Acquiring Innovation
In 2001 Apple introduced iTunes based on the IP of a company it had acquired in 2000. By 2003, after the introduction of the iPod and of the iTunes Store, iTunes had become the de facto disruptive innovator of digital music. More recently Apple itself started being disrupted by Pandora and Spotify. These streaming music […]
If You Sell Your Company — Prioritize Dollars Over Prestige
Recently I did a founders-only event sponsored by ExitRound. It was off the record, so I won’t go into anything we spoke about. But there was one theme the audience told me from all 4 speakers. They didn’t know selling was so emotional. If you haven’t sold a start-up before, you think it’s a combination of […]
Is 5x the New 2x in SaaS?
Back in 2012, when the SaaStr audience was about 1/30th of what it is today, I wrote a post that a lot of folks didn’t like: ”Workday is Growing 90% this Year. At $250m in ARR. So Wake Up: You Probably Need to Do A Lot, Lot Better.“ In fact, it was the first post […]
What else can you buy for $16 billion?
A billion dollars isn’t what it used to be but it’s still substantial. You might wonder, as I did, what else in the world might be worth $16 billion the sum Facebook will pay (unless it pays $19 billion) for WhatsApp. As it turns out there are lots of things and people in the $16 billion […]
Facebook WhatsApp Red Ocean, Google Nest Blue Ocean
I come here to bury the WhatsApp conversation not to praise it. The Noble Om hath told you Zuck was ambitious. And grievously he is paying for it. Yes, $19 billion dollars. Yes, half a billion people use WhatsApp and its on its way to being the ne…
