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HOT TOPICS
- The Startup Velocity Question
- Platform as a Service
- Man and Superman
- Web 3.0 = (4C + P + VS)
- The Future: End of Capitalism
- Capitalism 2.0
Parallel Entrepreneurship: Serguei Beloussov, Founder of Parallels (Part 3)
Sramana: What did you do after spending a summer in the remote regions of Russia selling various goods? Serguei Beloussov: When I returned to Moscow, I occupied a small room in an office space that my friends gave me. I had done some computer networking and telephone network installations for them, and in exchange they
Parallel Entrepreneurship: Serguei Beloussov, Founder of Parallels (Part 2)
Sramana: When you finished your education, what were your next steps? Did you stay in Russia? Serguei Beloussov: I actually did not finish that program in a normal way. I completed four years and was on my summer break when, in June and July of 1992, I went through some serious events that resulted in
Parallel Entrepreneurship: Serguei Beloussov, Founder of Parallels (Part 1)
Serguei is a founder Parallels, where he serves as the chief architect and the executive chairman of the board. Prior to his current positions he also served as the CEO of Parallels. Under Beloussov’s leadership, Parallels grew to profitability and became a market leader in desktop virtualization, OS containers, and control panel offerings. Beloussov holds
Building a $50M Profitable Social Network Focused on Discovery: Greg Tseng, CEO of Tagged (Part 7)
Sramana: I like your financing structure and the fact that you are using venture debt. The venture requirements and exits are not so outlandish. If you raise $50 million or $60 million dollars, then the exit requirements are commensurately higher. A $12 million investment is a much more manageable situation. Greg Tseng: I have always
Building a $50M Profitable Social Network Focused on Discovery: Greg Tseng, CEO of Tagged (Part 6)
Sramana: Where are you at in terms of revenue? Greg Tseng: We did $43 million in revenue last year. We are currently on a $50 million run rate. Sramana: What are the levers in the business at the moment? Greg Tseng: At the highest level, it is growth in the registered user base. Based on
Building a $50M Profitable Social Network Focused on Discovery: Greg Tseng, CEO of Tagged (Part 5)
Sramana: Do you facilitate discovery across regions, or do you make recommendations within the same region? Greg Tseng: We do both. Geography is one of many factors. It is possible to have a really great connection in other factors that do not include geography, and we do see a number of cross-regional connections happening. Sramana:
Building a $50M Profitable Social Network Focused on Discovery: Greg Tseng, CEO of Tagged (Part 4)
Sramana: Is your virtual currency applied to games? Greg Tseng: You can convert it to Pets cash or you can buy gifts. Within Meet Me, you can buy gifts so that more people can meet you. Today our virtual currency business line has become more profitable than our advertising business line. Sramana: I hate advertising
Building a $50M Profitable Social Network Focused on Discovery: Greg Tseng, CEO of Tagged (Part 3)
Sramana: What is your market segmentation? Greg Tseng: We are available all over the world for all ages 13 and over. Our average age now is in the 30s. Sramana: Let’s go back to 2007, when you made the pivot into social discovery. How many users did you have? Greg Tseng: We had around 50