Balancing Funding

TechCrunch had a great guest post by Mark Suster, a former entrepreneur-turned-VC entitled, "How Many Investors Are Too Many?" today. I won't list the whole article here, but the basic advice is to get a split between 2 with the lead VC taking 20-25% and a smaller one taking 7.5-15% or two who take 15-17%. He provides a lot of great advice and this is one of the more thought-provoking pieces TechCrunch has done in a while. Suster lists a number of rules to follow if you're getting onto the Angel/VC-funding path.

Speaking as employee number one at a start-up, we've so far been very fortunate not to have to take outside funding. As we expand and grow our baby, we'll have to see how things change. But we make no bones about it that we believe in the model of taking as little funding as possible. It's quite simple- the more investors you allow to fund your company, the more you have to pay them. And be clear- they're not going to want a small return; they're going to want something like a 10X return. The more they put in, the more you're going to need to have at the end and getting a blockbuster exit is extremely difficult. We all think of the outliers- the Facebooks, the Twitters, etc. but most companies never make it that far. The blockbuster exits make news but they're the exception, not the rule.

It's entirely possible to build a very profitable business without some pre-determined exit or taking funding. I love companies like 37 Signals, who make popular web apps like Backpack and Basecamp. These guys are just making a product, albeit a premium one, and not planning on some specific exit. They're continuing to improve their products and they did it by bootstrapping. I feel bootstrapping is the best way to go if you can do it. It's clearly very difficult and most entrepreneurs can't do it, but you should try to find a way. The more you do it yourself, the more you keep.

Thoughts on the New Apple TV

So Apple went ahead and reworked that little "hobby" as I had anticipated they would. The new Apple TV is shipping now and I think I'm going to be passing on it for a while. As a current ATV owner, there's really no good reason for me to get the new one at this point. 

I'm not going to sit and rehash all of the changes/differences between the old one and the new one, but rather just make mention of a couple of key issues.

I think the biggest miss for Apple and the one that has me bothered the most is the failure to include apps for the platform. As we know, the new box is running hardware very similar to some of Apple's portable devices and is running a variant of iOS- it's essentially an iPod Touch without a screen. With the marketshare and mindshare that Apple has with its portables and the iPad, it's inconceivable as to why they wouldn't build in the ability to have apps on the Apple TV. I just can't understand why they wouldn't do it now. I can understand why they didn't have them initially, as the idea of "apps" was something that was not a part of the lexicon of the average user (which is now clearly Apple's intended market.) But now when every device is focused on having "apps" and as something that my Mom gets, it makes no sense why Apple wouldn't have them in this device.

The possibilities for having apps on the ATV are incredible. There are just so many apps that I use on my iPhone that would be perfect on the ATV in a living room setting. Besides a number of the native Apple apps, I can think of a number of apps that would greatly benefit from being on this platform- Pandora, LastFM, NFL Sunday Ticket, MLB- virtually any media, music, or photo app, not to mention the possibility for having games on the big screen! Imagine playing the popular Angry Birds game on your TV with your iPhone/iPod/iPad as the remote. There are a ton of other situations that would be great here and I just can't understand why they wouldn't make them available immediately. 

Since the restriction is essentially a software issue, we could very likely see Apple just decide to allow devs the opportunity to develop for the ATV in the not too distant future. There's also the additional feature that Apple announced called AirPlay, which allows you to play media on your portable device on your Apple TV. If you have a movie that's on your iPad but not on your Apple TV, you can simply send it to the ATV and watch it on the big screen. Potentially, Apple could build in a way so that devs could add the ability to output to the ATV via AirPlay in the iPhone/iPod/iPad app. This would eliminate the need to develop ATV-specific apps. Although, I think ATV-specific apps would work well too.

The change from storing media on the device to streaming is also an interesting decision. It definitely points towards the idea that Apple will eventually offer a total streaming service, especially with their recent purchase of land in North Carolina that's allegedly for a new data center. But I still would have included a hard drive. As it stands, you have to have one of your computers on in order to stream content from your hard drive to the new ATV. So all the movies, photos, music you have on your computer need to be connected in order to be played on the ATV. That's a real pain, considering you don't have to do that now. There are times I just want to turn on my ATV and play the things I own. Granted, my computer is turned on 99% of the time, but that's not the point. What would be great is if Apple would just let you connect to a NAS drive so you wouldn't necessarily have to have the computer itself on. I'm planning to move some of my media to the drive that's attached to my Airport base station, but since my MBP is my primary machine, there are library issues I have to work out first. (If anyone has any tips/recommendations on how to have media on a NAS drive when running off a laptop, please, please, please let me know. I'd love to hear your setup/workflow. I hope to have a post up about this specific issue sometime soon.)

