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Monetization is king

In an article on the NY Times Deal Book All That Twitters May Not Be Gold, Analysts Say they state “…the Web 2.0 model of building a product and then figuring out how to monetize it has been largely debunked.”  We agree that There Is No Substitute For Profitability.  The article continues, stating “People who sign up for free services tend to resent a company for trying to wring revenue from the business later.”  I’m not sure that is necessarily the case especially ad based models that are not invasive.  I can’t argue that in this economy the sooner any company starts generating revenue the better.

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  • Marty Abbott

    in March 17th, 2009 @ 23:22

    I got paid to tell a company to “hang it up” today. I didn’t think they had what it took to win in their segment. The idea was OK, the competitive landscape was fierce, the management team didn’t have a chance and they were planning on “figuring out monetization” later. That’s 3 1/2 strikes. 3 strikes is enough to kick you out of the batter’s box. We certainly could have made more money on the company, but the integrity of our firm is far more important to us.
    Why does this comment fit with this article? Because more companies should abide by the rule that cash (or monetization) is king. More management teams should strive for profitability early and you (and I) should only invest in companies that have a chance of profitability. Don’t accept a wink and a thumbs up and believe that investment professionals or management know what they are doing. Demand proof and demand results – financial results – profitability.
    Do you have a plan? Then show it! Show it with results – not talk.

  • internet advertising revenue | AKF Partners Blog

    in June 8th, 2009 @ 07:23

    [...] etc) were shrinking, except for television which grew at a modest 2%.   As we pointed out in our post about monetization, we don’t necessarily believe that people are resentful of advertising on free services or [...]

  • 10 things you won’t learn in school – VentureBeat « Tech4buziness – Eng

    in March 19th, 2010 @ 00:22

    [...] quarterbacks, we pontificated after the economy took a nose dive that you need to determine how you are going to monetize your business before you build it, not afterwards.  That cash is king holds true for personal as [...]