- IN THIS ISSUE:
- * Xenote Was the Biggest Sensation at Internet Showcase 2000
- * Mobile Internet Is on Everyone’s Lips
- * CORPs(es) vs. INCs - Will Size Matter in the Future?
- * How Do We Manage Expectations? Do We?
- * New Venture Funds
- * News for the Financial Mind
- * Innovative Business Models
- Accesslease. Online marketplace for the $1tr worldwide leasing industry. http://www.accesslease.com
- Adaytum ePlanning. A web-based solution for business planning. http://www.adaytum.com
- Allmeetings.com. A nationwide meeting service locator. http://www.allmeetings.com
- BigStep.com. A free, do-it-yourself service center to build your e-business. Currently 40,000 users. http://www.bigstep.com
- ClickToSurvey. Web-based response forms, questionnaires and surveys. http://www.clicktomarket.com
- diCarta Contracts. An ASP for b2b contract and revenue management solutions. http://www.dicarta.com
- eCongo.com. A free turnkey service to build co-branded e-businesses. http://www.econgo.com
- Everyone.net. A plug-in portal for e-businesses. http://www.everyone.net
- Fourthchannel. An e-commerce sales channel builder. http://www.fourthchannel.com
- Guru.com. A resource for managing a solo career. http://www.guru.com
- Handshake.com. A comparison shopping portal for local services (!). http://www.handshake.com
- MarketFirst. An ASP eMarketing platform to speed up ‘marketing velocity’. http://www.marketfirst.com
- MyEvents.com. Manage and automate your promotional events. http://www.myevents.com
- Promptu eMarketing. A tool to create web-based multi-level marketing solutions. http://www.promptu.com
- ReleaseNow.com. A web-based selling solution for software publishers. http://www.releasenow.com
- Smart Online. An online business resource and ASP for small businesses. http://www.smartonline.com
- QuickTeam 2000. An interactive workspace and portal for teams. http://www.quickteam.com
On my way to GSMWorld Congress in Nice, I ran into Chuck Parrish, Exec VP of Phone.com, at the SFO airport (this was not the first time…). We started chatting and Chuck told me he was also on his way to Nice but “had to” make a stop in Davos to speak at the World Economic Forum on mobile Internet. He modestly joined me in the full economy class cabin, quite remarkable of a man who is worth $300m (on paper). On arriving at the Zurich airport, the captain directed our attention to the long row of private jets and transport helicopters from “Amerikanische Luftwaffe” which were to “transport the high-level guests to Davos”. A question to our WAP marketers: When is Ericsson planning to speak at Davos?
Qualcomm acquired SnapTrack, a wireless position location company for $1 bn. Interestingly, my neighbor told me a week ago that Snaptrack would be acquired ‘within a week’ and that ‘Phone.com offered $1bn but the offer was not accepted’. I guess Qualcomm was considered a better strategic match.
On Friday the Internet transaction software company 724 Solutions went public with the stock opening at $75, three times over the offering price. Sonera, which has an equity stake in the company, saw its stock rise $4. This serves as a good example of how Ericsson could leverage the value creation in mobile Internet by investing in pre-IPO companies.
Last week I visited the Internet Showcase in Palm Springs. It was a good startup show with some 140 exhibitors, carefully selected ones. The paragraphs below categorize some of my findings. It might be a lot of material but keep in mind that I had to study and categorize 140 companies, your job below will be easier.
XENOTE WAS THE BIGGEST SENSATION AT INTERNET SHOWCASE 2000
Xenote (http://www.xenote.com/) has built a wireless device iTag which enables ‘bookmarking’ FM radio station songs and ads while listening, for later purchase via e-commerce partners. And that’s only the beginning: the next version of the product (4Q2000) enables reading barcodes of products for the same purpose (”what a great wine - let me quickly scan it!”). And in the future iTag users can exchange privacy data stored in the device and use the device for wireless dating.
iTag uses today infrared connection, Bluetooth is already in the plans. The device is given out for free, the business model is based on referral fees. The service is being beta-tested in San Francisco together with the jazz station KKSF.
This innovation is significant since it penetrates a territory of usage which would be natural for mobile phones. We should maybe look into building a phone accessory like this asap.
