2015: A Mobile Tech Company Will Storm The Room

Image by Emiliano Elias via FlickrYou did not foresee Netscape in 1990, or Google in 1995, you did not foresee Facebook in 2000. I have a feeling there will be a similarly monumental mobile tech company that will enter the scene around 2015. It is hard to predict what shape or form it will take. It is even harder to locate the founder. But she/he will sure worth be betting on, even if you can only come into her round two, or round three. But such visionaries are hard to locate even when they have already entered round three.

Over time I am going to try and foresee the details of such a company. But I admit right now I have no clue. Broad generalizations don't count. But let me take a crack at the situation.

Could You Have Predicted A Google In 1990?

Image via WikipediaOr a Facebook in 2000? I think not.

Predicting the far future is not hard, it is impossible. Or at least it is impossible according to the fractals theory by one of my favorite thinkers Mandelbrot who died a few months ago.

Fractals: Mandelbrot
Fractals And FoodSpotting

I like Eric Schmidt, but nobody has the crystal ball to see the technology scene as it might stand 50 years from now. Even broad generalizations are hard to make. Specifics are outright impossible.

Nelly Furtado: Night Is Young

Chairlift: Bruises

The Bird and The Bee: My Love

Kylie Minogue: Get Outta My Way

How Steve Jobs Gets Things Done

I found this amazing article in a tweet by angel investor and entrepreneur Hiten Shah. I follow The Angel List on Twitter. Go read the full article.

The Entrepreneur Does Have A Boss

Image via WikipediaA lot of people have this misconception that people who don't like to have to answer to bosses start their own companies. Entrepreneurs don't have bosses.

Perhaps it is the case that the entrepreneur does not have a boss. What the entrepreneur has is a goddess: the market. As an entrepreneur you have to meet your numbers. As long as you meet your numbers, you are in good shape.

Entrepreneurs do get fired. All the time. The entrepreneur version is to go out of business. The goddess can get mad at you and wipe you out.

There is a reason most people are not entrepreneurs. Someone once said being an entrepreneur is like being gay, it is not like you have a choice. I think there is some truth to that. It is a personality type thing. Some people are just more bent on doing the entrepreneur thing.

Shhh, Don't Tell Anybody

Don't tell anybody, I am going to a Wikileaks event.

Who Owns The Company?

Image via WikipediaI have been meaning to write this blog post for a while now, months, possibly over a year. Finally I am getting around to it. It has become urgent. I have a pre-launch startup.

For conventional wisdom I am going to refer to this, but later.

Mark Peter Davis: Entrepreneur's Guide To Raising Venture Capital

I do know Mark, but that is not why. And this might or might not be the best guide out there to venture capital. But I expect it to be sufficiently good to provide me with the framework of the venture capital business as it stands today. But I have made a point not to read through his posts. I want to express my thoughts before I get corrupted by conventional wisdom.

So who owns the company? Just like I have a bias for Founder CEOs, I have a bias for startups that will go IPO. And it is those two scenarios that I have in mind. So my thoughts might not resonate with startups with other kinds of exits, which ends up being most startups.

You Have To Be A Little Wild

Image via WikipediaYou have to be a little wild to be doing the tech entrepreneur thing.

For one, the risks are high. All else equal you will more likely fail than succeed. The success stories make it to the press. The sob stories? There's not enough newsprint on the planet. And it is not one risk, one hump you get over. There are risks after risks after risks. Every step of the way. It is roller coaster. If you are not going to enjoy the ride, the solace of some day reaching the destination might be false. You might never get there. The journey is where it is at. The journey itself is the reward. If you don't think so, get into another line of work.

You have to be able to look at the establishment and look the other way. You have to be able to look at the status quo and sneer. You have to jolt. You have to give them the finger.