Gawker
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cubicle culture
Inside the Startup Office from Hell
Frank Addante, the Los Angeles tech entrepreneur, has helpfully consolidated pretty much every terrible office idea and Web 2.0 startup cliché into one place: This video tour of his online ad company, Rubicon Project.
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By Ryan TateComment by Pope John Peeps II: First sentence: "We're a very metrics focused company." Are there companies that aren't? "Well, I'd really love to give you quarterly earnings... 7 Responses | Other threads
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blowhards
Jason Calacanis Nominates Himself MySpace's Captain Obvious
The most amusing thing about fameballs is when they don't realize their balls have stopped rolling. Such is bulldog entrepreneur Jason Calacanis's lot, as he desperately tries to pose as MySpace's next CEO. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by stanhalen: Guy looks like a classic doofus...If you squint he looks just like Corky from life goes on.. Not that any of... 3 Responses | Other threads
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wantrepreneurs
Is Web 2.0 Safe in a War Zone?
The gang of webheads sent by the State Department to Iraq is doing what webheads do: blogging, Twittering, and posting photos in real time. This must be giving their government minders fits. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by adanalyst: And Owen is doing wonders boosting the credibility of bloggers everywhere with his own misspelling: Perahps to stay in the... 1 Responses | Other threads
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valleywag
They Will Greet Us as Social Networkers
Call it the final wave of the American invasion: A passel of tech executives from Google, YouTube, Twitter, and others, squired by a Wired feature writer, are touring Iraq. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by Ladies and Gentlemen-Mr. Burt Bacharach: Sadly no one will be wearing a t-shirt promoting their website since Charles Forman received no invite more » | Other threads
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wantrepreneurs
Webhead's Wandering Eye Lands on New York Bus Schedules
New York City is too broke to install a fancy $14 million bus-tracking system. Who will come to the rescue? Internet entrepreneur John Geraci — if he can overcome his wandering attention span. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by PoBoyNation: Wait, what? The quoted description certainly isn't "a narrative of a genius at work," but it doesn't "actually look like... 3 Responses | Other threads
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wantrepreneurs
Obama's Tech Twit Conference Will Destroy Us All
The nation is in crisis, our economy on the brink. And yet President Change is spending time with a group of technowastrels whose sole noteworthy accomplishment has been to spend other people's money.
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By Owen ThomasComment by turniptable: Is this article supposed to be ironic? I am not entirely sure as to the credentials of these people,... 6 Responses | Other threads
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wantrepreneurs
Twitter + election a twit selection
In the runup to today's vote, we've gotten three separate pitches for new websites which mash together Twitter messages and election results. Three's a trend. But what's the story? Twitter's hot, and the election's hot, so these wantrepreneurs figure that putting them together will land their startup some VC funding. But these efforts just leave me cold. Why not visit Twitter's live stream of status updates? Last I checked, it was all election, all the time. -
wantrepreneurs
Desperate founder turns to media for VC bucks
Darren Lee, the creator of online ad-network startup AdExcel, wants everyone to know that he needs money, badly. How badly? So badly that he is soliciting reporters for investments. Darren, here's a hint: Journalists are among the Valley's worst-paid professionals. We doubt any of our impoverished colleagues will take him up on the offer — save, perhaps, those who have already crossed the line and turned venture capitalist themselves. Congratulations, Darren! You got some coverage from Valleywag, and no money changed hands! But Lee is shooting himself in the foot: If his ad network gains any ground — unlikely, since he's pitching hacks for cash injections — critics will cite his offer and charge those who write of it favorably as being on the take. (Which raises the question: Did former TechCrunch writer Duncan Riley, who wrote about AdExcel on his Inquisitr blog, take Lee up on his offer?) Here's the text of Lee's offer, which was accompanied by the inevitable PowerPoint presentation: More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by Ted Dziuba: Good God. How about a 100 word version? 1 Responses | Other threads
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wantrepreneurs
Frank Addante needs an assistant