MOBILE INTERNET IS ON EVERYONE’S LIPS
Still six months ago at Internet Summit in Los Angeles (a high-level Internet event) wireless was mentioned only a few times. Now it is considered as one of the major trends and over ten startups were presenting innovations highly relevant to mobile Internet.
@BackUp. An online PC backup service which will develop into a service where you can run applications remotely from their server farm. This should be interesting for the GPRS Applications Alliance. The solution is already quite mature and marketed through Dell, Gateway, Intuit and Microsoft. Has just received $22m third round. Cooperation under preparation with major ISPs such as Covad and Northpoint (US DSL players) as well as Wireless Knowledge. http://www.backup.com
AskAround. A mobile Internet application developer and wireless web aggregation and syndication company which claim to have patents to a technology which facilitates the creation of a WAP or HDML service out of a website. Also, the technology handles well change detection. They focus on the financial and entertainment verticals. They are targeting operators with the offering. The company has got a $1.2 m angel round and has 12 employees. Talking to Airflash. The VC panel did not like the company: “late to market”, “does not address other non-PC devices than phones”. http://www.askaround.com/
BeVocal. Launched their voice portal service that enables consumers to obtain location-relevant Internet content and engage in e-commerce transactions from any phone, anywhere via speech interface technology. This is like Portico (http://www.genmagic.com) with a better business model. The problem with Portico was (apart from poor technical implementation) was that the service cost too much for the end user. The business model of BeVocal is based on transactions, hosting and advertising. Their solution features advanced personalization, a very important aspect in mobile Internet solutions (even according to Ericsson’s brand message…). BeVocal got the biggest applauses and an unanimous support from the VC panel. http://www.bevocal.com
Contact Networks. Provides a downloadable client and a portal service for enabling a better management of personal contacts. Simply, it is Outlook and Fonesync (http://www.fonesync.com) both on steroids. Once contacts are linked thought the portal, your contacts can themselves update elements in your contact database. They work on wireless with Intuwave, a company who is supposed to “do all wireless for Puma”. They are also in talks with FusionOne (see elsewhere in this newsletter). Their business model is based on driving transactions (e-commerce). Someone from Ericsson has recently sneaked into Silicon Valley to talk to these guys, they promised to tell me who it was. http://www.contact.com
Driveway. A browser-based service that offers consumers a private space on the Internet. Works with MS Office to store Office apps online through web folders. Driveway has started developing a wireless strategy. They are in partnership talks with Microsoft, Bertelsmann, Lycos, eFax.com, TellMe Networks, Phone.com, Cisco, Nokia and Level3. The company seems to have plenty of technical resources from people who have moved in from Nortel and other mainstream players. Expect an IPO in May 2000. As an anecdote I can tell you that the VP of Marketing had started thinking very positively about Ericsson as a potential partner after Sven-Christer Nilsson joined StartupFactory… http://www.driveway.com
eFax.com. eFax.com launched wireless services which give users access to eFax.com’s voice and fax messaging services via wireless devices including WAP-enabled phone (exclusive six month deal with myPhone.com). Users also have the ability to use eFax services for remote printing of email attachments and faxes. My subsequent discussion with EMX revealed that our new IP messaging platform can do most of this (even if most local companies are reluctant to sell it). Maybe we could have a discussion on this on my web forum http://webboard.ericsson.se/~webacademy: Should we actively sell Ericsson’s IP messaging solutions or should I continue embarrassing myself by talking to people whom we effectively want to see dead? Should Ericsson people who are reluctant to sell EMX products start looking for a new job? http://www.efax.com
Everypath. The object-oriented technology of Everypath can deliver any existing website to any current or future non-PC device, including even ordinary voice telephones with no changes to existing infrastructure. The solution is comparable to Oracle’s Portal-to-Go but it is less labor-intensive. Everypath has an ASP business model. The company is founded by ethnic Indian people and it is based in Santa Clara and has some 70 people, young and savvy about the status of the Internet in Europe. $14m funding closed, next round coming in 2Q00. Everypath promises to convert your site to a portfolio of non-PC devices within 7 days. Apparently the “back office” in India facilitates this… http://www.everypath.com/
FusionOne. With FusionOne’s agent-based, free (!) Internet synchronization service, users can enter information once in any device with assurance that it will instantly be updated anywhere else. The service was launched last week. Funded by Nokia ventures. Nokia wants Ericsson involved in order to make this a standard. Someone from Ericsson has recently sneaked into Silicon Valley to talk to these guys, they promised to tell me who it was. http://www.fusionone.com
