There’s a faint hum inside web 2.0 circles lately – if you listen closely, it sounds a bit like speculation of a coming downturn. Fred Wilson even got in on the slow clap with a warning to entrepreneurs:
If you want to spend the next five to ten years building your company, then raise a good amount of money and then put your head down and execute. If you are in it for the quick flip, get busy. That opportunity may not last forever.
Fred’s suggesting investors aren’t going to continue pouring money into 5 year-old ideas at current rate of flow. He points to a cluster of outside economic factors coupled with real or imagined similarities to the dotcom bubble and makes the argument that change may be on its way.
I think Fred’s just bored. Web 2.0 is getting jammed with subtle variations on the same experiment. It gets tough to cheer for after a while.
This might be a bit off topic, but it seems worth noting that of all the apps demoed at TechCrunch40, only 1 (mint, a personal finance tracker) drew any notable rally.
I can’t decide what makes the app seem more novel, the fact that it’s not another twist on social networking or the idea that it actually has an obvious business model. Whatever it is, it’s different (if not exceptional).
I’m not sure what this all means. I was just getting used to the “screw the business model” concept. Maybe I need to track down some outside funding and play in the cash-flow negative space for a while – I’m sure that would clear it all up. Anyone looking to invest?