Only Tinseltown can match Silicon Valley in turning self-delusion into marketable products. We've always admired Frank Addante, the CEO and founder of an L.A.-based online-advertising startup, the Rubicon Project, for embodying the worst of both worlds — and thereby maximizing his commercial potential. Want to catch a ride in his SUV? Addante, in a recent message on LinkedIn, informed his contacts that he's "looking for ambitious mavericks, entrepreneurial winners and A++ people." Who are willing to work as his executive assistant. The job listing, if you believe that you can achieve your goals as an entrepreneur by booking travel and running errands (must have reliable transporation): More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by nicolejordan: Nicole here with the Rubicon Project. You asked if we have customers...yup, we most certainly do. In fact... more » | Other threads
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wantrepreneurs
Calley Nye wants you to be her angel
Young Southlander Calley Nye has done the flack thing as a social media marketer, has done the hack thing in a brief stint at TechCrunch is now doing the cofounder thing with Dashbuzz, which promises to make it easier for you to promote yourself or your products online. In other words, she's had an "entrepreneurial spirit" revelation. She and fellow wantrepreneur Scott Sullivan are offering favors in return for donating toward their goal of $25,000 to get to prototype. And by "favor" they don't mean "equity." Which, frankly, shows a promisingly cagey business sense. Which lends credence to my theory that if you spend enough time anywhere near Jason Calacanis — even just the same county — you'll grow shrewder through a mysterious form of osmosis. Her emailed plea for your support after the jump. More »
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By Jackson WestComment by Keymaster: 35 word version: I could admit that I have neither the connections nor the business model to attract investors but instead... 2 Responses | Other threads
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wantrepreneurs
Hubert Chang, not Al Gore, invented the Internet
When NYU Ph.D. student Hubert (Hung-Hsien) Chang wasn't busy inventing Google or visiting Disneyland and signing up for Google-related groups on Facebook, he was coming up with lots of crazy ideas. Cross-platform programming language Java? Chang. Open-source office productivity software OpenOffice? Chang. The semantic Web? DHTML?Tim Berners-LeeChang. All this and more he tossed away to finish his Ph.D. at NYU, which he finally accomplished in late 2002, as he explained in the video. Or 2003, as he explained on his archived homepage, below. More »
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By Jackson WestComment by Goose Spruce: I know I already said this before, but I would like to repeat myself. LOOSER!!!! no seriously. LOOSER!!! 2 Responses | Other threads
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wantrepreneurs
ConnectU twins' film production has NYC premiere tomorrow
ConnectU cofounders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss lost control of ConnectU, their also-ran social network, in the settlement of a lawsuit with Facebook CEO mark Zuckerberg. And they finished last in their Olympic rowing final. But they just got some good news! A short film the pair executive-produced (read: paid for) has won a slot at the New York City Shorts Festival. First Bass, a treacly story directed by fellow Harvard grad Phil Hodges, features a young bassist who ditches rehearsal to run off to a Chicago Cubs game. It looks like a typical "calling-card film," the kind of flicks Hollywood wannabes produce to get a foot in the door to the entertainment industry. The five- to six-figure budgets are usually funded by wealthy family and friends. The best part is this little tidbit from Tyler's bio: More »
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By Jackson WestComment by Headquarters N.Y.: Is that MARK BORCHARDT (Coven) in the audience? more » | Other threads
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great moments in pr
Jason Calacanis on startup success: Be Jason Calacanis
We know that Mahalo founder Jason Calacanis likes to feed his pinup bulldogs Taurus and Fondue burgers from In-n-Out and Pinkberry froyo (to keep their coats glossy and brains brand-aware, we're assuming). Little did we know that he's also eating his own dog food. In a monstrous essay sent viatelegraphemail titled PR Strategies for Startups, he offers his tips on garnering free publicity by gaming the press. A lot of it is stuff you probably can't get away with unless you're already wealthy, have cute dogs, and are named Jason Calacanis. More »
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By Jackson WestComment by sggrf: I still think Jason should can all this crap and just try to do it the old fashioned way: be... more » | Other threads
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new york, minute
IAC building power outage kills New York tech meetup, spares us all
