May 30, 2012
Two Years Ago, VC Said Change Was Due ― He...
Near the beginning of 2010 — more than two years ago — Josh Kopelman, Managing Partner at First Round Capital, noticed something unusual. At that time, the World Wide Web...
May 24, 2012
Catalyst Course: How Facebook Can Avoid Becoming The Next MySpace
The final chapter of MPD founder David Evans’ Catalyst Course shows both how new entrants can beat up on an established enemy, and how incumbents can fend off pesky competitors....
May 24, 2012
Looks Like Facebook Just Bought Some Good Karma
Facebook’s latest acquisition probably didn’t cost near as much as the one immediately prior (Instagram); it’s hard to spend $1 billion on M&A every week. But its new toy may end...
May 22, 2012
Amazon, Target Among Winners in eCommerce Patent Lawsuit
A U.S. district judge decided in favor of Amazon, Target, and a host of other retailers that had been sued by Kelora Systems LLC this week, settling a patent infringement...
May 21, 2012
Bango Raises $4.7M, Announces Partnerships with Microsoft, Google
Bango, the mobile payment facilitator based in London, raised £3 million ($4.7 million) through a private placement with institutional investors, and provided updates on its relationships with several key payments...
May 17, 2012
Catalyst Course: Blast Off or Bust!
How to ignite a platform, and avoid nosediving back to earth, is the subject of David Evans’s fourth lecture for the Catalyst Course. Drawing on the success of YouTube, the...
May 09, 2012
Catalyst Course: The Secret to a Profitable Platform: Figuring Out...
In last week’s edition of Catalyst Course, MPD founder David Evans demonstrated how platforms create value out of thin air. This week’s message: the best way to increase that value...
May 02, 2012
Catalyst Course: Platform Businesses Can Turn Junk – Like Pez...
Hoarders who keep random junk in the attic may not look like untapped sources of huge profits. But eBay — one of the world’s most successful platform businesses — turned...
April 30, 2012
LivingSocial Q1 Revenues Up 168% to $110M
LivingSocial generated $110 million in first quarter revenues this year, according to a report from Internet Retailer citing an Amazon.com SEC filing. Amazon owns nearly 30 percent of LivingSocial. Its...
