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John Doerr On Zynga Investment: "We Own 60M Shares, So I Want That Stock Back Above $10 … Where God Intended It"
Jul 24, 2:05AM
Investors tend not to be cool, sexy or "famous" in the traditional sense. After all, anyone can invest in one great company, but reproducing those victories habitually over decades is nearly impossible. Thus, while investors may never become celebrities, a handful have managed to achieve a kind of renown by defying the odds and continuing to pick next year's winner. While his record is far from flawless, John Doerr is one of those investors, because -- as Google CEO Larry Page puts it -- he "sees the future first." A Kleiner Perkins partner since 1980, Doerr has backed companies like Symantec, Netscape, Sun Microsystems, Intuit, Amazon, Google and Twitter. Doerr has also gone on to become a big supporter, spokesman and evangelist for reform (and innovation) in education, health and greentech (among others). And, as he showed today at Fortune's Brainstorm Tech Conference in Aspen, the dude is eminently quotable no matter the subject -- success or failure.Apple's Growth Rocket Has Hit A Wall. What Will Get It Started Again?
Jul 24, 12:28AM
Apple’s stunning growth over the past decade has been one of the biggest stories in all of tech. Even as the company released new product after new product, and grew larger and larger, its growth rate continued to accelerate, far surpassing its competitors. For the past ten years, Apple has posted year-over-year revenue growth every quarter, almost always more than 25% and frequently more than 50%. In that span, it’s gone from a company with less than $2 billion in quarterly sales to one with (once) more than $50 billion. For two quarters in a row in 2011, as the iPad and iPhone both picked up steam, Apple posted growth rates above 80% — each quarter representing more than $10 billion in new sales from the year prior. That’s just crazy for a company that big. But now, that unbelievable growth rocket has come back to earth. Apple’s most recent quarter, reported today, showed just 1% growth over last year. And it’s not a fluke: Growth has sloped down for more than a year. After a great winter in 2011-2012, when Apple’s sales grew 73%, then 59%, it’s been 23%, 27%, 18%, 11%, and now 1%. For its next quarter, Apple expects growth ranging from 3% to a 5% year-over-year decline. What happened? Some of it’s just funny timing: A product launch early one year then late the next. Inventory adjustments as products mature and markets settle — this played a role in this past quarter’s weakish iPad sales, for example. This year, in particular, Apple has been quiet on the new-gadget front, as design boss Jony Ive rehauls its iOS operating system, presumably for new iPhones, iPods, and iPads in time for Christmas. This is where arbitrary quarterly marking periods can sometimes cloud the lens. But there’s also been a bigger-picture trend that Apple can’t just replicate: The vast shift towards smartphones and tablets — the “post-PC” revolution. Apple has captured this movement brilliantly, dominating the industry’s sales and profits despite selling relatively fewer, mostly high-end devices. And it may continue to do so. But that first-time adoption cycle isn’t going to happen again. At least not in the markets where Apple is strongest — and where carrier subsidies allow for such high profit margins — like the United States. So what can Apple do next, assuming it wants to continue to grow? (A safe assumption.) One obvious answer isWho Honestly Wants Bill Gates To Come Back And Run Microsoft?