New York wantrepreneurs preparing for a night of rejection and glazed looks can relax — tonight's New York Tech Meetup is canceled due to a power outage at IAC. "We tried to find a replacement venue for tonight, but couldn't find anything for all 400 of us at this late notice," reads a memo sent to all invitees. The group won't meet again until September 2. Trust us: You'll survive four weeks without learning about the next great Muxtape killer. (Photo by waywuwei)
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Comment by CassidyMonet: I know that Barry's going through some rough times right now, but did he really forget to pay the... more » | Other threads
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wantrepreneurs
Julia Allison: HTML tutor to the nonstars
It's been just a little over a year since Julia Allison touched down in Silicon Valley, strutting past the hand-stampers at an arts fundraiser and informing anyone who would listen that she was looking for a boyfriend to help her with her website. It hasn't exactly paid off. The so-soft-it-hurts launch of her new startup, Nonsociety.com, is a technical tour de farce. The rumored-to-death project wraps glamour shots of Allison and friends like comrade Meghan Asha Parikh, TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington's ex-girlfriend, around sideways-scrolling feeds ("lifestreams"!) of their Tumblr blogs. Meghan, a former hedge-fund analyst, shows off her tech creds here. She's the only one who seems to have a functioning "lifestream," even on launch day. Allison's and a handbag-designing ladyfriend's came up 404. We salvaged the launch video, in case the whole thing collapses: More » -
silicon valley users guide
How to sell your software for $20,000 a pop
Weary of the ad-supported world of Web 2.0? Outside the echo chamber of Silicon Valley, there are software developers who write code that won't change the world, but that customers will pay real, five-figure license fees for — enough to sustain a growing, private business. It's all about finding a market that works and copying the competition. Call it anti-innovation. To explain how to do it, an entrepreneur named Bill wrote a blog post called "How to sell your software for $20,000." We've edited it down to a reasonable length below. Give the hoodie to Goodwill, say goodbye to your IPO dreams, and prepare to write the world's next great automated parking garage software. More »
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Comment by Shadowlayer: @Nicholas Carlson: I second the motion Just to add, another advantage of Web2.0 is that you can get hundreds of millions... more » | Other threads
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startups
Diary of a Failed Startup — the 100-word version
The problem with "17 mistakes startups make," is that the guy behind them, John Osher didn't make that many. He started Dr. John's SpinBrush and sold it to Proctor & Gamble for $475 million. Jonathan Tang, who writes "Diary of a Failed Startup," not only founded a company, GameClay, he actually failed because of his mistakes. His advice on how to not be like him, pared down to 100 words, below. More »
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Comment by Shadowlayer: @Ted Dziuba: Funny, no matter who I ask everybody agrees that the less VC you get the better. more » | Other threads
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geek love
Julia Allison and Dave Winer share love of un-conferences
A reader writes to us concerned that the apocalypse is nigh. Why so scared? Because wantrepreneur Julia Allison (who was not fired from Star magazine) and cranky RSS guru Dave Winer are now link lovers. What sparked this show of mutual affection? Winer's treatise on how he created the first, true "un-conference" back in 2003, where instead of panels, it was a discussion — because "the eloquence and intelligence in the room are distributed not concentrated." This apparently reminded Allison of class discussions at her alma mater, Georgetown, "except this time you care." (Photos by Brian Solis, bub.licio.us and Doc Searls) More »
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By Jackson WestComment by michaellamb: I had about .005% of respect left for Whiner, and now I have -.000001% left. more » | Other threads
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John Osher
17 mistakes startups make — the 100-word version
In 1999 John Osher started Dr. John's SpinBrush to sell a $5 electric toothbrush. In 2001, he sold the company to Procter & Gamble for $475 million. Here are his "17 mistakes start-ups make" in 100 words. More »
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Comment by dwfrank: @MrMeem: I hope you meant that "Hire fast, fire slow" is a mistake... more » | Other threads
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Social Networks
Random startup creator makes more sense than most business plans
We would have warned UK-based Web developer Jeremy Keith that Supernova is full of Valley types spewing meaningless neologisms and pitching pointless startups, but we see that he's already quite well aware of copycat wantrepreneurs and the lunacy of some of their business models by creating a "Social Buzzword Generator" that spews logos, names and taglines that are no less convincing than Pheltup. -
wantrepreneurs
Why are Jakob Lodwick and Charles Forman in Esquire?
