The all-computer run NASDAQ could be to blame for a lack of a Facebook stock pop Friday, when the social network started its first day of trading. Orders flooded in...
Hi. While this blog is a part of Seed Catalyst’s website, I realised over the initial few weeks that a lot of you are first introduced to the firm via the blog rather than our home page.
So to introduce myself - I’m a business consultant working with early stage technology firms to help streamline their strategy and go-to-market approach and support them for fund raising.
With this blog, I aim to capture key market trends that I see in the industry, the ecosystem and cross-plays in some of the more interesting and upcoming sectors, as well as cover interesting companies that I meet.
I will also be addressing vexing and interesting valuation and deal/term-sheet structures that would be of interest to technology start-ups at various stages of their growth.
Are femtocells on way to the plateau of productivity
Written by rhitu barua
Thursday, 25 March 2010 11:06
A news article that caught my attention earlier today was the launch of AT&T’s ‘microcell’ which enables users to convert their home broadband connection into a mini cell site right in their house. The aim is essentially to improve services for the frustrated iPhone users who have been facing connectivity issues due to overloaded network capacity. The microcell will allow upto 10 phone lines and for a certain price, users can get unlimited voice minutes for calls made from home.
Few questions:
1. When at home, won’t the users be using their Wi-Fi connection for all iPhone usage?
2. Specifically for voice, aren’t there VoIP applications which essentially make the 3G connection redundant even within the home (I know this is not really applicable for the 3-Skype deal we have in the UK since, as I’ve been told, the VoIP calls are actually circuit switched in spite of being originated within a skype client! I guess that’s VoIP over 3G)
3. How is this any different from femto-cells? Why complicate matters by introducing new terminology.
I remember writing an article a while back when Vodafone had launched their femtocell gateway. They had two pricing models - a one-off purchase and a monthly rental. At that point in time, my question was - Will the customer really be willing to invest in a femtocell gateway for their home? Frankly I still have the same doubt.
At the end of the day, the story is essentially that the telecom operator has poor network capacity and hence the end user is being made to pick up the cost of an additional gateway. Were it a feature of the triple-play gateway provided by telecom operators like BT, France Telecom etc, I can see a demand for it - I can also see people talking about the feature and wanting it. But to go out and purchase and additional piece of equipment..well...
The problem with the integrated triple-play gateway, on the other hand, is that it is being provided to the end user by the cable/ IP service provider who may or may not have an interest in providing femtocell connectivity in the gateway. Hence, I mentioned femto enablement as one of the desirable features of my dream Android-Motorola set top box (http://bit.ly/ctkEhu)(http://bit.ly/9sZjyB) – after all they are two of the key players who now have a presence across the spectrum – mobile, internet, TV.
Google joining forces with Sony and Intel was not exactly what I was expecting. What I was expecting (or wishing for):
A set top box with the Android operating system
Which can be connected to fibre, cable, DSL, mobile and satellite networks (aka a quad play home gateway)
With an integrated Wi-Fi router
And integrated femtocell capability
And on-board memory to store personal data (music, pictures, videos)
Capable of streaming internet TV and video from websites such as Youtube, Hulu, iPlayer etc
Integrated with a Netflix-like capability (in my case hoping that LOVEFiLM grows into the video streaming model) or VUDU like peer-to-peer streaming
With eventual Boxee-like social networking and recommending capability as well as the capability to connect to OnLive type cloud gaming services
And (since it’s Android) capable of provisioning the entire range of applications from the app store
Is that too much to ask for?
Ok maybe I wasn't expecting all if it but most of it - from the new Motorola in partnership with Google. (Motorola integrates CPE and mobile division –http://bit.ly/9sZjyB ) After all, the Droid was the most hyped of the Android launches. With the integration of their handset and gateway business units, why not the Android powered gateway?
But maybe that wasn't meant to be. Perhaps Google will focus on TV manufacturers and television channels/content providers and Motorola will continue to focus on operators or maybe.....I guess we'll just have to wait and watch.
I have recently been on the look-out for technology products in the realm of financial innovation - in fact have been actively seeking them out. A few interesting concepts:
1.Securitization 2.0
Three Goldman Sach’s bankers turned entrepreneurs were covered in a recent WSJ article. A suggestion for a new product from one of them was the creation of a financial platform which would collect financial information from small companies and generate credit ratings. This would imply that the firms can raise loans which could be securitised and sold back to financial markets. Hmmm....sounds familiar??? Who’s developing the credit ratings?
An impact of the financial crunch or is it here to stay?
Written by rhitu barua
Saturday, 13 February 2010 15:58
At a recent seminar a VC listed the three main areas that he sees investment flowing into over the next few months. High up on the list was couponing. If recent market figures are to be believed, by the end of the year, there would be over 100 million mobile coupon users with a redeemed mobile coupon value of over $3.2B. Having seen quite a few companies active in that space over the last few months the immediate question in my mind was where exactly is the opportunity for a startup? and for an investor?
If the main conundrum being addressed is how to increase the efficiency of coupons as a marketing channel, the key solutions being provided by the various start-ups are:
For Merchants:
Better redemption rates for their coupon marketing programs
Access to new subscribers particularly at the time of purchase
Efficient monitoring of the marketing campaigns
For Customers:
Availability of coupons and discounts from known outlets at the time of purchase
Easy access to valid new deals and vouchers
Introduction to reviewed new venues, stores, restaurants and the like
A few of the companies that I have seen addressing these problems:
Feed Entries 
A news article that caught my attention earlier today was the launch of ![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_a.png?x-id=7f524c86-41dc-40ad-baa9-927e5c174946)
