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Internet Entrepreneurs Are Like Professional Athletes, They Peak Around 25
May 01, 6:27AM
"Consumer Internet entrepreneurs are like pro basketball players," a venture capitalist told me recently while discussing the prospects for a thirty-something founder, "They peak at 25, by 30 they're usually done." Why? Because young entrepreneurs are more creative and imaginative, and are willing put 100% of their lives into their startups, he said. "It's not a guess, this is a data driven observation," says the VC. He had a number of caveats. First, this only applies to consumer Internet entrepreneurs. Enterprise and hardware startups tend to do better with older founders, where experience (and direct sales experience) matter a lot. And there are plenty of founders that, like Michael Jordan, can peak way beyond 25 (and the peak basketball age is really probably at least a 27). "Those tend to be the repeat success founders," he said, "the rules don't apply to them." 
The Cloud Has Us All In A Fog
Apr 30, 7:05PM
Ever heard of Dropship? It's an open-source project that "enables arbitrary, anonymous transfers of files between Dropbox accounts." Dropbox hopes you haven't; they tried to squelch it this week, and even accidentally reported that it was subject to a DMCA takedown notice, with predictably futile results. I'm mostly sympathetic: I'm a huge fan of their service, Dropship was a clear violation of their terms, and for obvious reasons they don't want to turn into an anonymous peer-to-peer file-sharing service. Unfortunately, they accidentally built a system which enabled just that. How about Sony's PlayStation Network? Of course you have. It was so thoroughly hacked this week that Sony had to shut it down indefinitely. Did you also know that Sony's PS3 firmware is effectively wide open, because they made a hilariously stupid security mistake? Did you know that that's probably how PSN got hacked, and that it raised the spectre of the hacker(s) taking over every connected PlayStation 3 in the world and turning them into by far the biggest botnet in history? That probably wasn't what Sony had in mind, but they accidentally built a system which enabled just that.
Gillmor Gang 4.30.11 (TCTV)
Apr 30, 5:00PM
The Gillmor Gang — Kevin Marks, Danny Sullivan, JP Rangaswami, John Taschek, and Steve Gillmor — christened the new Gang studio with a surprise welcome to Kevin Marks. It turns out he's joining salesforce.com on Monday, following JP (six months), JT (7 years), and me, who is celebrating my one year anniversary. Kevin has been a forceful champion of open standards at Apple, Technorati, Google, BT (Ribbit), the Gillmor Gang, and now salesforce.com. Before, and once the festivities were out of the way, we got back to Gang business, namely the continued aftermath of the phone location recording crisis. With free lunch debunked, we tackled the Amazon outage and its impact on the Cloud. You can decide for yourselves, but the consensus is that such challenges will be remembered fondly as a validation of the moment, as with the Gmail outage of several years ago, when the Cloud passed from inflection point to basic services. The velocity of business in the iPad age, where CEOs can see deeply into their companies in realtime, demands a level of interactive services and an iterative feedback loop not possible with the previous generation of software. And that lead to a debate about iPhone video calls and what Danny is looking for in a flying car.
How DIY Health Reform Can Help You Win The Talent Wars
Apr 30, 3:00PM
The talent wars that were common back in the late 90′s appear to have returned whether it's using LOLCats or cheeseburgers to recruit talent. While I love the creativity, when it comes down to making a decision to join a new company, the lumbering tech giants (Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Zynga, Facebook) which startups compete against for talent have one giant ace up their sleeve — great healthcare benefits. When I left Microsoft 8 years ago, my wife expressed only one concern — losing health benefits. At the time, I told her that it's just a matter of paying those costs directly. The reality has been that it's been a significant hassle and cost that we'd rather not deal with. The excitement of working with startups has outweighed that hassle, but even to this day it remains a burr in the saddle. Periodically, I will get an offer to join some company and her first question is "how are their health benefits?" Startups have repeatedly shown an ability to outmaneuver the behemoths we compete with but this is one area where the behemoths still have an edge. It's time to turn the tables with what I call Do-it-Yourself (DIY) Healthcare Reform.
Game Over for Incentivized App Downloads
Apr 30, 1:32PM
The business model of incentivized app downloads was recently dealt a death sentence by Apple. Apple said incentivized app downloads were driving inaccurate rankings in the App Store, almost certainly because essentially paying consumers to download apps was a way of gaming a ranking system that used downloads as a key metric. To be fair, there were many quality apps taking advantage of the loophole in the ranking system, but that era has ended. And so have the days of companies making money hand over fist in the incentivized downloads business, better known in the industry as Cost Per Install or CPI. So how exactly did it work? Say you're playing a game that offers you virtual currency; the game might ask you to download an advertised application in exchange for virtual credits within that game. You install the app and get your in-game currency. The app gets a new install and pays for that. This quickly generates bursts of installs, immediately boosting an app's ranking in the app store. 
