna doesn't mean you're not immortal :-) I still do silly amounts of endurance sports because I'm convinced I'm invincible (or that I at least haven't found my limits yet) despite my fluff this summer. Switch to salmon for your omega 3 intake if you cut out tuna completely or go for a tuna that is more likely to have lower mercury levels like Pacific tuna.

Re: As Samsung starts to dominate is Android’s promise of ‘open’ under threat?

Damon Oldcorn — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:31:34 -0000

Funny you coming up with 2 pieces on the closed internet - this above and the Google search piece. Always ignored Apple's overtures over the decades given their closed stance, so not glad to see anything that takes us in that direction. I was intigued by a tweet from @actionlamb getting very excited about Microsoft's WP7.5 for Mobile (normally understated guy even though originally in the Microsoft PR function in the UK) By chance on other business I was at the BETT show at Olympia yesterday and was given a demo of this OS on an HTC phone. Not an expert in this area but the Tiles/Hub idea of navigating content with what seemed like a completely open stance on connecting to all social media platforms and pulling in Gmail as well if needed, certainly made me think they are on to something if they can create access to market and of course stimulate the developer community to support it. I gather WP 8.0 shortly and Windows 8 in the background in the same Tiles/Hub format etc drawing the consumer and enterprise layers closer together.

Re: The hubris of a (not young anymore) man

RichardF — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:07:37 -0000

yup, we often forget our mortality and the true legacy that you leave behind (rather than just our career legacy, which is too easily focused on).

I had a wake up call in my 20's and another one just recently, which I am adamant I won't ignore this time

Re: The hubris of a (not young anymore) man

Ed Freyfogle — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 07:39:58 -0000

Only the arrogant achieve greatness. Keep attacking.

Re: Google, Search, plus Your World – another step towards a closed web

brisbourne — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:11:50 -0000

A search on my name has Facebook as the 5th result. Google+ first (even though I’m not active there ☹), then two for my blog, then Twitter, then LinkedIn and then Facebook (followed by DFJ Esprit, Quora, and Crunchbase).

Re: Google, Search, plus Your World – another step towards a closed web

Tom Valentine — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:43:55 -0000

<tinfoil hat="" observation="">it also appears that facebook has fallen right of the first page of search results for people</tinfoil>

Re: The rising power of artificial intelligence

brisbourne — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:42:34 -0000

☺ They won’t have any use for money.....