I think the ATV certainly has potential, but in its current state, I just can't see why I would get one since I already own an ATV. When the issues around apps are resolved, then I may be inclined to pick one up, especially since it's so much cheaper than the previous one. But for now, I'll stick with my current one.

Obligatory iPhone 4 Post

As an admitted Apple fanboy, I'd be remiss if I didn't say something about Monday's WWDC Keynote. So unless you live under a rock, you've heard about Apple's newest phone handset, iPhone 4. Apple's calling this the biggest change since the original iPhone. 

I could simply rattle off the new features coming to the device, but I'll just talk about the ones I'm excited for most.

First, I'm happy to see the A4 chip from the iPad has made it under the hood. I've played with a number of iPads at my old office and the response times are noticeably faster than my 3GS. You can really tell the difference of the chip and this is going to be necessary for some of the other feature enhancements.

The upgraded battery is something I'm glad to see. Generally I don't have too much problem with battery life that some people have with their 3GSes, although it can certainly be improved. The fact that Apple has added in battery-intensive functions and it's still getting more time than the 3GS is impressive.

The upgraded camera system is one of the biggest things I'm looking forward to. Even though most people who know me would consider me the Titan of Tech, amazingly I don't own a Point-and-Shoot digital camera. Somehow I just never got one. I've got my trusty D40, but for daily shooting I just use the camera in my 3GS. Megapixels don't really matter since I'm not likely going to make posters out of my daily snaps, but the ability to print larger images is appreciated with the upgrade to 5MP. More importantly, Apple claims to have used a better quality image sensor, which is what really matters. This upgrade should yield better low-light shots, especially coupled with the LED flash. Right now, my 3GS is worthless for nighttime or dark shots like in a bar or club. Not having a flash on the current one is one reason I've still toyed with getting a proper P&S. But this upgrade could keep me from doing that.

The second half of the camera upgrade system is the addition of HD video recording. This is a biggie. I think Giga Om's NewTeeVee hits the nail on the head regarding how this feature will affect sales of Flip's line of cameras. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Flip's camera lineup, but I think this spells trouble for them. As I think I've mentioned before, I used to own a Flip Ultra and I currently own a Sony HD camcorder, in addition to the video-recording ability of my 3GS. Can you guess which one I use/used the most? The Flip started making this weird buzzing noise every few seconds that the mic would pick up making it useless so I just threw it out. I'm not discounting their quality and I think I would get another one if Apple wasn't adding HD to the iPhone. The Sony takes great quality footage and has plenty of features, but it's just not something I'm going to carry around with me all the time, even in my backpack. The 3GS takes OK video if you've got good lighting, but let's face it, it's going to be way better in HD with a better image sensor, plus some zoom and the LED flash which can be used as a light. The fact is, the best camera is the one you have with you. And I'm way more likely to have my phone with me than any other device. I can't see myself carrying around a Flip plus my iPhone with HD video. And I'll be able to edit it and upload with iMovie right from the phone? Sorry, Flip.

Some of the things I'm looking forward to most will actually be ios4 features that are not necessarily related to iPhone 4 but will probably work even better on it. Multitasking and folders are two of the ones that stand out for me. Can't wait to get my hands on those features. But the one that might be the coolest is the ability to use an external Bluetooth keyboard. This actually may prevent me from getting an iPad, or at least waiting until the 2nd generation comes out. I could throw a small stand in my bag and either a rollup or foldable keyboard, or Apple's offering, which is quite small, and have myself a nice little setup that could handle the majority of the things I need to do. Yes, I know the screen is a whole lot smaller, but I'm pretty comfortable with my iPhone's screen as it is, so this could be a great mobile setup when I don't need the full capabilities of my MacBook.

One more thing...

So about that FaceTime thing...The geek in me says AWESOME! And it certainly is exciting and it's something that's been desired for a long time but hasn't really caught on here in the U.S. like it has around the world. This is going to have so many great uses and could really change how people communicate. The video showing the deaf couple was extremely touching. But (there's always a but isn't there?!), there are a number of issues that make me say "meh."

First, this is WiFi only to start. Now that's not really a surprise- AT&T can barely keep up with the demand for data as it is, so video- fuggettaboutit! This certainly lends credence to the rumors that Apple desperately wants to get other carriers on board who might be able to handle traffic better (although video is very intensive so there may not be a good solution even if they get someone else.) So since we're limited to WiFi to start, this is going to be useful in very few places. I guess you could pair it with a MiFi, but you're going to eat through those bytes awful quickly. It also highlights how far we are behind in the fact that municipal WiFi is virtually unheard of in the U.S.

