tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89258721942859986112024-03-13T17:00:50.448-07:00AnticipareWhat's coming up, going, gone and what's coming back.Jose daVeigahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07370380093940062440noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8925872194285998611.post-28272649804662045712010-12-15T17:29:00.000-08:002010-12-15T17:42:10.675-08:00The media industry fascinates me more each day. <br /><br />The changes taking pace are accelerating (or maybe it's because I'm now entrenched in it working for Lingospot). Every time I go to the "old media" companies like Gannett, Time, Forbes, etc I see changes. Mostly I see that the human side is shifting, people are being shuffled around and new ones being brought in. I think the door is now wide open for a lot of new things to happen. Exciting things line new revenue models, new content distribution models, and new types of leaders. Even in content the shift is dramatic. My hunch is that blogging, twitter, facebook (the social) were just the beginning. The truth is that the door to the adjacent possible is now open. New companies will be able to build on top of what has been solidifying in the past 10 years. Come to think about it, 10 years ago YouTube would have been impossible because on-line video was...Real Media streaming :). Now anyone can post content anywhere and distribute it. Why don't they? Because big media still has the brand and in some way the eyeballs. Which brings me to the question, will big/old media keep it's lead or will it be toppled by some outlier? <br /><br />There is certainly a LOT of opportunity out there. One thing is for sure the media business / pie is only bound to grow. Distribution is bound to change. And monetization is definitely going to shift - the CPM based business model is going to not apply anymore when it comes to content. If CPM is the way, then the crazed up person out there that creates the most viral video will win with the most hits :). Ok, I'm exaggerating, but something tells me that the content optimization will emerge from ad optimization and people will pay for what they consume the same way the went from pirated music (or CD's for those who paid...) and now hit the "buy now" iTunes button every other second to get the 99 cent song they just retrieved using SoundHound... i've done the same with movies and recently (with my iPad) with many other video sources. The NYT is certainly trying it's luck with paywalls... we will see. A guess, there will be paid high quality content, and there will be free cheap (Demand Media anyone?) traffic driven content. I'm betting the high-quality paid content is where the battle is going to be raging for the foreseeable future and where opportunity abounds...Jose daVeigahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07370380093940062440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8925872194285998611.post-37216775364303683832010-08-13T15:26:00.000-07:002010-08-13T15:37:58.633-07:00The emotional investor<div>Here is a pretty good piece of advice by <a href="http://bhorowitz.com/">Ben Horowitz</a>. </div><div><br />I used this new cool technology that allows me to place keypoints in the video where you can jump to right away.</div><script src="'http://blipsnips.com/embed.js?id=" type="'text/javascript'"></script><div><br /><div> <script src='http://blipsnips.com/embed.js?id=722' type='text/javascript'></script></div><br /></div><div>The statement he makes is that investors are super emotional. I unfortunately found out about this the hard way in 2008 when the market tanked and things went south with KlickSports. Interestingly I also had found out that investors are emotional in their decisions when it came to raising money. In the end this is not good or bad, it's just the way it is. Like Ben, I too thought that investors were rational and super focused. Like he says "with their suits and smart talk" I too thought they are only looking at facts and don't let intangible things affect them. Recently i've been doing some reading - specifically <a href="http://steveblank.com/">Steve Blank's</a> blog and anything I can get my browser on regarding business models - and I figured this "emotionality" seems to be a norm. </div><div><br /></div><div>I hope you like the video tags. The company is apparently very new and I just happened to look into it because of some work we had done at KlickSports in the area of video interactivity. I'm not so hot on the "video tagging" stuff - seems more like a feature than a product, etc. But it's a nice to have when posting something on a long video that only happens at minute 34...</div>Jose daVeigahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07370380093940062440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8925872194285998611.post-78319613997435726002010-01-02T17:56:00.000-08:002010-01-02T18:02:43.118-08:00Startup HangoverYes - I will write more about this as I do research. But in the dawn of 2010 I just wanted to say - I have a major case of Startup Hangover (I never heard this term before but will be writing about this soon).