Taylor Davidson's Comments

Highway 12 Ventures : Important Firm News

Mon, 1 Aug 2011 15:13:19 +0000

Congrats on having a great portfolio of companies to support, and for making the classy (instead of flashy) move.

StartupCFO : Raising capital: Are you prepared to lose your job?

Sun, 6 Dec 2009 13:25:47 +0000

Marsh: this discussion is just part of a broader discussion: Mark, I, and many others that read his blog are very aware that VC funding is not necessary to succeed. These trends are fairly well known and are part of the deep context that we don't raise every time we talk about VC funding :) Shoot, I even led a conversation about it at SXSW last year: http://bit.ly/venturecapitalfuture

StartupCFO : Raising capital: Are you prepared to lose your job?

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 19:32:51 +0000

Good point; I just wanted to point out that we might look at that % as a bad result, when in fact it's an indicator of progress and the harsh truth, a harsh truth that you're right to point out that entrepreneurs should accept. It's also part of a broader point that most entrepreneurs underestimate the implications of taking outside capital and the impact it has on business strategy.

StartupCFO : Raising capital: Are you prepared to lose your job?

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 17:33:20 +0000

Yes, but: A) Wouldn't 100% of founding CEO's "lose their jobs" if they didn't raise funds anyway? (conveniently ignoring the % of entrepreneurs that choose to bootstrap instead of raising external capital). B) As a startup founder, if you're losing your job because the company is scaling and growing fast, even if you lose your job you're still getting paid (ownership % of a growing company). Not the worst result. C) But I understand the broader concern, that taking funding forces an entrepreneur down a route they may not be able to navigate successfully. I'm a big proponent of "lifestyle businesses", but I'd hazard that most entrepreneurs would like to see if they can lead a company through massive growth, to see if they could do that job. At least once :)

FISTFULAYEN : Alert, Connect, Sell: Releasing Get Busy Committee

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:35:59 +0000

Fantastic detail, Ian, full of great examples of how to approach an album release, build a buzz, etc., and also full of examples of how to use Topspin in managing a release. Great case study. Now, if you combined these details with the full campaign analytics to show which methods worked better / worse and why / how, you'd be giving away all the secrets...

StartupCFO : The fiction of startup forecasts

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 10:20:48 +0000

Mark: I've been holding onto this post since you posted it, just wanted to remark that the balance between estimating "too much" and "not enough" growth is one of the most careful balancing acts to use when share forecasts between communities (between VCs and entrepreneurs, between buyers and sellers). Agreeing that they are always wrong is the first step toward digging in to what really matters :)

StartupCFO : The new reality for VC-backed exits?

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 00:00:39 +0000

I'm expecting many will *have to* build it into their model in order to adapt and thrive. I was explaining the issue about "build to flip" to someone today; if you build to flip, you're approaching the beginning with the intentions focused on the end-state, and you probably won't actually create enough value to actually be able to flip it; but if you're building to create something sustainable, then you'll probably create something someone will want to buy. Intentions and goals in the beginning shapes the path. My trip? No; almost yes; but no :)

StartupCFO : The new reality for VC-backed exits?

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 06:17:43 +0000

10X multiples won't be a thing of the past, but likely a smaller portion of exits. Your point about this acquisition highlighting the "VC model of rapid funding and growth" is spot on. Given the assets acquired in Mint, Friendfeed, Brightcove et, al., smaller exits aren't only expected but likely more efficient for the entire ecosystem. The real question will be if investors can embrace lower multiples and work that expectation into their operating model.

LookStat - Official Blog : New Homepage and New Services for Photographers

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:29:32 +0000

Congrats, the back office solution is a pretty interesting way to solve a lot of problems that photographers face with submitting images. I'm betting many will be curious about pricing...

GarageSpin: Indie bands, DIY digital audio recording, music promotion, freemusicdownloads : 2 Songs Used in Webisode Series 'The Oligarch Duplicity'

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:39:49 +0000

Awesome. Btw, um, how about the "next" track? I've got a couple videos that the world doesn't need to see sitting here ready to be released...

new media lisa : The secret to discovering whether or not you're a blogger

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:16:58 +0000

I've been thinking about this for awhile, but have failed to come back and thank you properly for putting this into my mind because I've spent too much time reading, thinking, obsessing about ideas and attempting to write about some of them. I dislike the term blogger, but love the action and process it describes :)

Our Start Up Story : How to Fail

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:27:01 +0000

Thanks; and I'd bet you're doing better at almost all of these than I am myself ...

GarageSpin: Indie bands, DIY digital audio recording, music promotion, freemusicdownloads : Home Made Hit Show Podcast: My First Podcast Airplay

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:33:53 +0000

Congrats!

StartupCFO : Can a company be too friendly?

Fri, 29 May 2009 15:18:54 +0000

I agree, and that's a good example; I wonder if there is an opportunity for companies that have established a great high-touch model to target business and product opportunities where the high-touch model is less pervasive.

StartupCFO : Can a company be too friendly?

Fri, 29 May 2009 13:40:29 +0000

Is there one optimum mix? No; obviously this type of customer support & engagement & retention & demand generation & product strategy (and yes, it's all part of the same thing) doesn't appeal to all potential customers. But, luckily, the market will tell us how many people want this and how successful this approach will be; and interestingly, "high touch" strategies are getting less expensive as we're thinking less about how to scale "products" and more about how to scale "people". The question in my mind is can a company deliver multiple products with a mix of high touch / low touch strategies, or does it have to be a blanket cultural and strategical decision to use the same strategy for all products? Frankly, with many web companies based on single products it probably doesn't matter, but it's an interesting thing to consider as we think of M&A activity down the line...

StartupCFO : Some suggestions for Canadian VC

Thu, 14 May 2009 17:28:46 +0000

Not a surprise, sadly; how much of that do you think is temporary or created by general market conditions, and how much of it is structural issues related to Canadian VCs?

StartupCFO : Some suggestions for Canadian VC

Thu, 14 May 2009 17:25:26 +0000

Right; but the question is really a little different: LPs invest in VCs for certain reasons: how do the LPs decisions frame or shape the decisions by Canadian VCs? How much of "what's wrong with Canadian VC" comes from the LPs?

StartupCFO : Some suggestions for Canadian VC

Thu, 14 May 2009 12:49:39 +0000

VCs serve their LPs (not entrepreneurs) at the end of the day: what about the LPs that invest in Canadian VC funds? What do the LPs expect, and how is it different than LPs in Europe and the US? How does Canadian VC fit into an LP's overall asset allocation?

GarageSpin: Indie bands, DIY digital audio recording, music promotion, freemusicdownloads : New Song: "20/20 Foresight"

Thu, 14 May 2009 03:15:29 +0000

Check your email :)

GarageSpin: Indie bands, DIY digital audio recording, music promotion, freemusicdownloads : New Song: "20/20 Foresight"

Thu, 14 May 2009 01:22:45 +0000

I love the cover art. Is Tara ok with you selling "her song"? Kidding; keep it up, love hearing your voice, I'll have to see if I have a bit of video of you singing it live at the wedding reception. And oh, I'm looking forward to the next song :)