‘We in Denmark cannot figure out why you are even bothering to hold an
election. On one side there is a candidate who is a bitch who is a lawyer
and is
married to a lawyer, and on the same side you have a second candidate who
is
a lawyer and is married to a bitch who is a lawyer.
On the other side, you have a candidate who is a true war hero who is
married to a woman with a large chest who owns a beer distributorship.
Is there a contest here?’
With Will Smith investing in PluggedIn.com cause it to be successful? Too early to tell, but I guarantee the company will be more success full than if Joe Schmoe invested in it. I think with anything, investors and management are the second most important factor when looking at an investment valuation. Think funnyordie.com. These investments get public notice if the celebrity gets behind it. I think this is even translating into digital media celebrities, think federated media. I think there will be a big push coming out of Hollywood with big named people investing in small named company. An article to support this even further is by this article which talks about William Morris at CAA getting into the game. When the brains behind the celebrities are making the move, the chatter will grow and celebrities will start to make moves. All any company needs is a little noise or chatter to initiate their success, just as any celebrity does to launch their careers.
ValleyWag attempted to compare Community Connect and Bebo. for someone that blog digital media one would think that they would understand the simple concept of buying growth. CommunityConnect is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, social networks that exist. That is like comparing Netscape to Google, and saying if netscape currently didn’t sell for the same multiple as Google….. You have to shake your head at this. To call out the CEO Ben Sun like that is rediculous and so for that i call out the writer of the article Nicholas Carlson, I propose to never ever perform valuation work or analysis again and to continue to right about video blogers or justinTV. Ben Sun probably just walked away with millions, while Nichloas Carlson most likely lives in a studio with three roomates.
http://earth2tech.com/2008/04/11/10-green-social-networks-you-should-know/
A recent article by Mashable regarding 10 up and coming/established social networks based around being “GREEN” was insightful but missed the main underlying point, if one breaks away from the pack, they are going to make a gigantic pile of GREEN. Fortune 500 companies have earmarked huge budgets for “GREEN” advertising. Companies like GE and FORD will love to be associated with a dominate social network that is based around helping the enviroment. This social network niche is one that should be paid attention to and along the way maybe help pick up one or two pointers to save the world. If one of these networks makes a fortune, which i guarentee one will, will one suspect the founders will use those funds to further the cause? or live lavishly in limos, planes and yaughts? It is one of those ironic things in life, sometimes while helping to save the world, the world repays you 10 fold.
Remeber: There is always a chance.
Anthony Anderson’s breakout role
The surge of recent financings and tiny aquistions in the online sports arena has created a battle for prominence. It is without a doubt in the next six months this will be a strong focus of Internet buyers, whether they are strategics already there or new players that want to buy vs. build. Throughout the country in every city there is a sport, if not many, that people are truly passionate about. Sports to many is religion. They eat, drink, breathe and dream sports. As the online sports arena becomes more and more known to the internet masses, that sites exist outside of ESPN, sports will take off on the internet. Advertisers will then begin to poor in, and sites will start growing in revenue like gangbusters and fall like dominos. The user base that these sites will have will have rediculous user engagement and return visit metrics, cause again sports=religion. There are currently a wide variety of types of sport destinations on the internet, some will rise and some will fall, but it will be an interesting next 6 months, because I predict at least 50% of them will be bought or have a new round of financing (led by a strategic). I know this is a bold prediction, but I truly feel that the sports arena has been left PARKED IN THE ALLEY, and will soon come to the forefront of investors and internet “players.” Below are the companies that as a result of recent fundings have support behind them and exemplify the diverse landscape that internet sports currently has:
Serues A Financing; $?? Raised
Investors: Hillsven Ventures, Transcoast Capital, Jakob Lodwick (Vimeo) and other Silicon Valley executives
User-gen sports commentary. Blogging platform with a built in audience.
$2.5-6M+; Series A
Investors: Bill Rasmussen (ESPN Founder), The Musser Group and uncertain others
Social net. Nearly 5,000 communities in place for student and alumni. Every NCAA Division I, II, and III and NAIA college or university.
$3.0M+; Series A
Investors.com
Not disclosed but “four former technology entrepreneurs”
Sports social network and online video network
$6.0M+; Series A
Investors: Jeff Fluhr (StubHub), DFJ DragonFund, Mission Ventures, SCP Worldwide, Allen & Co, others
Next generation of fantasy sports. Combines traditional points scoring system with an innovative stock market-style trading floor.
$6M+; Series B Investors: DFJ, Russ Siegelman, Ronnie Lott, Jarl Mohn, Labrador Ventures, Baseline Ventures, and others Community site and ad network (300+ sites). Digg-like social voting system for news stories, along with blogs (including some from pro athletes including Donovan McNabb) and other user-gen media
$4.5-6M+; Series A
Investors: Pequot Private Equity, CAA, Major League Baseball, Derek Jeter (also received equity for involvement)
Community site for youth sports. Fun, educational, informative and safe site that allows people (kids, parents, coaches, refs, ect.) to connect, share, learn and have fun. Weplay pros: Derek Jeter, Jennie Finch, Lebron James and Peyton Manning and many more (probably all received equity for involvement)
“What is the feeling when you’re driving away from people, and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? -it’s the too huge world vaulting us, and it’s good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.” - Jack Kerouac