<br /><a href="http://www.paulgraham.com/startupmistakes.html">Let's just say this is on my mind </a>...and many others I will be linking to on my next post...Jose daVeigahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07370380093940062440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8925872194285998611.post-76289284351066699772009-12-28T22:03:00.000-08:002009-12-28T22:22:22.194-08:00SimulacraSo much these days is not what it is. Let me explain. So much today is just valued on the face of what it seems it might be but isn't. We've seen this happen in the financial markets and we see it happen in many other things in life. In the world of startups (need link to definition here) this is also true. I see so many companies get funded on their face value it's gut wrenching. But that's not the reason for my post.<br /><br />Recently I had to go through this process of interviewing - long story short - I had to qualify for something on the basis of my track record, personality, skills, etc - in general the usual stuff one would need for a job of any kind. When the jury came out I was perplexed with the feedback. I am not a guy who dwells too much on rejection or denial. I really have made a whole life out of plummeting through rejection and persevering, etc. But this one was too much. In short I had been rejected not because I did not have a great background, not because I was not a great guy (that "could even go out for a drink with"), not because I was not smart - so much that whatever I did not know I could figure out. There was just one problem - I was not the right guy for the part. In so much that I did not look "corporate" or "bureaucratic" enough (these are exact words used when giving me feedback). That expression came to mind immediately: it's note enough to be Cesar's wife, one must look like Cesar's wife (paraphrasing). And it prompted me to revisit a French philosopher that I hadn't thought much about for a while - don't know why because Jean Baudrillard has pretty much explained modern society's core value structure with artfulness. Yes, i was being "rejected" because of perception. I did not play the part. This was actually expressed to me.<br /><br />So much these days is based on the Simulacra (as defined by braudillard). That amazing ability to just look like you are and be valued for what you look like you could be but are not. This is in a way Paris Hilton and so many such people. They never did a thing, they are even unfit for their job, but they fit the part - they look like they are. And today, oh-today so much is about looking rather than being. The essence has been entirely obliterated and all that's left is appearance...<br /><br />Next blog I will let out how I managed to raise 1.2M on this concept alone...or better, that I only managed to raise a round of 1.2M Angel money when I realized that what you look like is more important to investors than what you really are... even if you are good, their idea of good is a different story. It's like running for president (someone told me). More about that later...Jose daVeigahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07370380093940062440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8925872194285998611.post-36535013281361477342009-11-10T12:36:00.000-08:002009-11-10T12:36:39.567-08:00Gogo Inflight Internet - Handheld Device Matrix<a href="http://www.gogoinflight.com/jahia/Jahia/site/gogo/customerCare/deviceMatrix">Gogo Inflight Internet - Handheld Device Matrix</a><br /><br />This is a really interesting concept which seems to defy a lot of assumptions about internet in planes...Jose daVeigahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07370380093940062440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8925872194285998611.post-79793035674369758822009-08-07T01:00:00.000-07:002009-08-07T02:23:24.727-07:00"Gut check" should be "Gut do"Zen or not, "gut feeling" and/or intuition is a real unit operating in everybody's decision process. The question is: when to decide based on gut vs when to take the time to find out if the gut is right.<br /><br />Gut is not an alternative to rational or logical thought. And it should not be confused with "ego". Gut feeling is the preceding process to rational thought. "Gut check" is perhaps a higher method of thought process for which we haven't yet found a procedural explanation as we have for the scientific method and logic-based decision making processes. Most decisions start with a gut feeling. The world is full of anecdotal stories about this: Lavoisier, Newton, and the list is as large as there are human feats - they all started with someone's "gut feeling". The question is, how much time can you afford to find out if your gut is right or wrong.<br /><br />To this topic of "gut check" I just said this to another entrepreneur and I thought it would be worth sharing:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">When your gut is telling you something, believe it it and act on it right away.</span> Don't doubt and don't spend the energy to find out if you are wrong (if your gut is wrong)...99% of the time your gut will be right and spending time to prove yourself right, in this instance, is a HUGE loss. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Better be wrong sometimes and never know than be right all the time and find out. </span><br /><br />Yes, I will repeat it in short form: when your gut tells you something, do what it's telling you. Finding out and/or proving your gut was right is costly. This is especially true for BAD things.