Scouting Deals? Use The...

Oh the “where do I find hot startups?” problem … VCs have been grappling with this for ages, resorting to such avenues as rampant gossiping, reading TechCrunch, informally tapping into early stage investor networks for intros to later stage deals and apparently, according to PandoDaily ‘s Sarah Lacy, setting up formal programs where entrepreneurs who are “network rich and cash poor” serve as deal scouts. Makes sense. Thus becoming the platform for startup discovery presents a huge opportunity for anyone who comes up with a grand solution: And, because which hot startup isn’t mobile these days, Apple itself is rumored to be trying to solve the problem with its own app discovery and promotion platform, aiming to go beyond its Featured section and expand into more intensive forms of app publicity. Its recent acquisition of Chomp harkens to this ambition and project, though as far as I can tell it still has a long way to go. Being in on something early has become an increasingly hot commodity. But beyond word of mouth and TechCrunch, where’s an aspiring deal scout to go when they need to find the hippest startups? (Other than AngelList of course, but that’s a whole ‘nother post …) Curious, I talked with one of the more informal Silicon Valley startup scouts earlier this week, and asked them about their process for finding cool new companies. The answer? Well, there’s an app for that of course. Many actually. While it won’t cover non-mobile, non-consumer outliers like Palantir , this “deal scout” had a fascinating process, using iOS discovery apps to figure out which mobile startups were promising. The scout’s two most thumbed iOS apps for finding early stage startups were Chomp and Crosswalk , with Discovr Apps being used to check in on possible competitors. The scout took an hour each day to go through the “New” section of the App Store via Chomp, scrolling through thousands of apps looking for ones that fit the profile of a startup. “You can tell which apps are going to be startups by reading the app name…. i.e. Pair, Highlight, Circle, Glimpse …. Words that are ‘Web 2.0,’ the scout went on. “Names that are singular words, Cloudy, Clear, Path, SideCar, are obvious technology startups. Words and/or sentences that are like…. ‘complete guide to,’ ‘tips & tricks for,’ ‘blah blah blah lite’ ‘religious jargon’…. are not startups.” After scout used Chomp and Crosswalk to figure out what was trending, i.e. which mobile apps were seeing the most user acquisition, they then used Discovr Apps to highlight potential competitors. For example, for this article, we figured out that Zwapp , FrenzApp , AppGrooves , AppsFire and Appshopper were all app discovery competitors to Chomp and Crosswalk, using the Discovr Apps app. But where do you go after you’ve found the newest, hottest apps? How can one tell what will be a good bet? “It’s super hard to tell what’s going to be successful,” my source said, “I download them, and test the apps and then contact the founders, ask[ing] them questions about how it’s going, why they built it (i.e.what problem they’re solving), and where they see it going. In addition, the scout said that they check blogs and AngelList to find out whether or not early stage influencers or biggies like Sequoia had already invested. They also mentioned that they didn’t use the Android market because it was very rare for a successful app originate on Android and then cross over to iOS. So should other deal scouts, or anyone who’s interested in early stage startups take this advice and download some apps that find other apps immediately? “If they want to find super early apps that may be potential ‘ins’ for investment, yes, they do/should use these apps,” the scout said. That, and wait until AngelList goes mobile. Image via Olly 

Hey Scott – Lying On Yo...