Second, it's only iPhone 4-to-iPhone 4 right now, so communicating with other devices is out of the question. I'm very surprised this isn't at least compatible with iChat out of the box. I expect they'll be supporting it in the future, but it seems like a no-brainer to get that working from the get-go. I figured for sure that you'd at least be able to video chat with someone on a computer. Steve Jobs also said it will be compatible with millions of iDevices which I interpreted as they're going to add cameras to both the iPod Touch and the iPad. There were outcries from the launch that the iPad doesn't have a camera, which is one reason I'm holding out because I think they'll release that in the next generation. Unless I absolutely needed one, I'd hold off on buying either of those devices for a while, especially with the iPod Touch likely to get an upgrade at the beginning of September.

I'm glad FaceTime is easy to use, requiring zero-configuration and that you can take advantage of both cameras at any time in both portrait and landscape mode, but the limitations seem to say that it's going to be some time before it all takes off to the level of the Jetsons, which Steve referenced in the Keynote.

So Will I Get One?

The answer is yes. As soon as I'm eligible, which AT&T seems to think is 2011 so we'll have to see about that, I'll pick one up. I'll welcome the ios4 features onto my 3GS in the meanwhile, but I think they really have made some great advancements with the new iPhone 4. Despite some of the limitations, there's enough there to justify getting the new one, especially since the price is the same as a new 3GS used to be.

What do you think? What are you looking forward to most? If you're not an iPhone owner, will you get one? If you are, will you upgrade?

Rumor: New AppleTV device coming soon!

According to Engadget, Apple has been hard at work on the new AppleTV and if true, it sounds sick! Essentially, the ATV will be a stripped down version of the current model with very limited on-board storage (a rumored 16GB), a quick A4 processor (like in the iPad and rumored new iPhone), will only have power and video-output ports, yet will be capable of 1080P playback (something the current ATV can't do).

This is major news for a device that's received little attention from Apple in its 3 year existence. The best part? It's supposed to only cost $99. I am super, super excited for this and am hoping it's not just a rumor. As Engadget describes, the new ATV will run a much lighter OS, most likely a variation of the iPhone's OS and will rely mostly on a streaming experience (hence the limited storage capacity.) You'll likely be able to access content on your local computers or networks via a Time Machine device or similar (hopefully a external drive hooked up to an Airport Extreme).

One thing Engadget can't confirm, but something I've been expecting, is that the new software will likely run apps and have an app store akin to the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad. And I firmly believe this is what Apple needs if they want to successfully break into the living room.

For quite some time, I've been considering selling my ATV and purchasing a Mac Mini or possibly the Boxee Box, which has yet to make itself available in stores. It's no secret that the ATV is underpowered and should be able to run more formats and handle 1080P easily if it's going to be a home theater centerpiece. I've wanted to run a Mac Mini with either Plex or Boxee because they're more customizable, they play more formats, and they have app stores that allow you to install third-party apps. Not to mention, they allow you to store your files anywhere rather than directly in iTunes. I've been planning to move all my media onto an external 1TB drive hooked up to my Airport base station.

But this new ATV could change that. An app store would be fantastic for the ATV. Currently, with Boxee/Plex, I've installed a number of different apps- Last.fm, Pandora, Flickr, Picasa, Revision3, among others. One app I haven't found yet but I'm hoping will come out soon is the NFL SuperFan app which allows DirecTV customers to watch the SuperFan, and more importantly the Red Zone, channels on the iPhone but also on a computer. Right now I'd have to use a Mac Mini for it, probably using something like Fluid to make it couch-distance friendly, until they come up with an app for Boxee/Plex. But since the SuperFan app already exists for iPhone, if the new ATV used the app store, it would be relatively ready to go for the big screen.

Also, imagine the possibility for games. Apple definitely wants to improve in that space, especially with the announcement of the Xbox360-like Game Center coming in OS 4.0. Imagine using your iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad as a controller for games you're playing off of the new ATV! I'm not suggesting that the new ATV would compete with the XBox360 or PS3 or even the Wii, but it could definitely be a quick, easy, friendly way to just do some light gaming. I play Shrek Kart Racing on my iPhone all the time, but I would definitely be interested in playing on my TV.

So it's obviously really early to know what exactly they're going to do and Engadget has proffered that there will be no announcement next week when Apple will likely unveil its next iPhone. But this is really exciting, and if these rumors are correct, the AppleTV might finally get the attention it deserves.