Category: Startups

ICO’s to disrupt VC?

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

Good article here on this – not really answering it but just highlighting the stats :: http://tomtunguz.com/ico-trends/

For sure blockchain, crypto and ICO’s are here to stay. No doubt about it but for every trend there will be good and bad things to happen. No different than any other period of mass change. I myself am still trying to grok the longterm view of this since contrary to popular belief VC is a long game. Of course there are rollercoaster like moments of ups and downs marred with upheavels but generally the course of finding good companies to invest in and seeing them along their journey is what VC is.

And will continue to be.

An ICO will be a new tool in the arsenal a startup has to raise capital or to create a token system that is meaningful to the business. I think this comment at the end of the article is very telling:

First, startups raising these ICOs tend to be pre-revenue. Second, retail investors are buying substantial fractions of these offerings. Third, the volatility of these offerings is enormous.

If this trend continues and questions like regulation are answered, ICOs may be a novel and important mechanism for crytpocurrency based startups to raise capital.

The last sentence is a doozy – novel and important mechanism for cryptocurrency based startups to raise capital.

If I had a dollar for all the ICOs I have already seen that have nothing to do with cryptocurrency whatsover, I could proabably retire. If a company is doing an ICO with no meaningful use of the token other than to raise cash – I would run not walk to the nearest exit.

I have no crystal ball but the world is changing, blockchain + crypto will be a force for change but I wonder myself if there will be more good than bad around this. I bring you this clip from a well known techie:

tweet

Again – I don’t have the answers but much to ponder on.

Breakfast with Gary V

~ michael_msft ~ 1 Comment

gary_meHad a pretty awesome morning. I have read one of his books and for sure follow his LinkedIn posts. Hard to escape Gary V.

I knew he was coming to town and fortunately got invited to a private breakfast at PropertyGuru. A few of the local luminaries, myself and the PG founders were in attendance.

No agenda. Just a frank discussion about Asia, politics, startup life and Gary’s plan for the future. One thing that is pretty amazing about Gary is what he has created in VaynerMedia over the last few years but also his candidness about his plans. Apart from wanting to own a football team – he has plans to buy up distressed brands and rebuild them. I bet it will happen.

During our breakfast, or basically his every move, Gary has a videographer filming all the time. He says he plans to leave the videos to his family for eventual usage. Amazing if you think about it.

I learned a lot in 60 mins. I had a ton of questions rolling around in my head all day.

Thankfully the week is only half over. I have ideas.

BTW – VaynerMedia is coming to Singapore!

Update: https://www.mumbrella.asia/2017/10/gary-vaynerchuks-agency-vaynermedia-to-expand-into-asia-with-office-in-singapore

World Domination 

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

This past week was busy with switch, slush, venturecon, VC-PE summit and then walkabout. I hit or spoke or cheered them all on. I love 💕 being in Singapore and it was awesome to witness everyone from around the world coming out to support the city/state that continues to punch well above the weight class that everyone thinks it might be in.

I won’t lie – I am Singapore fanboy. 

When I read stories like this about America, startup slump, I am thankful to be in Asia and specifically at the center of SEA. Pro startup with a government mindful of the challenges ahead but super supportive of tech and the role it will play in future societies.

I worry about America but remain hopeful.

Overall I continue to be concerned about the role of the huge tech companies in our lives and their impact on startups and capitalism.

I can’t wait to read The Four.

And on this subject his weekly newsletter is very timely :: https://www.l2inc.com/daily-insights/no-mercy-no-malice/the-worm-has-turned

The biggest opportunity for the Four

The Four could pull off one of the greatest moments in business, addressing a huge social issue while disrupting an enormous, wildly profitable sector that hasn’t innovated in decades. One or more of the Four should launch a tuition-free university that blends offline and online learning, and charges firms to recruit. Student debt and corporate profits are at an all-time high, meaning we need to flip the model — charge firms, not students, for education.

Apple is also well suited to do this as its brand has roots in education. I estimate the economic value of credentialing is, if taken as a market, likely the largest industry in business with 80%+ gross margins. There would be several ways to create $100B+ in shareholder value and catalyze desperately needed competition. We (universities) have stuck out our chins and deserve fists of stone. Feeding like insecure vampires on the scarcity of our product (dopamine surges through our brains at faculty meetings as we revel in how impossible it is for kids to get into our programs), and praying on the hopes and dreams of families. Education used to be the upward lubricant and a social good. It’s now just one of those things.

Other than each other, there is only one thing between the Four and $1T in market value: the perception of poor citizenship. The small-ball strategies of tax avoidance, obfuscation, and the idolatry of youth and the dollar, may turn big tech into smaller tech.

Thoughts to ponder for sure.

I hope one of the companies steps up and challenges the perception of the role they could play and make America proud.