$200k Investment, The New Business
I've been faffing about for far too long now. I sold PF back in Feb 2007, and then tried to make things work with the management team there for as long as possible but ended up canceling my consulting agreement with them in late 2007. I learnt a lot from that experience, they are a nice bunch of people, we just didn't align.
Since then I've been scouring the Internet for new ideas to either develop or invest in, but everything I've come across I have found to be flawed.
With most of the startups/ideas that people have pitched to me I've found myself thinking "Fail Whale." The number of people who are still, to this day, starting up new video and image hosting sites amazes me. News alert! That sector is done, youtube/flickr are king! No more million dollar cheques for a general traffic site purchases. When I started PF in 2003 online video was a revolutionary idea.
If you want to make millions then you need to develop something with a very niche/targeted audience like CafeMom.com, so that you actually have a chance of selling advertising at decent rates.
It has taken me a while to realize this but I'm well suited to being a WebDev consultant. Over the past 5 - 6 years I have been completing WebDev jobs for extra cash. I enjoy working with web technology, I enjoy learning new skills, and I really enjoy the satisfaction of a doing a great job. Now it is time to do this full time, and build a solid business out of it.
A month or so ago, I spammed my email list of wealthy people that I've bumped into and cheekily asked them to invest in my new technology consulting business. Sine then I've secured a $200k investment, I've retained lawyers for an E2 business visa, formed the LLC, and have found my first employee/business partner. I'm heading off to the States this week to arrange a lease on some office space right in the heart of Austin, Texas.
Oh don't worry, you'll be receiving an email detailing our services as soon as we're up and running! ;-0 If you would like to be added to that list then please leave a comment below.
December 5th, 2008 - 21:51
Congratulations on the move to the land of opportunity. I’m sure I’ll need your services sooner rather than later. Are you still looking for a Realtor in Austin? What is your opinion of http://lala.com and their business model?
December 5th, 2008 - 21:51
Congrats Gordon, shoot me an email when you’re in operation. I need our company website redesigned.
December 5th, 2008 - 22:18
Good luck with the new venture Gordon. Hit me up if you’re ever on the East Coast – can’t promise the same adventure as last time, but we’ll have fun.
December 6th, 2008 - 02:45
Thanks for the comments.
@Mark: LaLa seems like a good model, as long as its profitable, which I assume it is. I also like that the download price seems to undercut iTunes prices.
It is a shame that LaLa signups are not allowed outside of the USA. What is even more odd is that I can play the songs on your blog’s LaLa player, but they wont allow me to signup and pay for my own songs to listen to. Some flawed logic, or more likely music industry red rape, there.
I’ve never paid for music myself, and don’t ever expect to. There are plenty of free streaming radio stations at shoutcast.com etc.
December 18th, 2008 - 04:42
Wow that is incredible – awesome. 200K doesn’t sound like a lot to start a biz on but its a heck of a lot more than what we started with (0).
You are right about niches.
December 20th, 2008 - 00:11
can i have a job?