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"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."  -Aristotle

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I am a co-founder of Notches, an early stage startup currently based in NYC. We are building a free, open reviews network that anyone can participate in and anyone can build on top of. You can find out more on our official blog.

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  • Passion and its role in evaluating new product ideas

    Evan Williams has an absolutely wonderful post up about evaluating a new product idea . I think Marc is spot on - the "personally compelling" criteria is the one that stands out. Last on the list, but probably the first question I ask myself is: How important to me is it that this product exists in the world? If I were evaluating a startup, I'd ask this of the founders. . . . In theory, you can get around this with lots of user research. (It's pretty clear neither Slide nor Rockyou 's founders are creating widgets based on their own needs and desires.) But you're more likely to get it wrong that way. When I've gone sideways, it's when I wasn't listening to my gut on this issue. Specifically, Blogger and Twitter were personally compelling, while Odeo wasn't. Clearly, you're better suited to build a best-of-breed product if you're intimately familiar with the space and "scratching your own itch". But perhaps more importantly, I think...
  • How Microsoft can crush Google

    Dare points to this insightful, if nefarious, post on how Microsoft could crush Google in one easy step . I've long made the argument that Google is not a technology company, but rather an advertising / media company. Clearly, the distinction between technology and media is at least blurring. In fact, it was observed at a recent nextNY event that a lot of startups - particularly those in New York - are less about "technology" and more about employing it intelligently. Though it's unrealistic and unlikely that Microsoft would (or could) ever do this, the post recognizes a simple truth sometimes lost in this discussion: unlike Microsoft (or Apple), Google doesn't really "sell" anything. (Search appliances and Google Premier Apps aren't even on the radar). They are largely dependent on advertising, and most of their products, purchases and partnerships are about securing vehicles for that advertising. As Henry suggests, Google would be disproportionally affected by the loss of a major vehicle...