<br /><br />The biggest flaw an entrepreneur can have is a inquisitive rational brain. This will lead to self-doubt. I know this sounds crazy coming from a guy with two masters and a Ph.D (one for which I followed rigorously the scientific method) but in the world of startups when it comes to decisions where the time and information are not there, this is what I believe is right. Especially for bad things, like firing an employee or deciding on a deal that is somehow making you uneasy, the best is to just not want to invest anything into finding out. Time is an entrepreneur's biggest asset and anything that minimizes time as a cost is a good thing. Gut feeling is a time cost reducer of huge efficacy.<br /><br />So in short, when you have a "bad feeling" or a doubt, especially in regards to things that are very important, don't go with the "what if I am wrong" or "we will find out" kind of decision that pretty much bypasses what your gut is telling you to do. Paying to find out will lead you down the path of moving ahead towards finding out if you were right or wrong - and here the expression could not be more accurate: you will for sure have PAID to find out (notice the past-tense). Most of the time, you will be right but because the validation of your initial "gut feeling" is a huge loss; it's best not to find out at all.<br /><br />Never compromise about this. Most people will think you are crazy. Most experts will say you are crazy for doing X or Y if you don't know all the facts (does one ever?). Most people on the other side of the table will try to put doubt in your decision. Most of your investors, and even advisors, will tell you are "capricious" and so forth. DO NOT give in to the temptation. I am not saying you should not listen and that there is no value to what people around you tell you. But that's the role of a leader - make decisions. Startups are not about collecting facts and going on inquisitive research-like quests to find the bottom of the truth. Startups are about progress, results and goals. Most of the time, although I can base this on nothing more than my experience, the good outcomes will have no explanation but I am sure that the bad outcomes we can find a perfect reason for them (after the fact of course - that's my point).<br /><br />I have many instances where I can go back in my mind and think "I knew it from the start and I was right all along". This might sound ZEN like but I say, <span style="font-weight: bold;">listen to your inner self</span> - always! Startups are about dealing with a lot of uncertainty, lack of information, fuzzy conflicting opinions, etc. Rational thinking and logic have a place, but they usually require more time and more information. This is not for the entrepreneur for whom speed and time are everything. At the speed of startup business intuition is not perfect, but then again for a startup perfection is not a deciding criteria (Guy Kawasaki is always stressing this). You are not an entrapreneur to "find out" but rather to achieve. Especially when it's a negative situation being right about knowing it from the start, in the end does not work to your advantage.Jose daVeigahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07370380093940062440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8925872194285998611.post-5650994764465987692009-01-07T14:40:00.000-08:002009-01-08T00:28:40.601-08:00Sports Your Way - Relevance of information.At KlickSports we take sports feeds/data and we give it meaning to the sports fan. So, 3 words about content: Relevance, Timeliness and Expectations (of the receiver). And, ok, I will add a 4th - social (relevance) - good content we care about almost certainly generates new content - who hasn't watched an amazing play and talked about it around the water-cooler Monday morning? At my job we make that happen in real time on top of "re-cooking" the data with the flavor the fan likes...sports your way :)<br /><br />Actually (boldly) Google's new mantra should be something like - understanding and serving the world's information needs - your way :). Information is just that...information - and these days it's too much. In my small pond of Sports clearly there is something happening already. Or better the information game is changing and how fans of sports consume it is changing. It's no longer just about content delivery. It's about much more. It's insane ...there is so much info out there...just look at all the Sports apps popping up on the iPhone. I have been working the "competition" section of the KlickSports pitch and reworking all financials and other materials - yes, yes, we are fund raising in this environment...rub it in but wish me luck - and the competitive analysis is really interesting. I find it hard anyone out there can make up their mind about what to use to get their info fix...it's a mess and in overdosage!<br /><br />What we are doing at KlickSports is definetely unique and it's a completely different tack on the subject of predictive sports. However, we also make it more interesting and less cluttered for a fan to get his fix of information. Nowadays there is an overabundance of information. Some tools are even smart at achieving the task of providing to the minute information. Some fantasy sites even do it in real time. But, it's all a bit old school and not so smart in the end. One thing I hate these days is that there is so much information that I don't have time for any information. The simple task of casually getting what I need or want becomes a filtering exercise...no matter how many tools I use to filter, pre-select, etc.