mobileTech Tuesday, by Steve Guengerich Chances are, you may have never heard of Dewey Winburne, especially if you are somewhat new to Austin. I’ve been meaning to write this post for a long time to help change that possibility, in a small way. Because, regardless of whether you never met Dewey Winburne before he died in 1999 or have never even heard the name before, Dewey is a symbol for Austin and its tumultuous, joyous, [...]
mobileTechTuesday, by Steve Guengerich I just completed my second year of teaching the New Ventures class for the Digital MBA program at St. Edwards University. It will be my last time to teach the class, as I expect to be out of the country next year. (More on that later.) Serving as a professor for a University-level class has been a long-time interest of mine. I got the bug to teach several years ago, after [...]
When you hear someone talk about disruption in technology, it almost sounds passé. But if you ever want a simple cheat sheet to impress your friends, read this piece by Netscape Founder and Venture Capitalist Marc Andreessen. It’s basically a series of case studies in disruption, each showing how software-driven services are invading companies large and small. Recently, I caught up with two tech execs that want to accelerate the way nonprofits are being eaten [...]
Appconomy, Inc. announced today that it has closed a $10 million round of Series A equity and venture debt funding intended to accelerate the company’s strategic initiatives and operations in China. Shanghai-based Qiming Ventures led the round, and will have a representative join Appconomy’s board of directors. Neusoft Corporation became a significant minority shareholder of Appconomy. Other participants in the round included existing investors Western Technology Investment and True Ventures. “With these two, new cornerstone [...]
That’s not a catchy headline. That’s what Ethernet inventor and current UT innovation czar Bob Metcalfe told me at a recent Dell Entrepreneur event. And if you caught Metcalfe’s keynote at this year’s Clean Energy Venture Summit, you know he’d likely tell you to invest in a handful companies in the so-called “enertech” sector. “I’m waiting for all those tech and social networking investors and VCs to come over to energy,” he said. Jokingly taking [...]
As we go into 2012 there’s definitely a good sized group of companies that are primed for rapid growth and market acceptance. I’ll give you my list of the few that I’m watching, and if you leave a comment with your pick, and why you think they’re poised for growth I will update the blog post to include the info you posted. FYI: I’m talking about the emerging companies, not the HomeAway and Bazaarvoices of [...]
Facebook has been poking around several Austin startup companies lately looking for talent acquisitions, and rumors are swirling that they’ve found a taker in beleaguered Gowalla. The company caused great excitement in the Austin tech community years ago when they relocated from Dallas to Austin, and garnered venture capital from top tier west coast venture and angel investors, spurning offers from locals. But no matter how hard they tried, they could never emerge from the [...]
Being the tech tire-kicker I am, when Google+ launched I was curious. Would the web giant get it right this time, or stumble through another missed opportunity a la Buzz? There was also a certain sense of fatigue that crept over me. I immediately felt compelled to tee up my best app configuration and social sharing skills for yet another destination on the web. So what gives after a few months with Google+? Can It [...]
