I met Clay Loges when he applied and presented at RHP's Visibility Conference last year. I find it fascinating that he founded the first 10-minute oil change business (now Jiffy Lube) in WA and CA, and then morphed himself into a technology entrepreneur. How did he do that?
That is truly the spirit of the valley -- everything is possible!
The one thing I like very much about Clay is that he has no ego; he doesn't leave anyone out. He considers himself to be a "co-founder", and his assistant the other "co-founder". I don't think I've met a team of co-founders with that combination before.
Yodio's biggest competitor is Goldmail. Their one huge limitation is the requirement of a microphone on your computer to be able to record and share, whereas Yodio targets a bigger market allowing users to call in from any cell phone anytime, anywhere.
Most importantly, Yodio incorporates advertising via sponsorship -- so their charges are distribution oriented. According to Clay, "GoldMail and other voice recording shops view themselves as "producers", and they base their fees on access and usage. We view this as the old recording studio model which is challenged today by new technologies."
You are welcome to post your own thoughts, experiences, and knowledge about this topic of the audio publishing of personalized content market। I look forward to your comments!
Our Sponsors: Fenwick & West & Softjourn Send them business!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
VC Profiles: Brian Wilcove, Partner at Sofinnova Ventures
I first met Brian when he was at Telesoft Partners. I was introduced to him by my friend Chris Melching. He took the time to meet with me for coffee back then, and reconnected in 2007 at Sofinnova Ventures.
Brian is one of the kindest and most down to earth venture capitalists I know in the Silicon Valley. I found out recently that he is also a very trusting soul. He told me one day in December that he was starting to come down with something and he had a scratchy throat. I gave him drugs that he had never heard of, and with a name I can't pronounce -- "Oscillococcinum" -- and he took it without questioning my motivation! Not to worry, it's a more expensive and potent herbal drug that works like the popular "Airborne" that you can buy at any drug store.
I really like Brian's style of working with people -- friendly, humble, and respectful. I think any startup would be lucky to work in partnership with Brian.
BTW, did you know that Sofinnova Ventures invests in companies that are currently or in the future doing business in Europe, particularly France? This is what they say right on their "Our History" page: "...an early-stage VC firm that would use its unique European background and contacts to bring value to its U.S. investments." (http://www.sofinnova.com/html/phil_history.htm).
You are welcome to post your own thoughts, experiences, and knowledge regarding the subject of this post। I look forward to your comments!
Our Sponsors: Fenwick & West & Softjourn Send them business!
Brian is one of the kindest and most down to earth venture capitalists I know in the Silicon Valley. I found out recently that he is also a very trusting soul. He told me one day in December that he was starting to come down with something and he had a scratchy throat. I gave him drugs that he had never heard of, and with a name I can't pronounce -- "Oscillococcinum" -- and he took it without questioning my motivation! Not to worry, it's a more expensive and potent herbal drug that works like the popular "Airborne" that you can buy at any drug store.
I really like Brian's style of working with people -- friendly, humble, and respectful. I think any startup would be lucky to work in partnership with Brian.
BTW, did you know that Sofinnova Ventures invests in companies that are currently or in the future doing business in Europe, particularly France? This is what they say right on their "Our History" page: "...an early-stage VC firm that would use its unique European background and contacts to bring value to its U.S. investments." (http://www.sofinnova.com/html/phil_history.htm).
You are welcome to post your own thoughts, experiences, and knowledge regarding the subject of this post। I look forward to your comments!
Our Sponsors: Fenwick & West & Softjourn Send them business!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
DJ Nitrogen Inc.
I first learned of DJ Nitrogen when they were introduced to me last October by Max Shapiro from PeopleConnect, a recruiting firm in the Silicon Valley. I heard what they were about and became fascinated by their business model right away.
Their disruptive business model currently focused on the 10-yrs old gimmicks-stricken ringtone market is taking historical leaders in this market by surprise. But, they are no maverick. Their so-called competitors will soon private label their Ringtone Lab(TM) application powered by DJ Nitrogen to become distribution partners.
From what I can gather, their biggest competitor is PhoneZoo, an ad based online mobile content sharing site with a tool to create simple ringtones, where members can rate, comment on, and download each others' ringtones. The key differences I want to focus on are: 1) DJ Nitrogen is a mobile content collaboration platform and new applications like Mobile Video Lab(TM) will be built upon it; 2) DJ Nitrogen's technology can be embedded in media players, music stores, etc.; and 3) DJ Nitrogen's Ringtone Lab can view the MP3s in your music library to ensure that you actually own a copy of the music you are about to use to create your ringtone.
Their similarities include easy to use ringtone creation tools as well as the fact that, that is only one small component of both business models.
You are welcome to post your own thoughts, experiences, and knowledge about this topic of the ringtone market or more importantly, mobile content collaboration. I look forward to your comments!
Our Sponsors: Fenwick & West & Softjourn Send them business!
Their disruptive business model currently focused on the 10-yrs old gimmicks-stricken ringtone market is taking historical leaders in this market by surprise. But, they are no maverick. Their so-called competitors will soon private label their Ringtone Lab(TM) application powered by DJ Nitrogen to become distribution partners.
From what I can gather, their biggest competitor is PhoneZoo, an ad based online mobile content sharing site with a tool to create simple ringtones, where members can rate, comment on, and download each others' ringtones. The key differences I want to focus on are: 1) DJ Nitrogen is a mobile content collaboration platform and new applications like Mobile Video Lab(TM) will be built upon it; 2) DJ Nitrogen's technology can be embedded in media players, music stores, etc.; and 3) DJ Nitrogen's Ringtone Lab can view the MP3s in your music library to ensure that you actually own a copy of the music you are about to use to create your ringtone.
Their similarities include easy to use ringtone creation tools as well as the fact that, that is only one small component of both business models.
You are welcome to post your own thoughts, experiences, and knowledge about this topic of the ringtone market or more importantly, mobile content collaboration. I look forward to your comments!
Our Sponsors: Fenwick & West & Softjourn Send them business!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)