There is no mistaking it is spring here in central Texas. The mountain laurels and bartlett pear trees are in full bloom and fields of blue bonnets are starting to sprout.
March is upon us.
I have spent the first two months of 2008 kissing frogs...looking for that proverbial princess. Now I know it was frog turning into a prince in the fairy tale, but that doesn't work for me...it's a princess.
After taking a very serious look at two companies on the West coast (Bay Area and the Pacific Northwest) in the Fall of 2007, I passed on both. My bar for leaving central Texas is high: something extraordinary; something I simply MUST do. Although both of these companies are great and will, in my opinion, be successful, neither one rose to the level of extraordinary...for me.
Neither one turned into a princess.
During January and February, I spent a significant amount of time on a buy-out opportunity right here in Austin. Great SaaS company (people), wonderful niche, strong cash-flow, good growth prospects - completely boot-strapped with no outside capital. Perhaps a princess? I'll never know as my private equity partners and I were outbid by a "strategic" (e.g. a public company) buyer at the last minute.
Spring is (usually) a rainy season here in central Texas. And sometimes when it rains, it pours. Four other opportunities occupy my time as I write this. Will one be that princess? Perhaps...
Showing posts with label SaaS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SaaS. Show all posts
Monday, March 3, 2008
Friday, December 28, 2007
2008 - Three Key Technology Trends to Watch
2007 is about to end. 2008 is a new year.
I believe there are three significant technology trends that are behind the best company formation and growth opportunities in our industry:
1. The monetization of search by way of Internet-based advertising. This trend started with Overture and others but is best embodied by Google's AdWords and AdSense offerings and the attendant amazing revenue and profit growth Google has generated in the lst four years.
2. Software-as-a-Service(SaaS) or delivering the functionality of application software such as CRM or ERP over an Internet connection from a hosted, typically multi-tenant, instance of an application. This trend has not only created a new business model for new SaaS companies such as Salesforce.com and NetSuite but also spurred traditional software vendors such as SAP and Oracle to offer their solutions in this same fashion.
3. Virtualization or the simulation of an entire server or PC in software. This trend has driven the incredible growth of VMware culminating in a spectacular 2007 IPO and a $30 billion valuation for the company (which is 85% owned by EMC.) A large number of venture-funded companies have been (and are being) created to capitalize on this trend.
I believe there are three significant technology trends that are behind the best company formation and growth opportunities in our industry:
1. The monetization of search by way of Internet-based advertising. This trend started with Overture and others but is best embodied by Google's AdWords and AdSense offerings and the attendant amazing revenue and profit growth Google has generated in the lst four years.
2. Software-as-a-Service(SaaS) or delivering the functionality of application software such as CRM or ERP over an Internet connection from a hosted, typically multi-tenant, instance of an application. This trend has not only created a new business model for new SaaS companies such as Salesforce.com and NetSuite but also spurred traditional software vendors such as SAP and Oracle to offer their solutions in this same fashion.
3. Virtualization or the simulation of an entire server or PC in software. This trend has driven the incredible growth of VMware culminating in a spectacular 2007 IPO and a $30 billion valuation for the company (which is 85% owned by EMC.) A large number of venture-funded companies have been (and are being) created to capitalize on this trend.
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