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June 29, 2005

Good Driving Technique vs Staying the Course

Damn it!  Fred Wilson beat me to the punch today with yet another one of his great VC Cliches of the Week.   Re: Bush Speech last night, Fred astutely related the Bush “Let’s Keep Doing Everything the Same” approach to the... [continued]

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Know Your Entrepreneur's Magic Number

Know Your Entrepreneur's Magic Number One of my objectives on Sacred Cow Dung is to discuss various aspects of the art of building new companies and new industries.  One of the most central areas to discuss is RISK.   The ability... [continued]

Posted by cmayaud at 12:47 PM | Permalink| Comments (0)
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June 28, 2005

Feedster Feed Claim

No Need to Click Here - I'm just claiming my feed at Feedster... [continued]

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The Power of Free

Both of these two posts together offer a very interesting and useful summary of the strategic use of Free — from Tom Evslin’s Fractals of Change  Definitely worth the time to study both of these entries carefully and to reconsider your... [continued]

Posted by cmayaud at 09:36 AM | Permalink| Comments (0)
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Genuine VC: Know Your VC's Magic Number

Genuine VC: Know Your VC’s Magic Number  In determining if a venture firm is a good fit for an entrepreneur (and vis versa), every first meeting should include a brief discussion about fund size, typical initial investment size, and the... [continued]

Posted by cmayaud at 08:54 AM | Permalink| Comments (0)
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June 27, 2005

So Just How Much is a MOTU worth to a VC? -- VC Fantasy Life Part II

So Just How Much is a MOTU worth to a VC?  It depends.  Bill Burnham has just posted his analysis with detailed links and references to public filings to get a good sense at what two Big Bear VCs (John... [continued]

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June 26, 2005

What if the US were nolonger the World's Superpower?

What if the US were nolonger the World's Super-power? Over the last few years, I have not been particularly bullish about the future of the US — both politically and economically — relative to the rest of the world.  I’d... [continued]

Posted by cmayaud at 03:14 PM | Permalink| Comments (2)
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June 24, 2005

The Motus that Got Away

I have yet to find a more interesting, revealing, and truly brilliant web page on any other VC website than this one.  This is my all time favorite and it is from Bessemer, or BVP as they seem to call themselves... [continued]

Posted by cmayaud at 04:20 PM | Permalink| Comments (1)
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June 22, 2005

Bagging the Rare MOTU -- VC Fantasy Life Part I

The MOTU The Motu is the rarest, and most highly prized, of all species of venture deals.   While I intend to discuss each of the species popular to venture investing over the next few months, it makes sense to start with... [continued]

Posted by cmayaud at 06:43 PM | Permalink| Comments (1)
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June 21, 2005

Five reasons social networking doesn't work

The Buzz Report: Five reasons social networking doesn't work - CNET.com Five reasons social networking doesn't work By Molly Wood, section editor, CNET.comThursday, June 2, 2005  The word on the street lately is that social networking is in trouble. Friendster's... [continued]

Posted by cmayaud at 09:51 AM | Permalink| Comments (0)
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NEW MYTH: The Ultimate "Master of the Universe" Vision Statement

FOR MEGALOMANIACS ONLY If you have ever been inspired to have the full grandiosity of your vision come alive in the minds of your potential investors (or your therapist), this short video is for you. EPIC 2014 [“Thorazine Anyone?” — Chris... [continued]

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June 19, 2005

RULE OF THE WEEK: The success of a web service is inversely proportional to the secrecy that surrounded its development.

Sacred Cow Dung Rule of the Week Mark Fletcher , founder of Bloglines , wrote this rule in an interesting post on the relevance (or irrelevance) of Stealth Mode for Internet Start-ups called Stealt... [continued]

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June 18, 2005

What is a "Scalable" Business?

For Venture Investors:  Scalability is King While both scalable and non-scalable businesses can be “successful” and grow — only scalable businesses can achieve the high-growth characteristics required to command market multiples attractive to venture investors. So what is a “scalable”... [continued]

Posted by cmayaud at 07:03 PM | Permalink| Comments (2)
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MYTH: Physicians are Resistant to New Technologies

REALITY: Marketing 101: NEVER EVER Blame the Customer for not Buying Your Product!!! [Beware — this post is really more of a personal rant — so let me apologise in advance for being a bit meandering and repetitive — cgm] This... [continued]

Posted by cmayaud at 01:50 PM | Permalink| Comments (2)
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June 17, 2005

MYTH: 10x "Best Case" Return is Compelling to Investors

REALITY: 10x “Worst Case” Return is Compelling to Investors Assume $500m Venture Fund Size $10m Average Investment Size Series B Average Investment Stage 50 Deals Total Do the math! 100x at 5 years delivers an incremental 15% IRR to the fund... [continued]

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June 14, 2005

Target ID and Validation for Orphan Diseases

[ BioTech and Pharma VCs Beware: This article is yet further evidence of the Open-Source Drug Development Trend that is building rapidly and challenging the traditional pharmaceutical industry.  Open-Source Drug Development will ultimately have a similar and equally devastating disintermediating... [continued]

Posted by cmayaud at 03:23 PM | Permalink| Comments (0)
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June 13, 2005

MYTH: Great Management is King

REALITY: Great Strategy is King Most VCs will respond with knee-jerk affirmation to the statement “Great Management is King”.   But what VCs really mean is that Great Management is a necessary but insufficient condition for them to invest.  Clearly, the company must... [continued]

Posted by cmayaud at 03:25 PM | Permalink| Comments (2)
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June 12, 2005

MYTH: Entrepreneurs are Special People

REALITY: The term “Entrepreneur” has been rendered useless through massive over-use, misuse, and bizarre mystical veneration. I have always felt very very uncomfortable using the terms "entrepreneur", "entrepreneurial", "entrepreneurship" etc.  And I have always felt acutely uncomfortable when I've... [continued]

Posted by cmayaud at 02:27 PM | Permalink| Comments (2)
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MYTH: "Patents Protect Small Companies"

REALITY: “Only DEEP DEEP Pockets = Patent Protection” Patents are just negotiating chits in a Big Company Chess Game.  You not only need the patents but you need lots and lots of money to play against the “Big Boys.”. If... [continued]

Posted by cmayaud at 11:39 AM | Permalink| Comments (1)
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June 05, 2005

MYTH: NDAs are a Good Idea

REALITY: Nothing Screams “I’m Clue-less” Louder than asking for an NDA. Read my lips: “NDAs are a) unenforceable and b) even suggesting an NDA makes you look like a complete idiot.” BTW, For those of you who don’t know: NDA... [continued]

Posted by cmayaud at 08:46 PM | Permalink| Comments (5)
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June 04, 2005

What is "Mythocracy"?

What is this term “Mythocracy” I use so prominently in the subtitle of this blog?  Actually, “Mythocracy” is a term I coined for myself in the early 1970s to describe the role of Propaganda in Technology-Driven Democratic Societies. In college, I... [continued]

Posted by cmayaud at 01:15 PM | Permalink| Comments (4)
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June 03, 2005

MYTH: "Crazy like a Fox"

Reality: “Crazy like a Raccoon!” Anyone who has grown up exposed to raccoons and their behaviours will have a treasure trove of bizarre stories to tell.  In fact, in communities with significant “coon” exposure, raccoons often become the center of... [continued]

Posted by cmayaud at 12:47 PM | Permalink| Comments (3)
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