Published on October 9, 2007
in Ideas.
The best entrepreneurs are way ahead of the idea curve. Or at least they used to be. That’s when VCs fished in a narrow band of ideas that were fundable. Part of the reason the businesses were fundable is that they had a significant first mover advantage.
The idea curve has shrunk. Companies are faster to market and cost less to start and there are many more of them. I still see HubPages knockoffs launch. With lower barriers comes more noise. Now, the best entreprenuers are less likely to be the best bet for an early stage investor.
Its kind of like the World Series of Poker. As more amateurs compete, there’s enough luck in the outcomes that the best players won’t win.
So who will win? It’s the entrepreneur that doesn’t give up.
Published on October 9, 2007
in Ideas.
I had a good chuckle reading the Craigslist ad by a young woman who wants to meet a man that makes over $500K per year. Valleywag followed it up with a satirical post about a man looking for $5Million in funding.
I think it’s ok that some women and men look for spouses with means. There’s a dating site for people to find rich or beautiful people. But the interesting thing about these sites is they are for dating. Not marriage. It could lead to marriage. But, if the thinking is more like the reply to the young woman, it’s more of a lease.
I have a vision for a site that is for people that want to get married. It needs to be clean, easy to use and professional. It’s for exclusive dating with the intent to marry. Comes with marriage training and retreats. And kicks anyone out that isn’t serious about getting married. Could be a cash cow.
Published on October 9, 2007
in Ideas.
There are a few sites that come to mind as beautiful cash cows. HotorNot and Plenty of Fish.
Is it coincidence that they are both dating sites? I don’t think so.
Both the founders also blog.
James from HotorNot has blogged about a business change. They turned the site free, and back to a subscription model. Why? Because of the amount of spam that comes with free. By charging a small amount, that is enough of a barrier to keep the scammers out.
Marcus blogged about another dating site for sale. Notice, he’s not selling his.
I highly recommend reading both of these blogs.
Published on October 7, 2007
in Ideas.
I have a four year old daughter and I was thinking of making one of those charts that goes on the fridge where they get a gold star sticker if they do their chores, eat their dinner, brush their teeth, and go to bed on time.
But, I think digital is a much better way to go. I bet parents would use a widget that can be placed on a blog or social networking site that makes it easy to setup a gold star reward widget.
Published on October 6, 2007
in Ideas.
One of the things I love about blogs is authenticity.
What if Yahoo bought Perez Hilton, or Wired bought TechCrunch? Would the readers care? Would the authenticity of the voices behind the blogs be different or just percieved as different.
There is this beer called Blue Moon. You may have seen it in bars served with an orange slice. It’s a very tasty wheat beer. Coors goes to some trouble to market it as a micro-brew. But, if you knew that it was produced by the same mass beer maker that is known for its watered down beer, would you like Blue Moon less?
I think when it comes to acquiring authentic products, big established brands need to optimize to avoid a brand identity backlash.
Published on October 4, 2007
in Ideas.
Today, I used a Zip Car for the first time. It was easy enough to reserve the car online. When I went to pick it up, the key card worked fine. The only problem is I couldn’t pick a car up in one spot, and return it at another.
If the service accommodated this, it would be perfect.
Zip Car seems like a good idea. Although, I was wondering what controls they have to prevent people from filling up other vehicles with the gas card, or if they worry about people stealing the cars since the key is right next to the ignition.
Sometimes when we have ideas, we let concerns about abuse prevent good ideas from getting a chance. Zip Cars seems to have taken a leap in faith with people. And I like that!
Published on October 3, 2007
in Ideas.
I’m planning on installing Vista on my Mac tonight. Looks like Jeff Nolan is thinking the same question. Vista or XP with Parallels. Most people that have tried Vista say stay with XP, but I have a copy of Vista and am thinking I’ll go against the advice. I haven’t even done it yet, and it’s already leaving a bad taste in my mouth.
If Vista is a step backwards. Or a step sideways. It appears that some of the new ideas about security and usability were flawed. Remember Windows ME. Sometimes it takes an off step to move forward. I bet the next version of Windows is excellent. Just hope I don’t have to wait five years.
Published on October 2, 2007
in Ideas.
Move Networks announced a new round of funding. Well over a year ago I was looking at their stuff. I first thought it was impossible, what they claimed. Then I saw it.
If someone said, I’m going to deliver HD quality video over an IP network. I would have said. Great idea, but can’t be done. Turns out Move Networks has done it. And it’s amazing. Try watching some ABC shows on demand and you’ll see what I mean.
Published on October 1, 2007
in Ideas.
If your are thinking about about starting a blog about making money online, it’s been said that it’s harder than picking up strippers in a strip club. But these guys are laughing all the way to the bank. Just look at what John Chow posted. Over $60 RPMs in September. Less than 400K pageviews making over $20K per month. That’s sick.
I say, if you want to start a blog about making money. Go for it. The worst is you don’t. And it doesn’t cost that much to try.
Although, I think there are lots of better things to blog about. I’m looking for great blogs about how to make a local business work, someone that does case studies on industries that are messed up like real estate, and a blog about advertising that doesn’t work.
Let’s take this idea. Advertising that doesn’t work. Will someone please make a great blog with lots of data about online advertising that doesn’t work? I’ll bet you could beat Shoemoney and John Chow in the RSS subscription contest. By the way fellas. I added you both.
Published on October 1, 2007
in Ideas.
I’ve used Yahoo Pipes to make an RSS search feed from sites like eBay and Craigslist. However, there are a lot more shopping sites out there that I would like in the feed and it’s a pain to add them.
This idea is to make a very simple RSS feed based on a very specific product search. For example, I’m looking for a three bedroom, two bath house in Palo Alto to rent that is less than $3,900 per month that allows dogs.
Every time a house comes available that meets these requirements, I want it to show up in my reader.