What’s the penalty for lying on a resume? It’s an important question for new Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson , after his PR department offered up the laughable excuse that he made “an inadvertent error” on Yahoo’s website and in an SEC filing claiming he had a Computer Science degree. TechCrunch editor Eric Eldon just wrote this should cost him his new job. At Yahoo, the penalty could include “immediate discharge.” I got a job at Yahoo in 1999. Before I started, I was required to fill out an Employment Application. The form included educational and employment history information and notes “A resume may be attached.” At the bottom of the form, there is a boxed section, with the bold headline “Authorization: Please read carefully, initial each paragraph and sign below.” Here’s the first paragraph in that section: “I certify that the facts on this Employment Application (and any supplements attached) are true and complete. I further understand that any omissions or misrepresentations made by me on this application will be sufficient grounds for denying my application, withdrawing any offer of employment or immediate discharge.” So, if I had made ANY misrepresentations (in Yahoo PR speak: inadvertent errors) as a Yahoo employee, I would have been at risk of losing my job immediately. We’ll find out of the same rules apply to the CEO. Some caveats here of course. This application is more than 10 years old and Yahoo might have changed this part. Unlikely. Also, Thompson’s employment application (if he even wrote one) and his contract are not part of the public record, so we don’t know exactly what’s in there. We do know what’s in documents Yahoo filed with the SEC where the false degree was also mentioned. As activist shareholder Daniel Loeb noted in his letter to the Board , Yahoo’s Code of Ethics may have been violated. It states “Disclosure in reports and documents filed with or submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commision, and in other public communications made by Yahoo! must be full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable.” Update: Michael Arrington, who is now CEO of Yahoo according to his LinkedIn profile , just reported Yahoo even has a 24-hour IntegrityLine to report Code of Ethics violations. Mike says he called the number “and damn if they don’t pick that phone up on the first ring.” I tried calling the number and all I get is some peaceful on hold music and a message “Thank you for holding.” Seems that line might be pretty busy right now. Perhaps, Thompson should have read this article, found ironically on Yahoo Voices titled “ 3 Reasons You Should Never Lie on Your Resume .” It ends with the following suggestion on why its not a good idea. “In the end, you’ll be happier for not having to look over your shoulder for the rest of your career, just wondering if, right now, someone is calling that bogus school you mentioned last year when you finally got your dream job.” [Image: alexskopje/ Shutterstock ]

Socialcam Nabs Angel Fu...

The race to be the “Instagram for video” is hotter than ever, and Socialcam , the app that spun out of video sharing pioneer Justin.tv last year and was part of Y Combinator’s winter 2012 class , is hustling hard for the lead. The company has raised seed funding from a group of angel investors that reads like a “who’s who” list of tech and entertainment industry heavyweights. I’ve been hearing whispers about Socialcam’s crazy angel round for weeks now, and I’ve finally verified the full list of the startup’s seed backers. Unfortunately I’ve not been able to ascertain the exact amount of money the company has raised, though — when I reached out to Socialcam CEO Michael Seibel for more detail today, he would only say that “the list speaks for itself.” (Don’t worry, I’ll keep working on getting that dollar amount.) I’ve pasted the entire list at the bottom of this post, but some of the names include (in no particular order): Tim Draper , Yuri Milner , Ari Emmanuel , Laurene Powell Jobs , Ashton Kutcher , Brian Chesky , Paul Buchheit , Alexis Ohanian , and many more. The Battle For Users Socialcam’s chief competitor is Viddy , an app that also lets users shoot, edit and share videos from their smartphones, and the battle between the two companies is fast and furious. Earlier today Socialcam pulled past Viddy as the top video/photo app in the iTunes app store (see screenshot at right) — but it’s been a horse race of sorts, as the two apps have switched spots on the list several times since I started writing this article. As far as user numbers go, I’m hearing that Socialcam has pushed past the 20 million mark (just last week the number was at around 12 million.) Viddy reportedly just passed 15 million users. Now, one detail is very important to understand: These user numbers do not represent the downloads Socialcam and Viddy have as apps on mobile devices — they’re the number of people who have downloaded the apps on Facebook. Both Socialcam and Viddy have enjoyed viral growth on the Facebook platform, as people are curious to watch the videos posted by their friends. But that does not necessarily mean they themselves become avid Socialcam or Viddy users. It takes a bit more commitment to download an app to your iPhone or Android device, and neither company has released those figures yet. More comparisons between the two apps: Socialcam still has just three full-time employees, compared to Viddy’s twenty-some, though Seibel tells me his company is looking to hire “aggressively” in the weeks ahead. Viddy has raised $6 million in Series A funding and is said to be in the process of raising some $30 more at a sky-high $370 million valuation. Socialcam, again, is staying mum on its exact funding numbers. Silicon Valley Vs. Hollywood? Not Exactly Socialcam is based in San Francisco while Viddy is based in Los Angeles, so the apps have reputations for attracting different crowds as investors and users: The Silicon Valley set for Socialcam, the Hollywood crowd for Viddy. But that geographical characterization is increasingly inaccurate. Socialcam has nabbed Hollywood power agent Ari Emmanuel as a backer, and Britney Spears apparently just joined the service this past weekend posting a video of her sons dancing around. Viddy meanwhile counts Twitter co-founder Biz Stone as an investor, and Mark Zuckerberg joined the service yesterday to post a video of his dog. One thing is for sure: The battle here is far from over — and Instagram itself could still emerge as the Instagram for video — but at the moment it’s pretty fun to watch it all play out. The Socialcam Angel Backers As promised, here is the full list of Socialcam’s angel investors: Brian Chesky – CEO, Airbnb Jonathan Abrams – Partner, Founders Den Jason Johnson – Partner, Founders Den Zachary Bogue – Partner, Founders Den Michael Levit – Partner, Founders Den Jeff Kapel – Assistant Coach, Duke Basketball WME – Ari Emmanuel & Jason Lublin Trajan Langdon – Retired NBA Basketball Player Yuri Milner & Felix Shpilman – Startfund Troy Carter & Allison Streuter – Atom Factory SV Angel – Ron, David, Kevin, Topher, Robert Crunchfund – Michael, MG, Patrick Paul Buchheit – Inventor of Gmail, Founder FriendFeed, Partner Y-Combinator Garry Tan – Partner Y-Combinator, Co-Founder Posterous Alexis Ohanian – Partner Y-Combinator, Co-Founder Reddit Harj Taggar – Partner Y-Combinator, Co-Founder Auctomatic Paul Graham – Co-founder Y-Combinator Jessica Livingston – Partner Y-Combinator Tim Draper – Draper Associates Stewart Alsop – Alsop Louie Erik Moore – Angel investor in Zappos Justin Kan – Co-Founder EXEC, Co-Founder Justin.tv/Twitch.tv Emmett Shear – CEO & Co-Founder Justin.tv/Twitch.tv Kyle Vogt – Co-Founder Justin.tv/Twitch.tv Matt Ocko – Angel Investor A-Grade Investments – Ashton Kutcher, Guy Oseary, and Chris Hollod Ronny Conway – Andreessen Horowitz Justin Caldbeck – Lightspeed Shervin Pishevar – Menlo Ventures Laurene Powell Jobs & Stacey Rubin – Emerson Collective Ram Shiram – Sherpalo, Angel Investor in Google Shane Battier – NBA Basketball player, Miami Heat Michael Rapino & Michael Abrams – Live Nation

