Kiva Is In Nepal

I have been looking for that first country to go into with my microfinance startup, and it is amazing how I have gone all over the world. And now I am thinking Nepal, the country where I grew up.

Having Kenya And Chinatown Thoughts

Murdoch's MySpace, Cisco's Flip

Image via WikipediaWhen Rupert Murdoch bought MySpace, that was hot property. And he looked like a genius when he paid $500 million for the service, and promptly got Google to pay him $900 million to run ads on the property. And that was the pinnacle. It was downhill after that for MySpace. Murdoch's corporate machine killed the whole operation with the usual jujitsu.

How you do it is you put a corporate guy on top of the whole thing, and that big shot starts thinking he is some kind of a big shot, he fires a few key people, he reorganizes a little bit. After all he has to cast the impression he is actually doing something. And that messes things up. There is no one in charge. The emphasis is no longer on innovation. It is on pleasing the corporate guy who, by the way, wants yet more ads shown on the property, because there are numbers to be met. They don't realize that might take away from the experience because they don't use MySpace in the first place, they just want to be the boss of it.

And now what do we have here? Cisco is flipping Flip. Flip was also hot when it got bought. That is why it got bought in the first place. Flip was supposed to be Cisco's own little iPod, that signature device that everyone but everyone carries and makes Cisco look cool.

StartUp Week: Develop, Design, Pitch

StartUp Week At NYU April 6-15
2,000 Squats
Getting To Meet Mark Suster In Person
Meeting Brad Feld
StartUp Week: Job Fair: Fish Market

They shifted the venue from the first floor to the fifth floor. The food part was a pleasant surprise. I was not expecting. But after the first speaker was done, it was food time. After all three speakers got done, I went ahead and ate some more. I did not have dinner later.

During the first break Holly sitting across the table remarked: "You look happy."

"I am a happy person," I said taking in what I thought was a compliment to my general demeanor.

"I think it's the food," she cut me short.

Just Became A Cofounder

I just became a Cofounder. What the heck. No, this is not my microfinance game. That is my primary focus. But one Skype call with a friend in Kathmandu who runs a software shop, 50 strong, and next thing you know I am a Cofounder. Details to follow in a few weeks.

This is way better than consulting. Suits my style.
Image via Wikipedia
The basic product is already out. The idea is to grow the user base, and go raise some money down the line.

People talk of a shortage of engineers. I have no clue what they are talking about. I have a limitless supply of them. I retain my tech consultant title. Holler if you need help. I am scalable.

Meeting Brad Feld
A Boulder Invitation From Brad Feld Himself