Here at VOCEL we are in the process of launching the latest version of our platform, and for the first time we are targeting non-operator customers. It's been really interesting (read: Challenging) trying to shift our pitch from a very mobile-savvy story to one that resonates with people from the "normal" world.
As an engineer turned marketing/sales I've found that my first shot at explaining *anything* always winds up confusing and too detailed. Several iterations later I've got it down... if I'm lucky.
This post pretty much starts off the way I'd say something at first! Good info on why you need to keep it simple.
-T
Well, If you are a Helio customer, you might want to get ready. Things are going to get hairy.
"EarthLink will not be required to participate in future funding rounds [in Helio], and will retain a meaningful ownership stake. The definitive amended joint venture agreements are expected to be finalized in the near future."
If Earthlink is out, and the company burned 92.3 million on 51.7 in revenues in the last quarter including a 30 million dollar loan from Earthlink.... well, they might want to get on it.
SK Telecom agreed to "up to" 270MM more, likely giving them 6-9 months runway without a significant change.
I'm not a fan of MVNO's in general, but good luck anyways.
Last year, I attended a party thrown by Motricity (where I worked for many years) and BET. That was pretty funny, since it's run by a group that can't even be considered moderately hip, let alone urban. The fact that the lineup included Busta Rhymes and the Three Six Mafia, made it HYSTERICAL.
Now, that may have been a special breed of funny since it was my friends; however CTIA is always an interesting mix of media companies and geeks. Tonight I may be attending the Universal Music Group party, where apparently Nelly will be in tha house. Tomorrow, the Nokia/DefJam party.
As usual, I expect there to be an overflow of news announcements and I'll be posting whatever I find interesting. I'll probably post some pictures as well if I bump into any rappers, or quirky CEO's.
I'm up in San Francisco now, but obviously tracking the wildfires. Most of my friends and co-workers have been evacuated, and several of their homes are in serious danger.
The last I checked the flames were about 3 miles from my office as well. The distance these fires have moved in 24 hours is nothing short of amazing.
A quote fromthe article.
"As a former VC I am often asked by entrepreneurs “I am having trouble raising money, can you please give me some advice on how to improve my chances?” Beyond having a start-up that is obviously the next Google, there is no easy way to raise VC money, especially if you are a first time entrepreneur with few, if any, VC contacts. The harsh reality is that you face an uphill battle to get a meeting, let alone a term sheet, but the good news is that by taking a pragmatic approach to getting your foot in the door you can greatly improve your chances."
Interesting article, click here for the full post.
I'm mostly just joining the crowd here, but Marc Andreessen has been on a roll blogging lately. This latest one is a great description of playing the startup game.
Still, it's addicting.
http://blog.pmarca.com/2007/06/the_pmarca_guid_1.html
Over the years I've worked with startups and small companies in various roles. Software Engineering to Product Management, voice recognition to mobile phone software. The words "Web 2.0" make me cringe a bit, but sure, that too.
I get the chills sometimes when I think about businesses.
Due to that, I spend entirely too much time watching the venture backed world, focusing on mobile software in particular.
I'm always interested in talking to people about technology(especially mobile) or any business that will change the world. Say hello!
