What motivates an investor to say "yes"

I read a wonderful article by Tim Westergren, founder of the popular music service, Pandora yesterday night. Wanted to capture the key points...

What causes an investor to shift from looking for ways to say ‘no’ to looking for ways to say ‘yes’? The shift happens when three things come together for the investor:

1. They personally believe in the entrepreneur(s);
   
2. They have a sense (and it’s often just a gut feeling) that the idea could be very big; and
   
3. They have a personal interest or background in the industry that gives them a leg up the diligence curve.

Microsoft’s Ballmer: MSFT will acquire 20 companies a year

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco that the software giant will acquire 20 companies a year for the next five years, ranging from $50 million to $1 billion.

This steals from the playbook of News Corp, the media company that generated excitement among Internet companies after it acquired MySpace and others. There's a tactic here: By declaring you are hungry, you get entrepreneurs coming to you to show you their wares -- letting you get a glimpse of emerging technology even if you're not going to buy it.

Read the rest of the story...

Things You Don't See Every Day

(From: bambooflexible)

Apple Promises SDK for iPhone: Step in the right direction...

The software industry gave a hearty cheer to Apple's announcement that it will provide a SDK for the iPhone by Feb next year. I am also excited about it. I have a few apps in mind that I'd like to develop related to Video, RSS, VoIP and Social Media Convergence.

Steve Jobs said the company is trying to do two things at once -- provide an open platform to developers while protecting iPhone users from viruses, Trojans and other malware. This is no easy task, he said, arguing that the iPhone will likely become "a highly visible target" for malicious attacks.

I can't wait...

damaka web client released

We released a new Web-based version of damaka yesterday. damaka web client gives all users - from professionals and travelers to students and Internet café visitors - access to instant messaging via the Web, from any browser, anywhere, anytime.

Mac and Linux users will benefit from this release. They can now connect and collaborate with their friends using damaka client (on Windows).

Currently users will be able to:

- Chat with their friends
- Track their friends with Buddy Presence
- Organize all instant messages in tabs, rather than separate windows
- Enjoy Free TV (IPTV) and Radio
- Check Offline Messages, Call Logs and voicemails

damaka \ damaka news \ damaka web client

Enjoy!

Fantastic Pictures

(From: meisterjoker)

Google To “Out Open” Facebook On November 5

Michael Arrington of TechCrunch reported last month of a highly confidential meeting at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View to discuss the company’s upcoming plans to address the “Facebook issue.” Google’s goal - to fight Facebook by being even more open than the Facebook Platform. If Facebook is 98% open, Google wants to be 100%.

Google is planning to announce a new set of APIs on November 5 that will allow developers to leverage Google’s social graph data. They’ll start with Orkut and iGoogle (Google’s personalized home page), and expand from there to include Gmail, Google Talk and other Google services over time.

This is a potentially killer strategy. Facebook has a platform to allow third parties to build applications on Facebook itself. But what Google may be planning is significantly more open - allowing third parties to both push and pull data, into and out of Google and non-Google applications.


Read more...

Cowboys' win takes bizarre to another dimension

Cowboys didn't crack Monday night, despite plenty of forehead-slapping moments - from Tony Romo throwing five interceptions to Romo losing a fumble, from Terrell Owens dropping a tying 2-point conversion pass to Owens dropping a long pass that might've set up a short field goal for the win, from the special teams allowing a kickoff return for a touchdown to blazing-but-injured cornerback Terence Newman getting caught from behind on an interception return.

They hung close enough to make a last-minute push, then had to keep hanging on when Nick Folk's 53-yard field goal to win it was called off because the Buffalo Bills sneaked in a timeout just before the snap.

Forced to do it again, the rookie did, giving Dallas a stunning 25-24 victory and a 5-0 record for the first time since 1983.

DAL v BUF 10-08-07 (Source: NFL.com)

Video: I am India

This film is a journey through emerging India," the fastest growing free market democracy in the world". It celebrates the relentless spirit of the people of India, who through their karma give it a place amongst the leading economic nations of the world.

Conceived and produced by Bharatbala Productions (BBP) for India Band Equity Foundation (IBEF)

Cool Images

Check out the cool images posted by Peeti

Back after a long break...

- Closed the house in March
- Moved in in April
- House Warming party - May 5
- Went to India in June/July
- Got really busy with damaka (new clients, platforms, features & challenges)