iReady Corporation. iReady.net will provide global communications and device-specific content delivery for Internet-enabled consumer devices such as fax, answering machines, digital cameras and gaming devices. http://www.iready.com
LCI Technology Group. This Dutch company sells SMARTpen Biometric Authentication System where a special pen authenticates people through the biometric characteristics of their signature. Works on infrared now, Bluetooth in the future. I guess this device competes with the visions w have for a mobile phone as an authentication device for e-commerce and other uses. http://www.lcigroup.com/ http://www.smartpen.net/
Lipstream Networks. Sells a LiveVoice service to be integrated into e-commerce sites, customer service, distance learning and community applications. LiveVoice is an ASP (charges for peak simultaneous usage), this novel and trendy business model should help them succeed in where Onlive failed three years ago when it tried to sell server software. Moreover, they have an advanced privacy and authentication solution. http://www.lipstream.com
MessageBlaster.com. A web-based service offering simultaneous and immediate one-to-many message delivery to any combination of phone, fax, pager, email, regular and overnight mail with a return-receipt functionality. Faxes cost $0.10 per page, voice delivery $0.15 per minute. An example use could be delivering a virus alert to ECN users with faster penetration. This is a brand new company, has today over 2,000 users. Makes real money, unlike most Internet companies. http://www.messageblaster.com
Netpulse Communications. Sells Internet appliances and ISP service to fitness equipment in fitness centers. Users can surf and train simultaneously, as well as compete in real time with friends at a distance (having anonymous training buddies has been found to be good for your motivation). The business model is based on advertising, loyalty programs (earn air miles on United Airlines by climbing a stairmaster) and e-commerce transactions. Ericsson should look into outdoor applications, particularly in cooperation with the Finnish pulse meter world leader Polar Electro. http://www.netpulse.net
Onscan. This personal alert service enables web users to personalize requests for site-specific information by content, frequency of notification and delivery channel. No website yet.
TrafficStation. The leading national provider of personalized realtime traffic and traveler information, available via the Internt and mobile devices. Several VCs recommended Ericsson would talk to them. The CEO knew Sweden well, he had been the CFO (tour accountant) for Roxette in his earlier life. http://www.trafficstation.com
Visto Corporation. A webtop organizer with email, calendar, file storage (photos, music) and group communications. Funded by Nokia Ventures and actively developing WAP solutions which they will soon start trialing with US West and a mobile operators in Europe. Visto has currently 100 employees. http://www.visto.com
Zimba. mProductivity co-brands and private labels a mobile productivity service to SOHO portals, consumer portals and telecom carriers. The service provides intelligently integrated and uniquely personalized content, communication and commerce for mobile professionals through an access via telephone, web and wireless web. Zimba has partly same investors as Everypath. http://www.zimba.com
ZKEY.com. A mobile portal startup which has quite a lot of hype around it. Motorola has promised to integrate ZKEY into their phones. The company has an Ericsson relation, I will have to ask them who it is… http://www.zkey.com
CORPSES VS. INCS - WILL SIZE MATTER IN THE FUTURE?
Reading the Internet Showcase show catalogue brought my thoughts back to transformation which is happening in the US whereby small companies (INCs) can more aggressively adopt web-based services (ASPs) and close the gap of economies of scale large companies (CORPs) have defended their existence with. Take a surf on the following sites, put yourself in the shoes of the small guy and let your imagination free.
HOW DO WE MANAGE EXPECTATIONS? DO WE?
Paolo Bourelly, Business Development Manager of Ericsson GAA (http://www.gprsworld.com), says in the latest Tornado-Insider that the effective GPRS throughput will be 30 kbps and that the strong argument behind GPRS is the always-on connectivity, not the speed. This is probably true (I am not close to having the technical competence to judge). My question is: Are we systematically managing these expectations of GPRS and area we extending that to other target groups than customers (such as Wall Street analysts)? Managing the expectations is very important for successful market introduction of the service but also for pre-emptying the competition. In the US, always-on connectivity and a solid 30 kbps performance will be enough to beat the competition with the possible exception of Metricom (http://www.metricom.com). Did MCI Worldcom fully understand the limitations of both GPRS and Ricochet2 before pouring $300m into Metricom? Did Paul Allen? Do the investors who have raised the stock from September $20 to current $100? I would like to have a discussion on this on the IOW Forum at http://webboard.ericsson.se/~webacademy.
