categories
HOT TOPICS
- The Accelerator Conundrum
- 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
interview
Rolling up an Online Ad Agency Powerhouse: AKQA CEO Tom Bedecarre (Part 3)
After spending some time in New York, Tom moved back to San Francisco with an itch for the technology industry. SM: Where was your J Walter Thompson job located? TB: It was based out of San Francisco. I had just gotten married and my wife and I moved back to San Francisco in 1984. As
Salesforce.com’s Incubator: René Bonvanie (Part 8)
Here we finally see how the Incubator does indeed assist companies with obtaining their original customer base, and they do so in a very effective manner. SM: There is nothing wrong in that motivation to try to expand the pie. It is absolutely the right motivation to have. RB: I think the most difficult skill
Rolling up an Online Ad Agency Powerhouse: AKQA CEO Tom Bedecarre (Part 2)
SM: What was your expertise in the agency world? TB: I was an account executive. I had both a packaged goods start in the business but quickly got an opportunity to work on some technology accounts. I worked on the Polaroid business as they were getting into magnetic media, selling video tapes and compact disks
Salesforce.com’s Incubator: René Bonvanie (Part 7)
I continue my discussion regarding the need for Incubator companies to receive assistance in their initial customer acquisition phase. I push Rene a fair bit. I think he is getting slightly annoyed and defensive 🙂 SM: If you go back to the beginnings of Salesforce.com, and you ask Mark Benioff, I am sure he will
Rolling up an Online Ad Agency Powerhouse: AKQA CEO Tom Bedecarre (Part 1)
Tom Bedecarre is the CEO of AKQA, an award winning, privately held ad agency with roots in San Francisco. Tom provided a fascinating interview, and a really good discussion about the emergence of new media and how it shifts the power balance in the advertising marketplace. As is customary, we begin the interview by learning
Salesforce.com’s Incubator: René Bonvanie (Part 6)
Among the most significant challenges a company faces is obtaining its initial reference customers. Salesforce has a core competency revolving around telemarketing and sales, so I inquire about the type of support they provide to companies in the Incubator in order to address this challenge. SM: How do you handle the go-to-market phase with Incubator
Om Malik: Pioneering Blogs (Part 11)
Here Om and I discuss some the challenges of operating a blog. The industry is in its infancy. In particular, there are difficulties with advertising networks and lack of analytics. SM: Are you following what Time Warner is doing with companies like Adify? OM: I have not. There are several reasons for that, mainly I
Salesforce.com’s Incubator: René Bonvanie (Part 5)
Bootstrapping has emerged as a very popular trend recently in the Valley as more entrepreneurs are bypassing Venture Capital. Here I ask Rene about the roll of boostrapping within the Incubator, and also get introduced to SmartFunded. SM: Do you have examples of partners who have been able to bootstrap and avoid VC funding? RB:
