Fred Wilson runs a guest post today about the glories of bootstrapping.
David Geller makes it clear that it is all about me as he relates how much more of a company you have to build to get the same financial reward if you raise funds and set up option pools as opposed to bootstrapping.. So true. But good dilution leads to great, and just, rewards to staff and investors.
But how much better to use Facebook as a model where 30% of the company is owned by staff and very early angels. Do read the Guardian article by Jemima Kiss: Facebook tears up the rulebook. It would make a great business plan resource.
In my experience it is the people who talk loudly about the importance of teams who never offer equity. Put you money where your mouth is!!
Great comments in the post. Interestingly they seem to have sold out to a VC backed company. In the comments David Geller makes it clear that there was no option pool for staff so the winnings were only divided by two. Selfish entrepreneurs?
However the comments also make it clear how many people want to build a business and respect those who have achieved it. Good to be part of the club even if only once!
Prof Gail Dines writes an interesting article in The Guardian titled: All authentic desire is rendered plastic by this multi billion-dollar industry.
“It is no accident that the International Consumer Electronics Show takes place in Las Vegas at the exact same time as the expo. Porn has helped drive the technologies that expand its own market. According to Jonathan Coopersmith, a historian of technology, porn has proven to be a reliable, highly profitable market segment that has accelerated the development of media technologies, from VCRs and DVDs to file-sharing networks, video on demand for cable, streamed video over the internet for PCs, and, most recently, video for mobile phones. Video uses vast quantities of data, and the demand for porn has driven the development of core cross-platform technologies for data compression, search, transmission and micro-payments. File-sharing networks such as Kazaa, Gnutella and Limewire are better known for music, but are widely used for porn video files too.”
But just like at CES, it is money that drives the industry. Guess it was ever thus. But never once have I heard any mention of the porno industry in the Cambridge Cluster. And long may that remain so.