Jul 24, 12:17AM
Bill Gates is not coming back to Microsoft as its CEO. He's not. He's said so again and again. And yet, today, some unsourced rumors began to circulate that the man was coming back to manage the company he helped found. It's not happening. That should go without saying, but at this point I've surrendered to reading the same crap at least twice a year.Latino Startup Accelerator Partners with Google For Entrepreneurs To Launch In Fall
Jul 24, 12:10AM
Manos Accelerator, a program to support Latinos involved in the startup community, has announced a partnership with Google For Entrepreneurs and will launch its first session for five to six startups in September. Based in San Jose, Manos Accelerator is meant to increase the number of Latino entrepreneurs and startups. Less than one percent of venture-backed startups were founded by Latinos, according to a report by CB Insights. Through a three-month program, Latino startup teams will collaborate with other startups, develop their business plans, and meet with angel investors, mentors, corporate executives and venture capitalists. “I’m just trying to create a cog and insert it in this wheel that already exists. If this was something that didn’t have an existing ecosystem, it would be difficult to sustain it over time,” Co-founder and CEO Edward Avila tells me. The wheel, he elaborates, is the startup-laden Silicon Valley. Avila says Manos Accelerator’s partnership with Google will help get the accelerator off the ground through experienced advising and resources. Google For Entrepreneurs launched in September 2012 and has partnered with global startup initiatives including iHub in Kenya, Le Camping in France and Kstartup in Korea. The program has also paired with several other accelerators for increasing minority representation in the industry, such as Women 2.0 and NewMe Accelerator. While NewMe Accelerator and similar program DreamIt Access are providing resources and collaboration for minorities, Manos Accelerator is the first program specifically created for Latinos. Avila says Manos Accelerator is part of Google’s initiative to do more in Latin American startups. With about 30 business submissions so far, Manos Accelerator is a long way from TechStars or Y-Combinator, which the program will be modeled after. However, Avila says the numbers he has seen are encouraging. About 100 people have volunteered to be mentors for the program, and a third of submissions are from international startups. Applications close on July 31, and the first session begins Sept. 9. You can apply for Manos Accelerator here.Inside MuckerLab, The Startup Accelerator That's Amping Up L.A.'s Tech Ecosystem
Jul 23, 11:12PM
In the San Francisco Bay Area, there is no shortage of “accelerator” programs that promise to take fledgling technology companies to the next level by providing mentorship, funding, business introductions, and the like. And as the startup scene a few hundred miles south in Los Angeles continues to heat up, the appetite for accelerators is growing too. One of the leading new startup accelerators in L.A. is MuckerLab, so while TechCrunch TV was in Southern California recently we stopped by to take a look inside and find out about what makes the program tick. Check out the video embedded above to look at the MuckerLab space and hear co-founder Will Hsu talk about the MuckerLab vibe, what he and other MuckerLab mentors bring to the table when it comes to shaping new companies, what he’d like to see in the future to make the L.A. startup scene really shine, and more.Video Platform OpenWatch Aims To Support Global Citizen Journalism
Jul 23, 10:43PM
OpenWatch, which presented at media startup accelerator Matter's NYC Demo Day today, wants to become a video platform for citizen journalism worldwide. Founded in November last year, the company is at the start of its fundraising process, with the hope of closing a fast seed round to get things off the ground. The purpose of OpenWatch is to create a global network of video reporters and investigators who can expose important issues around the world, co-founder and CEO Rich Jones tells us. The appeal of OpenWatch is especially apparent overseas in countries where the press isn't free.Mixamo Is Building A Platform For The Game Developers To Create And Animate 3D Characters
Jul 23, 10:43PM
With app stores becoming ever more competitive, game makers have had to upgrade from building 2D games to creating 3D titles over the past two years. That has meant even more creative and intensive work for artists and producers, as the graphics processing power on smartphones has increased. But there are tools to help. Mixamo is a 25-person startup that has existed very quietly for the past five years. Even though they haven’t really spoken to the press much before, they’ve raised about $11 million in total and have racked up customers like Microsoft, EA, Sony, Blizzard and Gameloft. They’re a web-based service that helps developers rig and animate 3D characters by making rigging and animation easier. A developer can upload the mesh for a character, place joint locators and locator rings to figure out how to make the character