Comments for Taylor Davidson http://taylordavidson.com/writing Early-stage ventures, finance, entrepreneurship, and photography. Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:04:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= Comment on How crowdfunding could impact the venture capital industry by Taylor Davidson http://taylordavidson.com/writing/2012/01/23/crowdfunding/comment-page-1/#comment-5361 Taylor Davidson Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:04:00 +0000 http://taylordavidson.com/writing/?p=7195#comment-5361 Perhaps, if Super PACs are primarily funded by wealthy individuals. Not all crowds are communities; but even in investment terms, I can imagine a crowd getting smart and connected enough to be a community. Agreed. So much potential. Perhaps, if Super PACs are primarily funded by wealthy individuals.

Not all crowds are communities; but even in investment terms, I can imagine a crowd getting smart and connected enough to be a community.

Agreed. So much potential.

]]> Comment on How crowdfunding could impact the venture capital industry by Taylor Davidson http://taylordavidson.com/writing/2012/01/23/crowdfunding/comment-page-1/#comment-5360 Taylor Davidson Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:02:00 +0000 http://taylordavidson.com/writing/?p=7195#comment-5360 VCs will still have their place in rounds of funding earlier than Series A. The choice between the VC and the crowd won't be about the stage, but about the type of business, industry, and specific situation and skills of the entrepreneur. VCs will still have their place in rounds of funding earlier than Series A. The choice between the VC and the crowd won’t be about the stage, but about the type of business, industry, and specific situation and skills of the entrepreneur.

]]> Comment on How crowdfunding could impact the venture capital industry by Taylor Davidson http://taylordavidson.com/writing/2012/01/23/crowdfunding/comment-page-1/#comment-5359 Taylor Davidson Wed, 01 Feb 2012 02:58:00 +0000 http://taylordavidson.com/writing/?p=7195#comment-5359 Still unknown if this crowdfunding legislation will pass (last time I checked, it's stalled in the Senate ( http://www.betabeat.com/2012/01/02/after-flying-through-the-house-crowdfunding-bill-stalls-in-senate/ ). But even if it doesn't pass, the root pressures aren't going away. Money is enough to get started, but mentors (advice, networks, access) have a big impact on success. Smart entrepreneurs and VCs know that, and they'll find opportunities and industries where access and relationships are critical. Still unknown if this crowdfunding legislation will pass (last time I checked, it’s stalled in the Senate ( http://www.betabeat.com/2012/01/02/after-flying-through-the-house-crowdfunding-bill-stalls-in-senate/ ). But even if it doesn’t pass, the root pressures aren’t going away.

Money is enough to get started, but mentors (advice, networks, access) have a big impact on success. Smart entrepreneurs and VCs know that, and they’ll find opportunities and industries where access and relationships are critical.

]]> Comment on How crowdfunding could impact the venture capital industry by Brian Driggs http://taylordavidson.com/writing/2012/01/23/crowdfunding/comment-page-1/#comment-5355 Brian Driggs Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:00:00 +0000 http://taylordavidson.com/writing/?p=7195#comment-5355 I didn't even know this sort of legislation was in the works. Probably end up as part of a public works/highway deal or something like that. (They're really good at randomly bundling things in Washington.) As a complete outsider, what strikes me as most interesting is the mentor proposition. If a company might be able to raise $2MM on the crowd, that seems more than enough for a lot of ventures. (I figure I could run all three of my projects full-time for a year on a tenth of that.) But those looking to rapidly scale to ginormous levels would really stand to benefit from the wisdom of seasoned VCs. Interesting to see things from this perspective, Taylor. Thanks.  I didn’t even know this sort of legislation was in the works. Probably end up as part of a public works/highway deal or something like that. (They’re really good at randomly bundling things in Washington.)

As a complete outsider, what strikes me as most interesting is the mentor proposition. If a company might be able to raise $2MM on the crowd, that seems more than enough for a lot of ventures. (I figure I could run all three of my projects full-time for a year on a tenth of that.) But those looking to rapidly scale to ginormous levels would really stand to benefit from the wisdom of seasoned VCs.

Interesting to see things from this perspective, Taylor. Thanks. 

]]> Comment on How crowdfunding could impact the venture capital industry by Paul Shustak http://taylordavidson.com/writing/2012/01/23/crowdfunding/comment-page-1/#comment-5354 Paul Shustak Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:25:00 +0000 http://taylordavidson.com/writing/?p=7195#comment-5354 Tayor, great post.  Tayor, great post. 

