Deal Radar 2008: Mahalo

Mahalo, which means thank you in Hawaiian, is a human-powered search engine founded by former Weblogs co-founder, Jason Calacanis. The site launched in public alpha in mid-2007 and public beta in October 2007. Mahalo focuses on handling requests that are filtered with the help of a team based in Santa Monica, California, to avoid the spam and other junk results that clog other search engines. >>>

From English Prof to Tech Startup CEO: Steve Adams of Sabrix (Part 8)

SM: Who were your first customers?

SA: They were folks like Franklin Covey, General Electric, and Hewlett-Packard.

SM: You went for the real big companies first?

SA: Yes. Today we have 150+ large multinationals that have purchased this. >>>

Trusting Untrusted Computers (Part 2)

By Taher Elgamal, Guest Author

In the first article of this series I introduced the dilemma our networked world faces: how can we trust the computer software and hardware we depend on, even though these systems are untrustworthy? Let’s now think of a long-term strategy that would lead us to trust our networked environment more. >>>

From English Prof to Tech Startup CEO: Steve Adams of Sabrix (Part 7)

SM: Let’s go back to 2002. You arrive and have this product. What was your launch strategy?

SA: Timing was important. That was the nuclear winter of software. There was a general malaise in the software industry because of Y2K and then the euphoria of the Internet. A lot of companies bought a lot of software that ended up as shelfware. >>>

Obamanomics

Last night, my friend Patrick Consorti gave me an issue of the New York Times Magazine that had a long article on Obamanomics. If you have missed this article, published on August 20, it is perhaps one of the most comprehensive examinations of Obama’s thinking on economics, and I strongly encourage you to read it. >>>

Demeaning (Any) President (Really): America’s New Low

By Guest Author Richard Laermer

Last year, responding to a question about President Bush, now-beleaguered Representative Charles Rangel told his television interviewer: “I really think that he shatters the myth of white supremacy once and for all; it shows that, in this great country, anybody can become president.” >>>

Rules for Bootstrappers (Part 4)

By Greg Gianforte, Guest Author

The bootstrapper will inevitably come up against a stream of seemingly insurmountable problems. This is when the Unconventional Mindset comes into play. Your motto on all these occasions must be, “There is always another way.” In the Herculean task you are undertaking—starting a business from scratch—conventional wisdom does not apply. >>>

From English Prof to Tech Startup CEO: Steve Adams of Sabrix (Part 6)

SM: How did you characterize the value proposition of what you were doing at the time? You stated the need to have a unique combination of content and to characterize that content with the technology.

SA: There are a couple of ways to view the value. From a technology perspective, the unique value we provide comes through content and the value of content, which are the tax rates and rules that are constantly changing. >>>