dotcom startups

[nix]

What I can say is that with a number of people I talk to, especially the eager beaver entrepreneur types, most of them have a very narrow understanding of what the internet is all about.

[This message has been edited by nix (edited 07-12-2000).]

[!i!]

let's talk startup lingo
okay, okay maybe saturated na kayo
sa egroups ng hatchasia heehee
or just too giddy abt the upcoming hatchcamp
oh c'mon =)
i would like to hear from true blue
young techie wunderkinds! what's cookin'? and those with the biz savvy mindset-
whatever! rant and rave!

[Anali]

Tell us how Hatchcamp goes ok? I'm really interested in this one, but couldn't take the time out to attend. Kwento nalang! Who was there, who talked, who are the young upstarts, etc. :) Thanks!

[Mikoid]

I think everyone has a dream of becoming an Internet entrepreneur and making it big via a high-visibility IPO. I've spent a great deal of time over the last few months thinking about the rules of this dotcom game, and ultimately I realize that things a lot of startups fail to realize is:

1. You need to provide real value to the end-user, whether it's a consumer or business.

2. You have to provide something that effectively utilizes the properties of the Internet as a medium of information and exchange.

3. And ever since the dotcom crash in the US, you need to provide a solid and feasible profit plan for the near-term. Investors will no longer accept 18-24 month loss periods anymore.

That's one of many lessons that I've witnessed first-hand being involved in some successes and an equal number of failures (or mediocrities).

Recently, I got an e-mail from a stranger who wants to start a portal -- and wanted me to help out as a web designer. I sighed, and my mind refused even as I politely tried to wriggle my way out.

Granted, the Internet is a brave new frontier. But it doesn't mean that the road will be peachy-keen. To my mind, it's closer to the Dark Ages, where individual fiefdoms struggled for survival, and you lived and died by your skills and adaptability to change.

[!i!]

in just a space of a year a lot of dotcoms have sprung up in our region and its pretty much a race to seek funding. well if u aren't a techie to begin with, just imagine the back-end cost if ur a clueless biz guy.

Yeah adaptability is crucial- like constantly changing ur position, improving ur service, delivering ur promise content on ur focused group (the way some sites have transform themselves from search engines into community boards, email providers into a cybermall of sorts). Its a riot to begin with, but its an advantage to have a head start.

On the Hatchcamp though, honestly i wld love to go unfortunately, the rate is pretty steep. I'd rather spend the event fee on my site, and maybe rely on some pointers from those attending the camp.

[nix]

Well, here are some pointers ...

-- The most important question you really have to answer is, who is your market and how big is it? No matter how many Harvard MBAs you have on your team, they can't work magic and make your business lucrative with a small market.

-- How much experience does your team have in managing companies? How diverse is your group? VCs at the end of the day are investing in people.

-- Try to understand the current portfolio of the VCs you approach. If you can suggest some mutual synergies between your business and theirs, then you would give the VC an added incentive to invest in you.

-- There has been a shift of balance from top line growth to real profits. If you can show that you can effectively grow your market and at the same time, generate real money, then you have an edge.

-- Generally, technology start-ups have a bigger edge over dot.com wannabees.

-- Don't bother with dot.com start-ups that primarily target Filipinos. The internet market here just isn't big enough.

-- If you are a B2C fixed internet company, forget getting funding unless your business model is absolutely compelling (not another me-too US Import).

-- If you are a wireless start-up, and you have a compelling business plan, you have a chance.

-- There is no effective, truly useful wireless search out there in the world yet. If you have this, then you have a real edge. When I say useful, I mean a search that doesn't just allow you to look for other WAP or dot.com sites. -- Try to draw your own hypothesis here of what I mean by truly compelling given a wireless' portable properties. If you guys have the technology here -- Let me know!!!

-- You have an edge if you provide enabling services that have a big enough advantage in terms of technology or ease of use. ex. -- Fortune calls this company in the US "Cool" because they have created a Windows and Microsoft Office type of "clone" that can work well with 386 computers. He created his own market there!

Those are some tips that I hope will be helpful to you guys. Take it from someone who sits beside three of the country's sharpest VCs.

Good luck to all of you aspiring netrepreneurs!



[This message has been edited by nix (edited 07-13-2000).]

[dondi]

For those interested in how the HatchCamp went, just go to www.hatchasia.com (http://www.hatchasia.com) and click on the HatchCamp link, we have posted the agenda and some presentations which you can download.

If you want to join the eForum discussion, send a blank e-mail to hatchlings-subscribe@egroups.com

God bless,
Dondi@hatchasia.com