]]> Comment on How crowdfunding could impact the venture capital industry by gregorylent http://taylordavidson.com/writing/2012/01/23/crowdfunding/comment-page-1/#comment-5352 gregorylent Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:38:00 +0000 http://taylordavidson.com/writing/?p=7195#comment-5352 in political terms, vc = super pac and "crowd" = individual donors. ? like "cloud" (somebody else's servers), "crowd" has lost its meaning. it's just a bunch of normal people and in investment terms it's only a community in the sense that it's an aggregate of small pockets. ?? questions aside, i see the kickstarter model being the way of the future for many many things. in political terms, vc = super pac and “crowd” = individual donors. ?

like “cloud” (somebody else’s servers), “crowd” has lost its meaning. it’s just a bunch of normal people and in investment terms it’s only a community in the sense that it’s an aggregate of small pockets. ??

questions aside, i see the kickstarter model being the way of the future for many many things.

]]> Comment on Five Digital Resolutions for 2011 by Taylor Davidson http://taylordavidson.com/writing/2011/01/09/five-digital-resolutions-for-2011/comment-page-1/#comment-5351 Taylor Davidson Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:59:00 +0000 http://www.taylordavidson.com/writing/?p=6404#comment-5351 Funny you should ask.  I have the recap written up, just haven't published it yet. Funny you should ask.  I have the recap written up, just haven’t published it yet.

]]> Comment on Five Digital Resolutions for 2011 by Will Dearman http://taylordavidson.com/writing/2011/01/09/five-digital-resolutions-for-2011/comment-page-1/#comment-5350 Will Dearman Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:47:00 +0000 http://www.taylordavidson.com/writing/?p=6404#comment-5350 Curious minds want to know... How did your 2011 digital resolutions hold up? Curious minds want to know… How did your 2011 digital resolutions hold up?

]]> Comment on Do you Push or Pull? by Intent Engines, Sponsored Actions, and Internet Marketing (why Pinterest, Polyvore, and Personal et. al. matter) | Taylor Davidson http://taylordavidson.com/writing/2010/05/28/do-you-push-or-pull/comment-page-1/#comment-5347 Intent Engines, Sponsored Actions, and Internet Marketing (why Pinterest, Polyvore, and Personal et. al. matter) | Taylor Davidson Sat, 14 Jan 2012 22:59:29 +0000 http://www.taylordavidson.com/writing/?p=5696#comment-5347 [...] * Thanks to Darren to helping inspire a bit of this thought earlier this week. ** For a long time, I’ve argued that the debate about privacy isn’t about privacy per se, but that it’s really about control. The first step is making people feel comfortable that they are in control of their data. The second step is building tools to help them monetize their own data. *** Background reading: VRM and the power of pull. [...] [...] * Thanks to Darren to helping inspire a bit of this thought earlier this week. ** For a long time, I’ve argued that the debate about privacy isn’t about privacy per se, but that it’s really about control. The first step is making people feel comfortable that they are in control of their data. The second step is building tools to help them monetize their own data. *** Background reading: VRM and the power of pull. [...]

]]> Comment on The real challenges technology companies face today are human, not technical. by The best technology fades into the background | Taylor Davidson http://taylordavidson.com/writing/2011/08/16/human-technical/comment-page-1/#comment-5346 The best technology fades into the background | Taylor Davidson Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:23:01 +0000 http://taylordavidson.com/writing/?p=6713#comment-5346 [...] Data gets really interesting once it disappears into the background. Harnessing the power and application of data is a key component to moving up the information – intelligence – wisdom stack. Instead of being overwhelmed by the depth of data we create everyday, it should be a natural part of what we do: data should simply be part of the magic behind how things work. And that’s a key component to a lot of the startups harnessing the power of big data: it’s not about the data itself, but how it’s being applied to very human problems. [...] [...] Data gets really interesting once it disappears into the background. Harnessing the power and application of data is a key component to moving up the information – intelligence – wisdom stack. Instead of being overwhelmed by the depth of data we create everyday, it should be a natural part of what we do: data should simply be part of the magic behind how things work. And that’s a key component to a lot of the startups harnessing the power of big data: it’s not about the data itself, but how it’s being applied to very human problems. [...]

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