Scott Rosenberg says that a new Internet bubble is in full swing, based on his observations at Web 2.0. I definitely think we’re already in the “throw the bad money after the good” phase of investing in “Web 2.0” companies. And once again, it sure looks like another bubble will pass by without my walking away with filthy lucre. So it goes.
Update: $25 million for Weblogs, Inc. Need I say more?
October 7, 2005 at 6:01 am
Friday morning web tech
PaidContent: AOL-MSN Start Talking Again On Combining. BrightCove, in the wake of a great demo, from what I hear, at…
October 7, 2005 at 9:26 am
You know, if they’re referring to the success and/or purchase of Flickr, Weblogs, Inc, etc., I’m not sure I agree that it’s a new bubble like the first one. In Bubble #1, people (meaning VCs, purchasing companies) poured massive amounts of cash into questionable ideas from the start.
In contrast, many the companies that are currently being bought were started by individuals, built a functioning product, and got real users or some other proof of some sort of ROI before selling.
I’d argue that for the companies that currently meet that criteria, things are working more like I’d expect. The original creators build some sort of actual value before selling. OK, maybe the $25M for Weblogs, Inc was excessive, but at least it was $25M for a functioning application with lots of users.
Remember, in the late 90s, companies were paying multiples of that for startups with no working product and no users.