The 20 Minute Rule

by | Oct 26, 2006 | Uncategorized

I’ve had a few people send me this article in the NY Times recently so I thought it was worth linking to. With my recent theme of how limited the funding options are in Australia, a lot of people were asking me “why can’t you get US venture capital from Australia?”

Meet the “20-minute rule” that guides fateful decisions in Silicon Valley. Craig Johnson, managing director of Concept2Company Ventures, a venture capital firm in Palo Alto, Calif., who has 30 years of experience in early-stage financings, said he knew many venture capitalists who adhered to this doctrine: if a start-up company seeking venture capital is not within a 20-minute drive of the venture firm’s offices, it will not be funded.

Early Results of the TPN Oct 2006 survey

by | Oct 23, 2006 | climate change, Iraq, Podcast, Uncategorized

Beti the Excel Jedi (and the host of the TPN Health and Fitness podcast) has put together a nifty pps containing the results of the TPN Oct 2006 survey so far. I’ll leave it open for another few weeks but I think the results are already showing some interesting trends.

Some interesting things that popped out at me:

  • most people say that, on average, they listen to “most or all” of podcasts
  • about a third pay attention to ads in podcasts, but another third ignore them
  • 50% would be willing to pay >$1 a month to listen to TPN podcasts
  • the breakdown between people listening on a PC versus a portable player is moving away from the PC, with 75% listening on a portable device
  • nobody first heard of TPN via the mainstream media
  • the vast majority say they trust the opinions of TPN hosts either “very much” or “somewhat” and 70% trust TPN hosts more than they trust mainstream media (which might shut up all the journos who love to say “you can’t trust blogs”… nah who am I kidding… )
  • almost all of you relate to TPN hosts more than you relate to mainstream media hosts, yet again demonstrating the power of citizen media
  • two-thirds listen to less traditional radio since discovering podcasting (I should have asked what percentage of the podcasts you listen to are traditional radio shows versus citizen media… next time)
  • two-thirds find citizen media more stimulating than mainstream media
  • and, overwhelmingly, you are Beatles persons who disagree with the Iraq invasion and are worried about climate change. In other words, you haven’t been fooled by the propaganda campaigns on these issues run by your Governments and the corporations that run them. I am very proud of you.

Check out the early results.

And if you haven’t completed the survey yet, you still have a chance by going here.

From Melbourne Intl Airport

by | Oct 22, 2006 | Melbourne, Uncategorized

Gate 10. Melbourne International Airport.
Sniffer dogs sniffing at my bag. Maybe it’s the sunnies that give me away.
Number of people who have come up to me and said “Hey aren’t you that guy on the front cover of the Bulletin” = zero. I even spent ten minutes standing next to it at the newsagent here to tip people off… nada.
Couldn’t take my filtered water bottle on the plane. Apparently can’t get into the US with it in my carry-on. There goes my plan to stay hydrated on the flight.

Books I’ve got on in my bag to read on the flight:

Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, from Fire to Freud by Peter Watson

Naked Lunch by William Burroughs

The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

Also got The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki in the suitcase. No doubt that’s going to come in handy over the next month.

I hate flying. God I wish now I hadn’t bothered to watch the first two seasons of LOST. Here’s a question – if my plane crashes on a pacific island, which member of LOST do you think I’d be?

  • The natural-yet-unwilling leader everyone turns to?
  • The slick guy who collects all of the valuable stuff from the wreckage, sells it for a profit and is popular with the ladies?
  • The fat funny guy?
  • The weird philosophical guy who is good with knives but is keeping secrets?
  • The panicky guy who runs around saying “OH MY GOD WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!” and then starts figuring out who he is going to eat first?

Okay we’re boarding. Here’s goes 19 hours (Auckland stopover) of hell.