http://tornado-insider.com/programs/publish/fv.asp?article_id=136
- NEW VENTURE FUNDS
CMGI announced a new $1bn venture fund with a focus on Internet infrastructure. In Palm Springs I talked to the head of this new fund and he told me that this week they will be announcing a global $1.5m fund. With this they they continue the trend of the globalization of US venture funds, started by the SoftBANK/NewsCorp/Vivendi alliance. When is this money going to fund ideas in Kista? What will it mean to Ericsson? Can we control this trend somehow?
NEWS FOR THE FINANCIAL MIND
SoftBANK is building a global financial services empire, one of the steps being the globalization of the NASDAQ brand. NASDAQ-Europe is a joint venture between NASD, Softbank, Vivendi Ventures and News Corporation. It’s European competition, EASDAQ, launched its dual-trading facility on January 19, with 10 NASDAQ names representing the cream of US technology, e-commerce and bio-tech stocks. Maybe we should take up the discussion with SoftBANK on mobile-enabling their Internet properties (before someone else will)?…
INNOVATIVE BUSINESS MODELS
TriVida. A Networked Personalization Service Provider (NPSP). Automatically detects and records patterns of user activity, creates behavioral models, modifies the models as patterns change (neural network technology) and applies the models to predict individual users’ objectives - all without hardware/software integration. Claims that implementation takes only hours. Product to be launched in 2Q00. Mobile Internet strategy under development. Business model will start with a userbase ‘landgrab’ from their site, followed by OEM and subscription business models. http://www.trivida.com
WarrantyNow provides a nationwide network of repair and service options for everything sold online including electronics, computers, watches, jewelry and furniture. This is a good example of a new generation of service infrastructure companies which are emerging to support ecommerce. http://www.warrantynow.com/index2.html
AskMe.com makes it easy to find qualified people on the net who will answer your questions - for free. http://www.xpertsite.com
CyberGold’s Cash2Register rewards customers with instant cash incentives for registering their product purchases online. It provides valuable customer profiles that allow manufacturers to engage customers in highly targeted and personalized web-direct sales and marketing activities for cross-selling, up-selling and building long-term customer relationships. Sounds like Ericsson mobile phone loyalty programs would greatly benefit from this. http://www.cybergold.com
eBates.com is an Internet shopping portal which gives its members cash back when they shop online. It offers merchants targeted advertising opportunities. http://www.ebates.com
Qarbon.com provides syndicated help content for websites. They pay commissions to expert content authors and websites within an affiliate community structure. Share your wisdom, make a buck! http://www.qarbon.com
ShareYourWorld.com assists consumers in seeking compensation for their camera and camcorder content on a web site designed to aggregate digital media, entertain consumers and syndicate visual content to third-party distributors. http://www.shareyourworld.com
QUICK TAKES - iGo.com is a portal for mobile professionals, selling mobile phone accessories among other things. Just cut a deal with MapQuest… Adam Holt tells about Y2MP3 Community JukeBoX which serves MP3 music for your entire home or office audience - even wirelessly. Read more about it and about other innovations Adam has posted on our webboard… For your collection, Telstreet.com is another US web retailer for mobile phones and service plans… TeamOn is a web-based groupware startup which would certainly be interested in wireless. It has blue chip names as backers… My friends say the unified messaging high-flier Onebox.com will soon be getting financing from Sonera, Telecom Italia, Software.com and Vision Capital… DeciseCompete is an ASP providing information on your competitors’ e-business performance. Ericsson should look into using this… Please check out the new wireless broadband offering from Malibu Networks. A revolution?… Tested SpotOn automated web navigation system?… Should we at Ericsson use SuperSigs to report in an automated and dynamic fashion what we are up to, through an email signature?… - (To view the embedded hyperlinks, view this section online at http://webacademy.ericsson.se.)
SELECTED THOUGHTFUL READING - The Business 2.0 brief history of the major market sectors that lit up the Net Economy. And where they lead next… Alcatel has decided to give stock options to all its 120,000 employees… - (go to http://webacademy.ericsson.se for links to stories)