move, and then run Mixamo’s auto-rigging software. For console titles, the company says they can cut the cost of producing animations by anywhere from 70 to 80 percent compared to standard techniques like keyframing and motion capture. An offshoot from some research out of Stanford’s BioMotion Lab, the company has built up a store where they sell existing characters and animations on top of a subscription-based service. (They’re one of the largest animations providers in the asset store for Unity, a hugely popular game development platform backed by Sequoia Capital). “We are an end-to-end 3D character art solution that allows developers and artists to easily and affordably create, rig and animate high-quality characters,” said Stefano Corazza, the CEO and co-founder of Mixamo. Naturally, Mixamo has a SaaS-based business model, where they sell subscriptions by the seat to gaming studios. Their All Access product gives studios one year of unlimited access to their 3D characters, Auto-Rigger and their library of thousands of animations for $1,500 per seat. They’re seeing developers handle about 800 or 900 characters per week and have a few thousand customers. The company has taken funding from Granite Ventures and Keynote Ventures.Journalism May Be Collapsing, But With Pressfolios, At Least You Can Build A Nice Portfolio
Jul 23, 10:31PM
If you're a working journalist (or even an aspiring one), you're probably getting tired of hearing that it's important to build your personal brand. Now, leaving aside the obnoxiousness of the phrase "personal brand," I suspect we hear it so much because it's kinda true. A startup called Pressfolios aims to make it easy for journalists to build that brand through an online portfolio. "Journalists probably best served by adopting the mindset of entrepreneur rather than a serial employee," said co-founder Marc Samson. "If they can put their best foot forward, they're going to be better served in their careers, and a big part of that is keeping track of your published work and developing a professional identity."Media Startup Accelerator Matter Comes To New York For Demo Day
Jul 23, 10:21PM
Matter, the San Francisco-based accelerator and early-stage venture capital firm, held a Demo Day in New York today for its first class after an initial Demo Day last month in SF. Matter formed last year and is backed by the Knight Foundation and KQED, a public media network, with support from the Public Radio Exchange, PRX.Apple Q3 2013 Sees Revenue Plunge In China To $4.6B, Down 43% On Q2, Amid Weaker International Sales
Jul 23, 9:29PM
Amid pressure from low-cost smartphone makers on Android and other platforms, Apple today reported a plunge in its Q3 revenues in Greater China, which includes Taiwan, Hong Kong and the world's largest smartphone market, Mainland China. In that region, sales were $4.64 billion (and $4.9 billion including retail), down 14% over last year and a whopping 43% on last quarter. It's a startling contrast to the $8.2 billion reported in Q2, a record for Apple in the region, according to CEO Tim Cook, when it was the only region to grow sequentially. Overall, international sales outside of the Americas are now at just under 48%, compared to 56% last quarter and 61% in Q4 2012.Up Close And Personal With Verizon's New Trio Of Droids
Jul 23, 9:24PM
As you may have heard, Verizon unwrapped three new Motorola Droid smartphones in New York earlier today, and to my surprise, they just may be the Droids you're looking for. Well, some of them, anyway. Fair warning, friends: any of you expecting dramatic differences between the three of these things are going to disappointed, so we may as well start with what these new Droids have in common.Apple's No-Growth Q3 2013 In Charts
Jul 23, 9:05PM
Apple just reported June quarter results, and as expected, sales were pretty flat — up just 1% from last year to $35.3 billion. It's been a while since Apple has released any major new products, and it shows. A few highlights:Apple's Average Selling Price On iPhones In Q3 Suggest Promotions Are Moving Devices, Older Models Popular
Jul 23, 9:04PM
Apple's quarterly results are up, and the one thing that many of the financial big brains are paying attention to is the average selling price of the iPhone: It currently sits at around $580, compared to $613 last quarter, which is a big change sequentially. There's a couple of reasons that could be happening, and they aren't necessarily bad for Apple.iPad Sees First Ever Yearly Decline With 14.6M Units Sold In Q3, iPhone Remains Strong With 30M Units Sold & 20% YOY Growth
Jul 23, 8:37PM
Apple today released its Q3 2013 earnings report, announcing 31 million iPhones sold in the three-month period ending June, along with 14.6 million iPad units sold. Both the iPhone and iPad sales are down from the previous quarter, but this marks the first time the iPad has seen a yearly decline in sales, a 14 percent decrease YOY. Analysts expected Apple to sell 27 million iPhones, 18 million iPads, 3.85 million Macs, and 4.9 million iPods this quarter.Apple Beats In Q3 2013 With $35.3B In Revenue, $6.9B In Profit, $7.47 EPS, But Posts Another YOY Earnings Decline