An Update To My Ethics Policy
Apr 30, 7:01AM
I've been in Las Vegas for most of the month and so have been out of the loop on some of the major stories rocking the world of technology and media. Stories like the startling news that, having made a sack-load of money from the sale of TechCrunch to AOL, Mike is going to begin investing in start-ups again. Like most 
How Many Mulligans Does Color Get?
Apr 30, 6:45AM
WARNING: mixed sports metaphors ahead. How many do-overs does a startup get before users give up on it for good? As far as I can remember, the answer is zero. I can't think of an example where a startup launched into the wild, flailed badly, and recovered (without completely abandoning the first product). There are lots of examples of flailing and relaunching (see Cuil, see Joost), but I can't think of anyone that managed to pull out a win. By my count Color, the $41 million startup that promises to "transform the way people communicate with each other," has already struck out. The first strike was a launch that left users confused, sharing photos with themselves and trying to figure out a user interface that seemed purposely designed to frustrate. We gave them another chance. Strike two: pulling the Android version of the app from the market.
The Pitfall Of Twitter's 'Promoted Trends' #RoyalWedding
Apr 30, 5:51AM
Twitter recently upped its rates on Twitter Promoted Trends from $60K-$70K to between $100K-$120K which means the demand for the unique form of advertising is certainly there. But what are brands getting in return? As we've seen before with Skittles, Charlie Sheen, and even the #Dickbar, attempting to float a brand message over user generated Twitter content isn't always a success. 
Nancy Conrad On Education Innovation: Turning Geeks Into Rock Stars Is A Game Changer
Apr 30, 4:20AM
Last week President Obama spoke at Facebook, emphasizing during the townhall that the US needs to be bullish on Science and Math education if we are to pull out of the recession, "We want to start making Science cool. I want people to feel about the next big energy breakthrough and the next big Internet breakthrough the same way they felt about the moonwalk," he said. Taking off on that idea, Nancy Conrad, the wife of late astronaut Pete Conrad, has founded the Conrad Foundation in the memory of her husband. Pete Conrad was expelled from one school in the 11th grade because he had dislexia and then went on to graduate from Princeton and walk on the moon because he was taken under the wing of an educator who saw promise in the young man. 
Can I Get Some Sustainability With That Shake?
Apr 30, 12:21AM
This week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued Energy Star ratings for large vat commercial fryers. These appliances are used by high-volume dining establishments — like fast food chains, institutional cafeterias and full-service restaurants— to make french fries, hush puppies and anything else Paula Deen would promote, in bulk. Encouraging the industry to upgrade to more energy-efficient fryers could help reduce the overall environmental (if not health) impact of kitchens in the U.S. catering to the collective appetite for fried foods, an appetite that seems pervasive, and permanent here. One Texan cook, Mark Zable, has even invented a method to make deep-fried beer. According to a press statement and calculations by the EPA... 
Jack Dorsey Shares Some Big Square Numbers: 341,688 Readers Shipped, $137M Total Flow
Apr 29, 11:08PM
Square founder and CEO Jack Dorsey just tweeted a photo of the company's internal dashboard, and, aside from looking very sexy, it's boasting some impressive numbers. Among them: Square has shipped 341,688 of its card readers to date and has 332,483 activated users. As Dorsey's tweet points out, Square is also showing some very impressive growth: on March 2, Square was processing $1 million per day. Now, less than two months later, it's doubled that, with $2 million in processed payments today (and there's still some time left on the clock). 
Strike A Pose, 'Cause Online Point Of Sale Systems Are The New Vogue
Apr 29, 11:03PM
If you've ever worked in retail or the food services industry, you're probably familiar with the Point of Sale (POS) system. It's the software/hardware combination that most people would probably call a cash register, though there's more to it than that: inventory tracking, coupons, exchanges, and pretty much everything else is done using one of these POS systems. And they're often a total pain, with myriad options and interfaces that sometimes harken back to the Windows 3.1 days. Pose is one company (among many) that's trying to fix the POS. And instead of relying on a new hardware device, they're turning to one you already have: your web-connected computer. Everything on Pose is web-based, so you can easily set up a new terminal if one computer starts malfunctioning, and setup is obviously cheap because you probably don't have anything to buy.
