Family and friends,
While I'm still behind about 30 votes in the $10,000 'best idea' contest that ends on Oct 31st, I did discover that the VenueJet.com concept (in the form of our entry in the ideablob.com contest) was mentioned at the end of this Business Week article. Very Cool!
Planning for a Crush of Startups
by David E. Gumpert
Category: In the News | Posted: 10/19/2007
A Venture Capitalist's OutlookThe cost of starting a business is declining so expect an explosion of startups, says venture capitalist Paul Graham of Y Combinator ( BusinessWeek.com, 9/26/07), a backer of startup companies, in an essay on his Web site. "When starting a business was expensive, you had to get the permission of investors to do it. Now the only threshold is courage." Among the implications:
• Standardization of investment terms, especially for initial "angel rounds." This speeds up the investment process and reduces legal fees, Graham says. Y Combinator is "using the same paperwork for every deal we do" and has "commissioned generic paperwork that all the startups we fund can use for future rounds."
• More acquisitions of young companies by corporations, as they "develop standardized procedures that make acquisitions little more work than hiring someone." According to Graham, Google (GOOG) is setting the pace. "They buy a lot of startups—more than most people realize" and "they're figuring out how to do it efficiently."
• "Younger, nerdier founders." Graham argues that because less effort will need to go into convincing investors, and more into actually launching the business using a few tens of thousands of dollars raised from relatives, "younger and more technical founders will be able to start startups than could before."
• More competition. While "that doesn't erase the advantage of increased cheapness," he says, "you won't be able to sit on a good idea. Other people have your idea, and they'll be increasingly likely to do something about it."
One requirement that won't change is the importance of "startup hubs" like Silicon Valley. That's because face-to-face meetings with investors and other backers will remain central to all startups. Y Combinator feels such contact is so important that "we make people move for Y Combinator, and it doesn't seem to be a problem. The advantage of being able to work together face-to-face for three months outweighs the inconvenience of moving."
How About Disposable Prepacked Lunch Boxes?
Advanta Bank's Ideablob.com invites visitors to submit their business ideas for feedback and enter a monthly contest to win $10,000. Prepacked lunch boxes is one of the most popular recent ideas. Two others: a real estate Web site "that finally rids the world of real estate brokers" and a Web site to search for available wedding or business meeting event space.
Read full article at www.businessweek.com