Jul 23, 8:31PM
Apple has just released its fiscal Q3 2013 earnings — it reported $35.3 billion in revenue (slightly up 0.9 percent from $35 billion in the year-ago quarter) along with $6.9 billion in quarterly net profit (down 21.6 percent from $8.8 billion in the year-ago quarter), representing earnings of $7.47 per share. Similarly to Q2 earnings, Apple posted a year-over-year quarterly earnings decline (down 19.8 percent from EPS of $9.32). Apple is still a money making machine, but the company’s growth has slowed. Recently, the Cupertino-based company has tweaked its release cycle a bit. Almost the entire product line was refreshed over the last three months of 2012, pumping sales for Q1 2013 and leaving a void for the rest of the year. The company seems to follow the same pattern this year, aside from the MacBook Air. As Zach Epstein says on Twitter, Samsung is now the most profitable smartphone vendor in the world, edging Apple with its $8.9 billion in profit. Yet, Samsung recently released its flagship phone, the Galaxy S4, while the iPhone 5 was released ten months ago. Apple still beat expectations According to Bloomberg Businessweek, the consensus among analysts was for Apple to report earnings of $7.28 per share on $34.9 billion in revenue. Fortune expected nearly the same with $34.94 billion in revenue and earnings of $7.29 per share. The company's cash on hand slightly increased from $145 billion to $146.6 billion. The company's cash on hand slightly increased from $145 billion to $146.6 billion. It remains one of Apple’s main asset. It allows the company to spend more time experimenting and preparing new products behind the curtains without having to worry about its resources. Apple beat all of those numbers, even if it means generating less profit. “We are especially proud of our record June quarter iPhone sales of over 31 million and the strong growth in revenue from iTunes, Software and Services,” wrote CEO Tim Cook in the earnings release. "We are really excited about the upcoming releases of iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks, and we are laser-focused and working hard on some amazing new products that we will introduce in the fall and across 2014," he continued. Guidance from its last earnings release forecasted between $33.5 billion and $35.5 billion in revenue and gross margin between 36 percent and 37 percent. While the company used to be shy about its guidance,Yahoo, Alibaba And Why Mayer Can Keep Buying Whatever She Wants
Jul 23, 7:10PM
A quick glance at Yahoo's balance sheet might have you worried: Only $1.14 billion in cash and equivalents, and the company just dropped $1.1 billion on Tumblr? It almost seems a bit profligate. But happily for Yahoo investors, the company is not low on funds in the slightest. In fact, given its current balance sheet and asset pool, Yahoo is incredibly wealthy. That fact is ironically overshadowed by the simple truth that other tech firms are even richer. But hey, your $10 billion is someone else's $50 billion.Viber Attacked By Syrian Electronic Army
Jul 23, 7:08PM
Viber has confirmed a situation earlier this morning in which Viber appeared to have been hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army (a pro-government group of computer hackers aligned with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad). AppleSpot originally reported on the hack that affected the Viber support page, though it was unclear the extent to which hackers accessed Viber systems.Twitter's One-Two Punch Now Lets All US Advertisers Target People Who Just Saw Their TV Commercials
Jul 23, 7:01PM
Hit 'em with a television commercial, then with a Twitter ad to really drive the message home. That's the promise of Twitter's TV Ad Targeting it's rolling out to all US advertisers today after its beta launch in May. Twitter's Nielsen studies say the combo deliver 95% stronger message association and 58% higher purchase intent than TV ads alone.Keen On… The Women Question: Why Are There So Few Female Startup Entrepreneurs?
Jul 23, 7:00PM
Last week, L'Oreal awarded their annual Next Generation Awards to three dynamic young female entrepreneurs who are shaking up the cosmetics industryMicrosoft Tells Windows Phone Fans To Chill In Response To Complaints, More Updates Coming This Year
Jul 23, 6:39PM
It's been quiet on the Windows Phone front since late 2012, when Windows Phone 8 hit the public markets alongside Windows 8. Since then, Microsoft has aggressively worked to iron out the quirks from Windows 8, while Windows Phone has enjoyed continued hardware updates but less firmware love. It was a somewhat appropriate response given that Windows 8 sold poorly at launch and thus needed the help that Windows 8.1 will bring it, while Windows Phone 8 was well-received and boosted sales figures for the smartphone line. Still, dedicated Windows Phone users -- yes they exist, stop smirking -- aren't too happy about being left to the side.If at any time you'd like to stop receiving these messages, just send an email to feeds_feedburner_com_techcrunch+unsubscribe-hmdtechnology=gmail.com@mail.feed2email.net.
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