We don't own a smoking jacket or get manicures, so were unaware that New York wantrepreneurs Charles Forman of Iminlikewithyou and fired Connected Ventures cofounder Jakob Lodwick appear in the latest issue of Esquire until Forman pointed it out to us this morning. "Good to see you yesterday," Forman managed to say before asking: "Are you going to put my Esquire thing on Valleywag?" Fine. But only because it gives us a chance to examine what, exactly fellow wantrepreneur Julia Allison sees in him. Yes, the pair are dating. (Though we hear she sometimes forgets his name when introducing him at parties.) More »
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Comment by The_Age_of_Plastic: @lothario: Okay then the people who bring you Scrabulous or a variety of others. I have actually tried the games... more » | Other threads
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new york, minute
New funding for New York wantrepreneurs
Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of some city on the East Coast with good nightlife but lousy conditions for startups, has unveiled a $2 million fund for companies doomed to failure by their thoughtlessly poor choice of location. Why doesn't he just give the would-be founders plane tickets to San Francisco and a deposit on a SoMa loft office? That seems easier. [Silicon Alley Insider]
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By Owen ThomasComment by Swifter: @random_play: Yes, do bring the lovely Heft. Bring her to Seattle. I'll get her a gig at Microsoft. more » | Other threads
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wantrepreneurs
Web 2.0 living on borrowed money
The bad news? While a few startup stars like Twitter and Slide can get venture cash on little or no revenue, the expiration date on your "it's [blank] with a social network layer" pitch may be well past. "There is going to be a shake-out here in the next year or two," Battery Ventures partner Roger Lee told the Financial Times. Mitchell Kertzman of Hummer Winblad was a little more succinct: "If you look at some of the valuations, you wonder what fantasy of revenues they're based on." The kinda good news? Google will help subsidize the cost of entry for early-stage online projects with infrastructure — you'll just have to use their Web Apps cloud and their Gears and Android clients developing browse and mobile applications, respectively. (Photo by Edward O'Connor)
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By Jackson WestComment by AdineSimon: Hi, I'd prefer it if you didn't use my photos in your posts. Thanks. Ted more » | Other threads
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events
Valleywag cares less about women in technology than Google engineering
Thanks to Google Calendar going down I forgot the Women 2.0 business plan challenge was happening tomorrow, Saturday, at Stanford. A competitor who'd kindly submitted the item for our calendar with plenty of notice was non-plussed to find no mention this morning. With my tongue in my cheek to make room for the foot in my mouth I borrowed her suggested headline for this little reminder to check it out. [Women 2.0]
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By Jackson WestComment by raincoaster: @Troll_2.0: You're not tipping enough, sweetie. more » | Other threads
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quotable
Last call at Web 2.0?
"It's like the bar after 3 a.m. Nobody left over is all that exciting, the desperate women and men are trying to get one last shot at a hookup." — Via instant messenger, an entrepreneur who skipped this week's Web 2.0 Expo, on the conference scene.