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Chinese Web Search Gian...

UPDATE: Sorry everyone, I really messed up this report at the first go. Currency conversion was way off — billions should have been millions, something we realized within minutes of publishing. The post has been corrected. Baidu , China’s leading web search company today issued its quarterly earnings report for the first three months of 2012. The company made $677 million in top-line revenue , up 75 percent from the revenue it posted in the first quarter of 2011. Baidu performed just as strongly at the bottom line as well, posting a net income of $299 million , up 75.9 percent year-over-year. In case you need some context for that: Google reported revenues of $10.65 billion and net income of $2.89 billion for the first quarter of 2012; Facebook’s Q1 revenue was a bit over $1 billion. And it doesn’t look like Baidu is exactly resting on its laurels as one of China’s reigning web kings . The company said it upped its spending on research and development by 85 percent year-over-year to $70 million during Q1, which it said was due mostly to an increase in headcount. As a comparison to its US-based peers — Google, for example, spent $1.4 billion on R&D last quarter, while Facebook spent $153 million. Going forward, Baidu expects even bigger numbers. The company’s Q2 revenues are projected to be between $847 million and $867 million. That is of course a solid boost over Q1, but it would reflect a slight slowdown in year-over-year earnings growth to a projected 57 percent — something which apparently irked investors, who have pushed the stock down some 10 percent in after-hours trading as of this article’s writing. But in a statement, Baidu’s chairman and CEO Robin Li expressed a sense of confidence about Baidu’s future: “China’s Internet landscape is evolving quickly and we are very excited about fast-emerging opportunities in areas such as mobile and cloud computing. We believe that Baidu is uniquely positioned to capture this immense growth potential in the Chinese online market.”