After four years in the US, one of the things I most enjoyed about coming back to Australia was reconnecting with the Australian Broadcasting Commission's (ABC) excellent current affairs programming on radio and television.
One program I have particularly enjoyed has been the Question and Answer (QandA) program on ABC TV on Monday nights. Quoting the website (http://www.abc.net.au/tv/video/downloads.htm#?vid=qanda), "Q&A puts punter, pollies and pundits together in the studio to thrash out the hot issues of the week. It's about democracy in action - on Q&A the audience gets to ask the questions. Q&A is hosted by one of the ABC's most respected journalists - Tony Jones."
A third and perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of this program is the real-time TV audience participation generated through Twitter. Following #qanda on Twitter makes you feel like you're in a rowdy town hall political rally and rather than just shouting at your TV in a vacuum, Twittering allows you to share your comments with the wider Twitterati and QandA has also started publishing some of those Twitter comments on the bottom of the screen.
Has Twitter brought us back to old-style Town Hall politicking from the comfort of our own lounge room? How are the political parties responding and engaging with this new phenomenon? And how can I get a computer screen big enough to be able to capture the thousands of Twitter comments and how do I weed out the clever from the profane?
Perhaps an enterprising programmer can solve these problems for us all.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Thursday, November 26, 2009
How Web 2.0 is changing the way we work (from McKinsey Quarterly)
How Web 2.0 is changing the way we work: An interview with MIT's Andrew McAfee - Courtesy of McKinsey Quarterly.
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/How_Web_2_0_is_changing_the_way_we_work_An_interview_with_MITs_Andrew_McAfee_2468
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/How_Web_2_0_is_changing_the_way_we_work_An_interview_with_MITs_Andrew_McAfee_2468
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Some things to look for when seeking venture capital
Venture capital firms are not just a source of finance for the lucky few who manage to pitch their idea better than the thousands of other innovators competing for scarce resources.
A venture capital firm looks beyond the idea and is often more concerned with the team who will deliver the business growth.
In the same way, when seeking an investment by a venture capital firm, don't just spend your time marching up and down Sand Hill Road, rattling the tin for contributions hoping for the quickest offer of a term sheet. Instead, you need to view the process as a courtship. In the same way that a job interview is really an "inter-view" - an opportunity for a company to size you up, but also an opportunity for you to gain direct insight into the team you may be working with - you need to work out if you can work with this team.
Bear in mind that for the VC money they will have active board involvement to ensure that they maximize the return to their investment and minimize the risk that the entrepreneur is going to make mistakes. And they have most likely seen all those mistakes before.
Remember that this relationship will likely last several years and for the success of the business, it has to last. But there will be an end - because the VC must be focussed on 'the exit'. VCs are always looking at how they will recoup their investment and pay back their Limited Partners with profit
A venture capital firm looks beyond the idea and is often more concerned with the team who will deliver the business growth.
In the same way, when seeking an investment by a venture capital firm, don't just spend your time marching up and down Sand Hill Road, rattling the tin for contributions hoping for the quickest offer of a term sheet. Instead, you need to view the process as a courtship. In the same way that a job interview is really an "inter-view" - an opportunity for a company to size you up, but also an opportunity for you to gain direct insight into the team you may be working with - you need to work out if you can work with this team.
- Will the VC team be able to help marshal all of the non-financial resources you will need to scale up your business?
- Will they be an active or passive board member?
- Can they help you find the right staff and do they have the connections to help you get the product or service to market quickly and efficiently?
- Will they be a useful sounding board and source of ideas for when the going gets really tough?
Bear in mind that for the VC money they will have active board involvement to ensure that they maximize the return to their investment and minimize the risk that the entrepreneur is going to make mistakes. And they have most likely seen all those mistakes before.
Remember that this relationship will likely last several years and for the success of the business, it has to last. But there will be an end - because the VC must be focussed on 'the exit'. VCs are always looking at how they will recoup their investment and pay back their Limited Partners with profit
So when preparing your pitch remember that the VC is not just a source of finance to help an innovator on the path to mega wealth, you have to make the relationship work.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Unleashing the Collective Genius of Employees
Unleashing the Collective Genius of Employees is the name of a webcast from Stanford University which I watched recently. It describes an excellent idea for capturing and encouraging innovation in the workplace. If you're interested in watching the whole seminar it takes less than 1 hour and can be found here. http://tinyurl.com/ylnf3fm
In summary, it describes a kind of 'stock market' for ideas in which participants (the employees) are given notional capital to invest in the ideas generated from within the company. The idea is that rather than have good ideas lost in the 'ideas basket' because of a lack of time or resources or because the promotor of the idea can't navigate the politics, there is a mechanism to have ideas investigated and championed (or quashed) based on an internal market mechanism.
In summary, it describes a kind of 'stock market' for ideas in which participants (the employees) are given notional capital to invest in the ideas generated from within the company. The idea is that rather than have good ideas lost in the 'ideas basket' because of a lack of time or resources or because the promotor of the idea can't navigate the politics, there is a mechanism to have ideas investigated and championed (or quashed) based on an internal market mechanism.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Venture Capital 101: How a VC fund works
A General Partner (GP) raises a fund (say $100 million) which is usually a 10 year partnership between a group of Limited Partners (LP). This limited partnership of typically involves about 10 investors.
All the investing is made in new high risk ventures over the first five year period during which time the GP draws down the funds promised by the LPs ($100 million) at the rate of $2 million/year
The second five year period is the harvest time (although there might be some follow-on investing made during this time as well).
The ventures need to execute the 'exit' part of the strategy and the GP starts returning funds to the LPs.
The GP charges a management fee of typically 2%/year of the total for the first 5 years.
This management fee declines at a linear rate to zero over the second 5 year period (or a percentage of the assets is the consideration if those assets haven't been sold yet).
If the fund has doubled in value as a result of all of the exits (ie. $200 million), the LPs get all of their principle back plus all of the management fees.
Of the remaining $100 million, the LPs get 80% and the GP gets 20%.
See more at: http://www.mycapital.com/VenetureCapital101_MyCapital.pdf
All the investing is made in new high risk ventures over the first five year period during which time the GP draws down the funds promised by the LPs ($100 million) at the rate of $2 million/year
The second five year period is the harvest time (although there might be some follow-on investing made during this time as well).
The ventures need to execute the 'exit' part of the strategy and the GP starts returning funds to the LPs.
The GP charges a management fee of typically 2%/year of the total for the first 5 years.
This management fee declines at a linear rate to zero over the second 5 year period (or a percentage of the assets is the consideration if those assets haven't been sold yet).
If the fund has doubled in value as a result of all of the exits (ie. $200 million), the LPs get all of their principle back plus all of the management fees.
Of the remaining $100 million, the LPs get 80% and the GP gets 20%.
See more at: http://www.mycapital.com/VenetureCapital101_MyCapital.pdf
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Social Media and the Dispersion of Authority
McKinsey's article on "Building Private Sector Diplomacy" has interesting implications for all organisations. http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Building_private-sector_diplomacy_2450
Social media has 'dispersed authority' and customers and stakeholders are now not merely 'price-takers'.
Engaging with customers/clients is now truly about 'inter-action' and the more flexible and responsive an organisation is, the better it will survive change.
Social media has 'dispersed authority' and customers and stakeholders are now not merely 'price-takers'.
Engaging with customers/clients is now truly about 'inter-action' and the more flexible and responsive an organisation is, the better it will survive change.
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