Todd Allen on Technology

Fix Your Pitch.. Advice I need to take.

todd — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:04:00 -0400

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

TheFunded.com: Remember to have a social life...

todd — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 06:15:19 -0500

Apparently I'm not alone! I'll take it. TheFunded.com: Remember to have a social life... -T

Blogged with Flock

This is Your Brain. TiYB when fundraising… « FoundRead

todd — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 02:50:40 -0500

For my non-startup friends, welcome to my life. (Ps.. my life rocks)

This is Your Brain. TiYB when fundraising… « FoundRead

Blogged with Flock

Darren Herman - Marketing, Advertising, Media and Technology Blog » Blog Archive » I Want My Slice of the Pie: A look at startups and ad spending

todd — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 19:08:04 -0500

A great article if you are in/thinking about an advertising based startup. Darren Herman - Marketing, Advertising, Media and Technology Blog » Blog Archive » I Want My Slice of the Pie: A look at startups and ad spending

Blogged with Flock

Tags: startups, advertising

EarthLink: No More Money for Helio « GigaOM

todd — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 14:53:00 -0400

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.

EarthLink: No More Money for Helio « GigaOM

Blogged with Flock

Tags: helio, earthlink

Up at CTIA, San Francisco

todd — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 02:04:51 -0400

Aah CTIA. This place always cracks me up.

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.

-T

Blogged with Flock

Tags: CTIA, Motricity, "Busta Rhymes

San Diego Wildfires, Amazing.

todd — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 21:41:00 -0400

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.

My thoughts are with everyone. Please stay safe.

Here is a link to a Google mashup showing the area.

Blogged with Flock

Tags: SanDiego, wildfires

10 Pragmatic Steps To Raising Venture Capital

todd — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 19:52:00 -0400

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.

Why not to do a startup.

todd — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 01:57:22 -0400

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

Great TED Video

todd — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 14:50:00 -0400

If you have some extra time, this site is a goldmine of interesting ideas. Stick with it even if you aren't very science minded.