<br /><br />I have had this idea for a long time that sports (and information in general) should come to the fan in a meaningful way. In the case of KlickSports information is delivered based on how the fan works the system. That is, by the way he sets his favorites, the game he plays, the predictions he makes, etc. I have been trying to play as many games as I can (even though it seems I cant do as much as our users since it was one of our users who busted our per handset limits on SMS :). It's actually good to see an idea come to life. I am now capable of playing games concurrently and when the conversation strikes I also know what happened that is relevant...that is I get what is cool about what I care about...not every freaking piece of data all the time. Then, when I am somewhere like it just happened during the bowls, and I get an alert question...there is my conversations piece - yes I am not a 100% fanatic on US sports as some others even though I do this for a living...some people just know it all...so I need "memory aids" :). Anyway, during the Rose Bowl I got a message that said "Mark Sanchez just threw for 300 yards, will he throw for 350+?" and certainly as he did go over 350 I got an alert and ...I missed :)...who does over 350?!!?!...he threw for a total of 413... :)...that was a good conversation piece, and I am a Bruin :)))...and amazingly <a href="http://klicksports.com/promo/1055">I won the game</a> against those Trojan fans...shame shame :) -> <a href="http://klicksports.com/promo/1055">check it here</a>Jose daVeigahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07370380093940062440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8925872194285998611.post-56761833376041013142008-12-05T02:14:00.000-08:002008-12-05T02:21:51.112-08:0010.9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1...liftoffWe're finally releasing a site we can say is "public". We're not making any big splashes. There will be no big parties, no dancers, no fireworks. But after many years of toiling away we can finally say a vision has been implemented at <a href="http://www.klicksports.com">www.klicksports.com</a>.<br /><br />A lot is missing, a LOT. But this is the best fit to what we always wanted to do. But dont get me wrong. This is the vision of all the people involved in this company; not just my own or Kent's. This is truly a team work which includes the contribution of all team-members. We're fortunate to have a great team and hopefully we will meet the numbers, expand to different sports, countries and even topics.<br /><br />Very aware of the risk of <a href="http://www.marriedadults.com/howarddeanscreamaudio141jqd4.mp3">sounding</a> like Howard Dean in 2004...YEPPEEEEEE!!! :)))Jose daVeigahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07370380093940062440noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8925872194285998611.post-78835328730776044082008-11-17T09:39:00.000-08:002008-11-17T10:10:32.338-08:00Let's Find Out...I am shameless, lazy, or just too demanding on myself.<br /><br />Long story short, this blog actually started long time ago, I wrote numerous drafts and never published. I thought I really had not much to contribute to the ocean of noise this world has become. But in my defense, the real reason has been time; or better, I just never thought my time was worth committing to showcasing something I wasn't sure was all that relevant - my views, experiences, etc. 2 kids and a startup don't leave a lot of room for blogging. So why am I posting now? Not that now I have more time, on the contrary, but I believe my recent experiences as an entrepreneur are worthy of mention and my overall track record might be unique enough for my opinions and thoughts to count - I guess we will find out, wont we?!?!<br /><br />We have been going through some pretty harsh times and KlickSports.com is a now reality. This after a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. Yep, I know this sounds corny, but it's truthful. We've been through hell and back and it's not getting any better. The only way I can put the statement about blood sweat and tears in perspective is to say that it's like when you are going to have the first kid and people tell you your life is going to change, people even give you the details and go through the trouble of explaining why. But until it happens there is no way you get it. Well...this whole startup experience has been like that. I had started 4 other companies before and participated in the start of 2-3 more. But until I decided to go about it in a big way, I just did not get it. If you check my resume (linkedIn) you can see what I am talking about. I did a couple of things here and there, but this whole startup experience is as they say "a different ball game" (I can use sports analogies because after all KlickSports is all about sports :).<br /><br />Besides, sharing my thoughts and experiences turns out to be somewhat valuable - people started asking for it.<br /><br />Let's find out, shall we?Jose daVeigahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07370380093940062440noreply@blogger.com0