https://www.gov.sg/microsites/future-economy/the-cfe-report/read-the-full-report
Category: Apprentice VC
Red Bull the media company
Ions ago I wrote this :: https://seedvc.blog/2011/05/22/red-bull-story/
Now L2 has a small post about Red Bull and their dominance in media. Which is super impressive :: https://www.l2inc.com/how-red-bull-became-a-media-company/2017/blog
Red Bull not only airs videos across social media, but has expanded its media presence to other platforms. Like Netflix or HBO Go, Red Bull TV can be screened on Chromecast and smart TVs as well as smartphones. On Android, the Red Bull TV app has more than one million downloads. While it’s hard to say if that will translate into beverage sales, the brand has used its digital video presence to achieve the coveted goal of being top-of-mind – an increasingly difficult mission in a digital age.
Updated :: Upfront State of the VC & Tech Industry 2017
This is really good. I need to dissect it more and think about Asia in regards to some of the thoughts. Funny – Singapore is in the deck a few times but maybe not for what you think.
I wrote about the conference scene we are missing a little here so it is cool to have a nice deck to digest.
A good primer to the deck is this small digest from Mark Suster :: https://www.cooleygo.com/quarterly-vc-update-mark-suster-state-venture-capital-investing/
Envious of the USA conference scene
Gonna throw a few links at you today. One of the things I have missed about not being in the states is the conference scene. I am not saying Asia doesn’t have any that are good but they just don’t yet compare to the quality and level of speakers. Maybe it is just me so if so – tell me to shut up.
I hope someday to get to Recode’s Code Media Conference :: https://events.recode.net/events/code-media/
It is on my list for 2018.
For VC conferences I think the Upfront Summit looks awesome :: http://summit.upfront.com. I am going to figure out how to get into it for 2018 as well. I assume they will post some videos soon but if you follow Mark on his podcast link – they have dropped some good audio interviews.
Love this one with Cuban :: https://overcast.fm/+BxlT794oA
He has a really good quote in there. He is asked about startup ecosystems outside of Silicon Valley and what is the difference. He goes on to state that the only difference is the exits. I tend to agree with this. You can build a startup, get funded and make money in any location but you might have a hard time exiting. Sure – not everything needs to exit but generally, almost always, a venture backed business needs an exit through acquistion or going public at some point. That’s how the capital system functions. Like it or not.
Lots to ponder.
Last chance :: The Singaporean Startup Stack
https://stripe1.typeform.com/to/ue2s0P
Jungle Ventures, Golden Gate, General Assembly, 500 Startups, and of course SeedPlus is working with Stripe to understand what tools folks are using to build their starups.
Super useful. Do your part.
Back to the MacBook
My reasoning for originally buying the iPad Pro with the Apple keyboard was pretty simple. At the time it was the latest hardware from Apple – period. The MacBook was too small and not enough ports for me to invest in it as my main machine. I enjoyed the iPad and get could get my work done but for sure I was not as productive as I am with a real mac.
And it’s not just the keyboard but multitasking, real web browsers and apps not refreshing cause they are out of memory. That would happen so much – I can’t count how many times I was using safari to buy plane tickets and the browser would refresh and the form was blank. That just never happens on a mac – never.
So I tend to agree with Marco here :: https://marco.org/2017/01/31/the-wrong-future
iPads are cool and all but I don’t need it and since I got my MacBook Pro I haven’t touched it. Now my wife has it and loves it.
I dig my MacBook Pro and for sure I get more done on it than an iPad – period. I am not sure how Apple will solve the divide between iOS productivity and macOS but for sure it exists.
Seed Stage Docs
We think about creating something like this but right now don’t have the time. However I think this is a pretty good set and well thought out. I am not endorsing these but given the amount of crappy docs I have seen I think something like this is a pretty good place to start.
Also – if you are a founder trying to raise money and you have not read Venture Deals yet then you are making a big mistake. Get educated before you get funded.
Conduct the autopsy without pointing fingers!
Been reading Good To Great and this just really jumped out at me. Startups will also have some sort of a lost battle or big failure but what’s important is being able to carry out an autopsy without laying blame so that the entire company can benefit from the post mortem.
Standing up to Google
Check this rant from the Prof.
https://www.l2inc.com/no-mercy-no-malice/fool-me-twice
The shit sandwich here is that having legitimate news next to fake news has only made the Facebook platform more dangerous. When standing in line at Krogers, your bullshit filter is in high gear and you suspect HiIlary isn’t an alien, despite what the Enquirer and other supermarket tabloids tell you. However, the presence of the NYT and WaPo on Facebook has only legitimized fake news. Fuck.
Dear Hearst, Sulzberger, Murdoch, Newhouse, Burda families:
Remove your heads from your asses. Google and Facebook are your frenemy, minus the friend part. Turn off Google / Facebook / Twitter / Snapchat, form a consortium, and command the space you occupy. Take a page from LVMH’s playbook regarding their presence on Amazon — specifically how they’re not present on Amazon.
I tend to agree but guessing very few orgs have the guts to do anything about it.
Walmart and Jet
Going to be interesting to see how this plays out. Prof. Galloway is professing a huge writedown is coming but I’m not sure yet. Mark is a shrewd operator and clearly possesses the skills but the issue issue is can Walmart become something big in ecommerce or not.
Here is the latest on the recent layoffs and Mark’s memo to staff :: http://fortune.com/2017/01/26/walmart-layoffs-ecommerce/
I am also wondering how this will play out internationally. Flipkart is toast in the face of a lone battle against Amazon – might make sense for Walmart to buy it and use it to careen through Asia. I never got why Flipkart with all the cash and over payed execs stuck to India only knowing Amazon and Alibaba would go global.
Fun times. Big bucks.
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