Bio: Entrepreneur and Internet Marketer. Founder of DyVERSE Marketing Group.
Posts by JohnTodero:
“Location Wars” Continue to Heat Up
March 16th, 2010
Recently there has been a lot of talk about location based social media services, with two companies in particular that have been getting the most attention. Gowalla and Foursquare are currently the “new big thing” in mobile social media, and it has everyone taking sides. The two companies are direct competitors that offer very similar features with a few minor differentiating twists. The competition for market share is said to be about neck and neck at the present moment, which is leading to heated brand loyalty battles for those that are picking sides and arguing which service is better.
The mobile based services are used by users on there smart phones, where you can check-in to places and be rewarded through activity and other “gamey” type features. In Foursquare for example, one of the main objects is to become the mayor of places that you frequent a lot. Only one person can be the mayor at a given time so it can stir up some heated competitions.
In addition to the fun aspects of Gowalla and Foursquare, those that catch on early to the unique business benefits that the services bring will cash in big time. If I was a retail business I would be going above and beyond to spread the word that I am pampering my mayors with VIP treatment and all kind of incentives. If you think about the competition for the mayorship that would ensue and how many repeat customer visits and new customers that would bring. Some businesses have already been smart enough to take advantage of this, but I know we haven’t seen anything because it’s going to get Gowalla and Foursquare crazy. Just wait until the masses catch on.
The hype behind these new companies and other location based services, is not all good. I’m not one to be very paranoid, but I do think it is necessary to use caution when using these services to tell the world where you are at, or where you always hang out. Besides the scary stalker issues, I foresee a lot of relationship drama stemming from people being where they shouldn’t be and so on.
I am currently giving Foursquare a serious shot and so far it has been kind of fun to be honest, but I am not sure how long I’ll think it’s cool. I guess we will see…
What are your thoughts on Gowalla vs. Foursquare, privacy issues, etc.?
New Start-Up Seed Funding Company Adds to New Trend
February 22nd, 2010
Right Side Capital is the latest company to announce their seed-phase fund, which will invest in 100-200 start-ups per year. Their approach is to focus on quantity, not quality. In their eyes this gives them the best shot at finding the “black swan” start-up that other wise would have been missed because of the vigorous typical funding process. If you are a technology start-up looking for funding to get started, all you would need to do is submit an online application and wait to hear back. Not everyone that submits an application will be funded obviously, but your chances are a lot higher with a seed-stage company like Right Side than a traditional VC fund. In fact, VC money has been in serious short supply lately, just as demand is reaching an all time high.
Right Side Media follows a very similar model of Y Combinator, which started seed funding companies a couple of years ago. Y Combinator runs a three month program two times a year, exclusively in the Silicon Valley area. You don’t have to be from Silicon Valley to be funded, but do have to travel and live in the Mountain View area of California for the three months where you will receivve private coaching and be introduced to key contacts and investors. A typical company that is accepted into the Y Combinator, or Right Side Capital program will receive $10 – $20,000.00 and give up 6%-10% equity of their start-up in return. Right Side Capital differs from Y Combinator in that start-ups that are funded will also need to put up a little bit of their own money to ensure they have some skin in the game, and founders will not receive as much one-on-one coaching time.
Y Combinator Seed Funding Company Located in the Bay Area
I love the model and have been thinking for a while that there was a lack of small scale seed funding for the companies not ready for VC, but need some start up cash to get on their feet.
Start-Up Guru and Founder of Y Combinaror Paul Graham with a Class of His Start-Ups
Cool Start Up of the Week – IdeaPaint
February 11th, 2010If you like whiteboarding, IdeaPaint is a dream come true. It is also a successful start-up founded by three Babson College undergrads in 2005. The concept for IdeaPaint came while Jeff Avalon, John Goscha, and Morgan Newman where involved in an intense brainstorming session but had to keep erasing the whiteboard to fit new ideas (hate when that happens). For three years, with help from chemists, they invented a durable, smooth, and nonabsorbing paint.
The product was first marketed in 2008 at a NeoCon home-furnishing trade show, where it won its Innovation and Gold Awards. The three founders, all mid-twenties, were first successful in raising angel investment while at college still, and recently raised $5 million from Breakaway Ventures of Boston.