The Creepiest Royal Wedding Photo Ever, Courtesy Of Color
Apr 29, 10:32PM
Well, the Royal Wedding is over. Wasn't that wonderful? If you weren't watching on TV, there were about a million ways to participate online. Millions watched on YouTube, Livestream and elsewhere. And even those who were there uploaded their own photos and videos, including this guy. I'll call him the masked Union Jack freak. Is that some sort of S&M suit he's wearing? It doesn't seem proper juxtaposed with the royal newlyweds. You can find pictures of him on a special Color Royal Wedding Album created by people using the iPhone social camera app and sponsored by the British paper, The Telegraph. You remember Color, the $41 million photo app that created a huge backlash in the press and some confusion among consumers about exactly how to use the app. 
When Will Microsoft's Internet Bloodbath End?
Apr 29, 10:31PM
"Online Services Division revenue grew 14% year-over-year primarily driven by increases in search revenue." That was Microsoft's statement about the Online Services Division in their earnings release yesterday. Growth! Yippee! The strategy is working! Right? Wrong. What they don't bother to mention in the release, but they can't hide in the actual numbers, is just how bad the quarter actually was for the division. While revenue may have grown a bit year over year, income — as in the money you actually get to keep — was an entirely different story. It was a bloodbath, really. Yes, again.
Speaking of… sex toys with Ethan Imboden from Jimmyjane [TCTV]
Apr 29, 10:19PM
Vibrating sex toys have been around for over a century, starting out as crude steam powered devices and now resembling something very cool that you might pick up at an Apple store. Sex toys have been the source of giggles, controversy, pleasure and up until the last 5 years, were not a mainstream product. They were devices you bought and had shipped in unmarked brown packaging or slipped into a toy store late at night to buy, but were not something you'd ever imagine picking up at Nordstrom or your local Wal-Mart. Millions of men and women use them every day and yet, it isn't something we talk about much. Considering there's a lot of tech that go into these devices these days, I think it is a topic worth exploring and definitely something we should no longer be ashamed of.
Sequoia-Backed Milanoo Appears To Be Gaming Search Results With Link Spam
Apr 29, 10:01PM
As we saw from retailer JC Penney's recent downfall in search rankings, using 'black hat' SEO tactics and gaming search is considered deceptive and 'tantamount to cheating' by Google. J.C. Penney said that it had no idea that this was happening and fired its SEM agency right away. But the retailer's search ranking had already been "adjusted" by Google, and the damage was done. These sort of situations are considered deceitful by many in the search industry (including Google) and generally cast a malevolent cloud over a company's search tactics. So, it's surprising to find that a Sequoia Capital -backed Chinese startup, called Milanoo, appears to be gaming Google search results with these same black hat links spam tactics. Milanoo, a China-based online retailer and wholesaler with a "passion for fashion," is an ecommerce company serves customers with fashion apparel and related products in over 180 countries around the world, in seven languages (including English, Spanish and French). Launched in 2008, the startup just raised "millions of dollars" from Sequoia. According Digital Due Diligence, a small agency that provides in-depth investment research into online assets of companies; Milanoo has been caught using similar tactics as J.C. Penney.
Marissa Mayer, David Karp, Kevin Systrom, And Tony Conrad Will Rock At Disrupt NYC
Apr 29, 9:23PM
The speakers for Disrupt just keep on getting better and better. Today, we are extremely excited to announce four more guests who will join us at this year's Disrupt in New York City: Marissa Mayer, David Karp, Kevin Systrom, and Tony Conrad. Marissa Mayer joined Google in 1999 as Google's first female engineer. She ran the search product for years and is now the VP of Local & Maps at Google. Mayer will be one of the finalist judges at the Startup Battlefield. She's tough, she's done it before, and we are grateful to have her back. David Karp is the CEO and founder of Tumblr, one of the hottest startups in New York and also one of fastest-growing websites, period. Tumblr is built on the principle that self-expression should be easy. Karp recently raised $30 million to keep up with all the growth. 
TechCrunch Giveaway: A Free Ticket To Disrupt NYC #TechCrunch
Apr 29, 5:05PM
Here is another chance to win a free ticket to this year's Disrupt in NYC. . We have announced some amazing guests and speakers for this year's Disrupt and we will be announcing more later on today. Tim Armstrong, Arianna Huffington, Ron Conway, Dennis Crowley, and Chris Dixon will all be joining us, just to name a few. For now, you can check out the full list of speakers and guests here. As you know, we will be taking over Pier 94, overlooking the Hudson River in west Midtown Manhattan. However, not only are we taking over a pier, we are also taking over some amazing spots in New York City for the after parties. We also have other special surprises we will announce as we get closer. A special congratulations to Adam Growald for winning last week's ticket. Disrupt is happening May 23rd to May 25th in New York City and we want you to come with us. To win this week's free ticket, all you have to do is follow the steps below.