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By Owen ThomasComment by waynelambright: Owen, is your last call at web 2.0 also indicating that next year, it will be called web 3.0, so... more » | Other threads
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silicon valley users guide
Bow before King Michael: Arrington explains to the peasants how to get on TechCrunch
TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington presents "tactical-level advice on getting press for your startup" in this full-length video from Omnisio of his Stanford speech Saturday. His level of candor (or "transparency" in Valleyspeak) surprised even me. He openly admits to playing quid pro quo with his sources — you supply the exclusives, he provides the fawning coverage to show investors. Journalists might sniff at Arrington's ethical judgment, but it works for him — as long as startups play by his rules. All this reminds me of Europe's last great monarch. More » -
unconferences
TED's Chris Anderson invites Kevin Rose, assuring his conference's irrelevance
Has TED organizer Chris Anderson lost his senses? He has invited Digg founder Kevin Rose to TED 2009 — an honor Rose announced on Twitter in hackerspeak. (If you're a regular TED attendee, you may not know that "woot" is an exclamation of excitement; spelling it with numbers is supposed to make it more impressive.) With the arrival of Rose and teenage wantrepreneur Jessica Mah, more TED oldtimers are sure to flee the annual Valley-meets-Hollywood schmoozefest. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by JaggerMyster: TED just jumped the shark! Terrible... more » | Other threads
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deathwatch
CreateDebate launches to add yet more argument to the Internet
I ignore most startup pitches. It's a truism that 9 out of 10 startups fail; relentlessly covering every one of them is mathematically a fool's game. But on occasion, I get one so bad that I feel obliged to share it with my readers, if only as a cautionary tale. CreateDebate, founder Bryan Orme informs me, "is a social networking site where users can create a debate about any topic they are interested in." His concept, in other words, is to compete with the entirety of the Internet. Feel free to debate the rest of Orme's startup pitch, reproduced here: More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by SageGreen: Sounds like a social networking site based on Salesforce.com's 'Idea Exchange' - same as [mystarbucksidea.force.com] and Dell's [www.ideastorm.com] more » | Other threads
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wantrepreneurs
Allison: I'm not a gold-digger and if I were, I wouldn't go to San Francisco
Ever since Julia Allison and Meghan Asha visited the Valley last summer and said in front of various cameras that they intended to find themselves a geek boyfriend, people have described the pair as golddiggers. We know Asha isn't one — why marry for money when you come from it? — but yesterday, Allison told CNET's The 404 that she isn't staking out San Francisco riches either. "If I'm gold-digging, why would you go to San Francisco? There are hedge fund managers right here," Allison said. "And they're getting cash instead of equity in a company that isn't worth anything," b-school graduate Asha chimed in. After the jump, Allison digs a deeper hole: More »
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Comment by bloodguard: And on our next shocking episode of "when cougars attack" ... more » | Other threads
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wantrepreneurs
Amanda Hesser uses a computer, therefore qualified to run Web startup
Former New York Times editor Amanda Hesser is starting a new company called Seawinkle, which may or may not be named after an obscure character from the My Little Pony universe. It will aggregate content you produce online into one happy page, she promised in a tetchy response to New York Magazine's insinuation that she was politely kicked out of the new Times building. Hesser also detailed her qualifications as a wantrepreneur: More »
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By Jackson WestComment by CurtisAgasthenes: I love Amanda Hesser -- as a writer. I can't imagine she will ever do anything else as well, but... more » | Other threads
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mine is bigger
Fired TokBox CEO didn't need to know HTML to drive his $80,000 BMW
Early last month Sequoia Capital fired TokBox founder Serge Faguet as CEO. An engineer who spoke with Faguet for a job interview tells us his firing "comes as no surprise." The tipster, perhaps sore that his job interview didn't go so well, characterizes Faguet as "rude and arrogant" and argues that the original idea for TokBox came from cofounder Ron Hose. But mostly, our tipster objects to Faguet's car: a BMW 650i. More »
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Comment by RonHose: This is Ron from TokBox. I wanted to say that I greatly enjoyed working with Serge on several projects and... more » | Other threads
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wantrepreneurs
Jon Fisher desperately wants you to know he sold a company to Oracle
Meet Jon B. Fisher, former CEO of three software companies, including security firm Bharosa. In the clip above, Mark Cannice of the University of San Francisco asks Fisher if he regrets selling Bharosa to Oracle. Fisher does not. He tells us, "Bharosa returned 6X to investors in 3 years." Given Bharosa raised $2 million and that a company at its stage typically sells 25 percent of the company to outside investors, figure Fisher sold to Oracle for maybe $48 million. It's decent bank, but we're starting to wonder if Fisher — not a Bharosa founder — didn't get enough equity for himself before the sale. More »
