Yuri Milner's Smart Y Combinator Move

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Wall Street Journal: Y Combinator’s Paul Graham On The $150K Per Start-Up Offer: “It’s probably one of the most surprising things that has happened so far,” Graham said. ..... Milner teamed up with SV Angel–the seed fund run by prominent angel investor Ron Conway–to offer $150,000 each in convertible debt in each company. .... Of the more than 250 companies that Y Combinator has produced since 2005, more than 20 have been acquired, but mostly for small amounts. The biggest success, by acquisition price, is Heroku Inc., which Salesforce Inc. bought in December for $212 million. ..... convertible debt–which converts to equity once the company raises venture capital at a set price–with no valuation cap and no discount, an extremely rare set of terms for entrepreneurs. ..... Y Combinator companies received $11,000 plus $3,000 per founder in exchange for 2% to 10% of equity ..... the average Y Combinator company raises $700,000 after the program. .... “The biggest change and huge change for better is now none of them are desperate,” Graham said. Fund-raising “takes a lot of time away from the company. Now they’re already there. They have that foundation.”

I don't think a Google or Facebook can come out of Y Combinator. The big iconic companies tend to have this streak of independence. But I think Y Combinator is great for middling companies. I'd be very surprised if any Y Combinator company goes IPO some day. But many have been and will be bought for a decent chunk of change. Many will stay mid size and profitable.

The Chrome Browser At 10%

Image via WikipediaLast I checked, it was at 5%, but even back then it deserved to do better. Next thing you know it will have hit 20%. Chrome has nowhere to go but up.

InfoWorld: Chrome breaks 10 percent browser market share for the first time

Chrome is the browser I use. It is minimalist. It is fast. It does not feel like there is anything at the top. All you get is the web. I like that.

Google calls it a "modern" browser.

Google's dragging its feet on the Chrome OS Netbook is unforgivable. That is what will take the Chrome browser roaring into the 20s and 30s and beyond.

Mark Zuckerberg Loves Union Square Ventures

Union Square Ventures: You Love Me, You Love Me Not

Mark Zuckerberg saw Twitter and he liked it immensely. Today the news feed is central to the Facebook experience.

He saw FourSquare and he liked it immensely. The world got Facebook Places.

Now he has a crush over Disqus, it seems like.

Zynga has been a major money maker for Facebook.

All of these are Fred Wilson's portfolio companies.

Facebook Going After Disqus Now?

Facebook Going Into Blog Comments Is Huge

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeFacebook Going After Disqus Now?

I have said several times at this blog that if Google wants to "get" social, it needs to go into the blogosphere. But now looks like Facebook is about to beat Google there too. This is a really, really smart move on the part of Facebook.

Non Profit Microfinance Vs For Profit Microfinance: The Stupid Debate

Image via WikipediaThere has been a stupid debate going on for a few years now that has taken new life the past few months. There is a school of thought that says microfinance can be non profit and non profit alone.

There has been some serious abuse of microfinance. A lot of MFIs - microfinance institutions - have been messing up the last mile in serious ways. Charging ridiculously high rates is one of them. Some debt collection methods have been shady.

Facebook Going After Disqus Now?

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Caroline McCarthy: Facebook's next big media move: Comments: Facebook is planning to launch a third-party commenting system in a matter of weeks ..... This new technology could see Facebook as the engine behind the comments system on many high-profile blogs and other digital publications very soon....... it's an obvious and direct competitor to start-ups that provide commenting technology, like Disqus and Echo. With Facebook Places adopting much of the "check-in" methodology that smaller competitors Foursquare and Loopt offer, and Facebook Questions operating in the same space as Quora

Facebook Places did not kill FourSquare. Actually the day Facebook Places launched, FourSquare had its biggest day to that date. I expect something similar to happen to Disqus.

On the other hand, I really like the idea of comments sections at blogs where people necessarily have to use their real names. I think that would enhance the quality of comments.

Three Syllables

Image via WikipediaThe name of my company is going to have three syllables. I'd have preferred two syllables, but some of the obviously best ones have long been taken.

The name has to be three syllables, and it has to not mean anything. It can't be an obvious word in any language. Of course you might end up with a scenario where you come up with a word which you think has no meaning, but it has meaning in some obscure language somewhere. That would be fine. But I am going to start with a word that is just some sound.

10,000 People In 10 Years

Image via WikipediaI am going to have at least 10,000 people work for me in less than 10 years. I am a large scale group dynamics guy. I like large numbers of people.

Many, many atoms go to make one cell. Some people are cellular biologists, I am like that. That is why I so love revolutions, like the one that is going on in Egypt. I am a large scale group dynamics guy. That is my number one strength.

Immensely Excited

Image via WikipediaI am so very immensely excited with my startup.

Some people complain of the work environment of a big corporation, start a company, and their behavior will tell you they long for the big corporation.

You have to be excited, you have to stay excited. You have to get excited when you hit a wall, you have to stay excited when you get over it. Why would you get excited when you hit a wall? Because, well, what were you expecting? If you did not expect to hit walls, you were not expecting right.

At this stage with my startup it feels like I am getting to watch the formation of the DNA. It is an amazing feeling. I have a small team. We are making steady progress.

Soon I expect to speed things up.

I am really liking it that we could launch for very little. I am really liking it that we will start generating revenues almost right away. I am really liking that. I am liking the immense human component of my business model. Suddenly I will get to party with a purpose. The more people you talk to, the better you get at it.

A Mini Bubble Burst In Three Years

Image via WikipediaThis is not me agreeing with Fred Wilson on the topic, but I do foresee a mini bubble burst a few years down the road. We are going through a relatively easy funding phase of what I see is going to be a boom decade.

The first mini bubble burst is that not every startup idea seeking funding is getting funded. Most are not. That is normal. So you are already starting with the natural selection process in place. Investors are not fools. They go in with high hopes. They do say no. All the time.

But of all the companies that are getting funded, it is inevitable not all will survive. Many will not. I don't know enough to get into more precise numbers. You could argue nobody does. But there will be weaning out. The wheat will get separated from the chaff.

Every new economic sector in history has seen a bubble, some big, some small. The biggest bubbles have been reserved for some of the most exciting new sectors. Bubbles are good things. Bubbles are the market trying to figure out what will stick, what will not stick. And there is no way to know except by trying.

Some failures just can not be avoided. The best policy is to make peace when that happens. But there are other failures that can be avoided. How do you make sure you still have your startup three years from now?

Build a real business. Focus on the fundamentals. Don't overspend. Start generating revenues and profits within a reasonable amount of time. Work hard. Maintain perspective. Don't stop taking risks. Build a great team. Be a great team. Eat right. Sleep right. Exercise. Don't ignore your relationships.

Be open to the possibility that there are many kinds of exits, most of them not big. If you can earn a living doing work you love, that is a great soft landing actually. Don't ignore that possibility while shooting for the stars.

Shoot for the stars.

The Top Quora User Scoble Agrees With Me, But I Disagree With Him

Image via WikipediaRobert Scoble - someone I admire and like - has put out a blog post on January 30 - Why I was wrong about Quora as a blogging service … - that closely mirrors a blog post I put out on January 7 - As For Quora: Blogging Still Rules - only my blog post's title is better. In his blog post Scoble comes to the same conclusion. Blogging still beats Quora.

But then blogging for me has beat all other social media experiences: Facebook, Twitter included. Blogging has been my favorite social media platform. I guess I am really interested in people I don't know. But it is more the ideas thing. The blogosphere allows for a meeting of minds in ways not possible elsewhere. And I have a thing for the long form of blogging.