Nokia Siemens Closes $975M Acquisition Of Motorola Solutions' Wireless Network Assets
Apr 29, 4:01PM
Nokia Siemens has closed the acquisition of the wireless network infrastructure assets of Motorola Solutions today. The company reports that it paid $975 million in cash for the assets and approximately 6900 employees will transfer to Nokia Siemens Network from Motorola. The finalization of the deal come after China regulators approved the acquisition a last week. The full release is paste below. As of April 30 2011, the company says that responsibility for supporting customers of Motorola Solutions' GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, WiMAX and LTE products and services transfers to Nokia Siemens Networks. Part of the approval is due to the fact that Motorola reached an agreement with Chinese manufacturer Huawei over a pending patent lawsuit relating to the assets being acquired. In January, Huawei filed a lawsuit to prevent Motorola from giving Nokia Siemens Huawei's IP information. 
AudioMicro Partners With Microsoft: Free Music, Sound Effects For Office 2010 Users
Apr 29, 3:00PM
AudioMicro, a site where you can find royalty-free stock music and sound effects backed by DFJ Frontier and Fotolia, has struck a deal with Microsoft to provide music and sound effect files to Microsoft Office 2010 users worldwide. Under the terms of the licensing and distribution deal, Microsoft Office 2010 users are able to select from a hand-picked collection of over 1,500 music tracks and sound effects at Office.com to use with any Microsoft Office project.
Matrix Partners Closes $650 Million Funds To Invest More In China, India
Apr 29, 1:55PM
Matrix Partners, a US-based investment firm with additional offices in India and China, this morning announced that it has closed two new funds: Matrix Partners China II (at $350 million) and Matrix Partners India II (at $300 million). The funds bring the firm's total international assets under management to $650 million in China and $600 million in India. Matrix Partners established an India presence back in 2006 and has an experienced entrepreneur running its investment team there: Avnish Bajaj, co-founder and former CEO of India's largest online marketplace Baazee.com (acquired by eBay). The firm has been active in China since 2008.
The Future of Advertising Will Be Integrated
Apr 29, 1:30PM
Editor's Note: This is a guest post by Mark Suster (@msuster), a 2x entrepreneur, now VC at GRP Partners. Read more about Suster at Bothsidesofthetable Banner Ads. They first started in 1994 and are therefore almost as old as the Web itself. They were very effective back then, with the original ad garnering a 78% click-through rate (CTR)! I guess from there we had nowhere to go but down. Nowadays banner ads get on average 0.2% CTR meaning for every 1,000 ads that are served up only 2 people click on them. And as Jon Steinberg of Buzzfeed points out, the CTRs for social media banner ads are just 0.08%. Holy Shiitake!
Twitter Gets Hit With Bizarre Class Action Lawsuit Over Unsolicited SMS Notifications
Apr 29, 12:50PM
Two California residents, Drew Moss and Sahar Maleksaeedi, have filed a rather peculiar class action lawsuit against Twitter (see documents embedded below). Basically, they're suing over the fact that Twitter sent a confirmatory SMS to their cellphone after they themselves used an SMS command ('STOP') meant to turn off all phone notifications. The two men allege that Twitter has engaged in unlawful conduct by contacting them on their mobile phones without their consent, which they say is a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) and an invasion of their privacy.
eBay: Searches For Royal Wedding Products Up 1,815 Percent In 2011
Apr 29, 12:45PM
The Royal Wedding is finally over, and William and Kate are hitched. The wedding goes beyond just a ceremony, the event is actually a huge business. Between replicas of Kate Middleton's engagement ring and Royal Wedding china, retailers are profiting off of the nuptials. And eBay and its merchants are part of this business. Here are a few stats related to the searches and purchases of wedding-related items on the marketplace.
Zwapp Puts A Social Layer Over Your iPhone Apps
Apr 29, 11:31AM
Sharing what mobile apps you have in a social network has been tried various ways. Appsfire hit on the idea of socialising apps. Zwapp is coming at it from a slightly different angle. Its iPhone app (iTunes link) auto-discovers what apps you have on your iPhone and connects up your contacts, Facebook and Twitter friends. You then follow people who's opinion's you respect when it comes to apps. It even has a live feed where you can see what apps your friends are using and downloading (privacy is now most definitely over it would seem). 
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