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Comment by NarcissBuster: Ralph! It sounds like the author knows Jon well-The headline was right on. I am surprised there was no mention of... more » | Other threads
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wantrepreneurs
Startup will pay to hear from Facebook ex-COO, investor
Chris Leach, the CEO of Pwned.com, describes his company as "the worlds first social networking website dedicated to videogamers that launched in December," distinguishing it from the first social networking websites dedicated to videogramers which launched in November or January. With credentials established, Leach informed us that he loved our post about finding a CEO gig for departed Facebook executive Owen Van Natta and would we please tell Mr. Van Natta that his company needs a new CEO, too? Leach promises Van Natta "salary/stock," and that he "would demote myself to COO, and out COO would switch to CTO." Then in all caps, Leach explained how he'd like us to convince Van Natta to join up.CAN YOU PLEASE HELP US GET IN CONTACT WITH OWNE VAN NATT TO OFFER HIM TO TAKE THE HELM OF PWNED.COM, AND GET GREAT $ TO REPEAT WHAT HE DID WITH FACEBOOK
The full email — and his followup: More »
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Comment by andyfox1979: funny personal story about pwned.com... Some goof from that site offered a coworker and I 1% equity for every 1 MILLION... more » | Other threads
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geeks gone wild
Ryan Allis, the "b" in "b-boy" doesn't stand for "business"
Preternaturally grandiose iContact founder Ryan Allis should probably stick to selling email marketing tools, as his toprock is nonexistent and his power moves cheesier than Ricky Schroder's. That wack mess may play in Denver, where the 23-year-old Allis was visiting a college on an "extreme entrepreneurship tour," but he should think twice before trying to bring it in the Yay Area, lest he get served. More »
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By Jackson WestComment by The OC: Sometimes... It's all about the shoes! more » | Other threads
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wantrepreneurs
Call it a year already, wouldya?
23-year-old iContact CEO Ryan Allis writes on his blog:In 2007, I've received 61,457 emails, sent 13,174 emails, spoken in front of approximately 3,445 people at 25 speaking events, received 928 Facebook messages, sent 601 Facebook messages, wrote 181 blog posts, had 135 business lunches, held 83 employee interviews, been on 49 airplanes, talked with 46 venture capital firms, visited 28 cities, attended 27 business dinners, had 20 press interviews, held 11 Entrepreneur & Social Entrepreneur Meetups, read 9 books, been to New York City 5 times, added 4 roommates to our house of entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs, lost 3 phones, been on 2 magazine covers, been on 1 national television show, and completed 1 book manuscript.
And yet, strangely, we've never heard of this guy before today.
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Comment by The OC: Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but your opinions should be based on facts. Until you've met Ryan or heard... more » | Other threads
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wantrepreneurs
God is on your side, little startup dude
So I'm at one of the all too many New York Tech meetups I go to — I know, my boss tells me not to waste my time, but hey, beer! After a few drinks Bricabox founder Nate Westheimer says, "God. I want to make some money." Dude, you could try moving to Silicon Valley. Or praying. The Rev. Robert Sirico of the conservative Acton Institute says getting rich is divine and that greediness is next to Godliness. Or something. Check out his documentary titled The Call of the Entrepreneur. More »
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Comment by vulturesquadron: My advice would be to ditch the also-ran, easy-enough-for-grandma blogging platform space. If you want money, that is. more » | Other threads
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real estate
Make it in Silicon Alley and you might just land yourself a bathtub
In Silicon Valley, VCs talk about building wealth for your great-grandchildren. But for Manhattan's tech entrepreneurs, success is measured by being able to immerse yourself in bubbly water at home. Connected Ventures cofounder Ricky Van Veen — yes, one of those "silly kids" in New York I cover way too much — just bought a new pad. Paul Boutin's response: "Who?" Owen's: "Wake me when you have photos of Mark Zuckerberg's new condo at the Ritz." Whatevs. Check out the hot real estate porn. More »
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Comment by Nicholas Carlson: @Alleygal: And two weeks later, Alleygal lets them have it. more » | Other threads
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wantrepreneurs
Jason Calacanis happy, verging on desperate to meet you
Attention, bottom-feeding Gothamites! Weblogs Inc. cofounder Jason Calacanis is eager to bore you to tears over dinner about how great his new venture Mahalo is. (The short version: Remember Yahoo's Web directory from 12 years ago? That's basically Mahalo.) The buntrepreneur is stuffing his bulldog-cute, apple-cheeked face full of dim sum — oops, back to fatblogging! — at the Golden Unicorn at 7:30 p.m. tonight, notes Silicon Alley Insider.
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1-39 of 39 for "Valleywag, wantrepreneurs"
