I recently talked about verticalization at an event. What verticalization means, why it happens, where it succeeds, where it fails and what's it's intersection with search. Here is a synopsis of the talk. And I will focus on verticalization (of needs), not segmentation (of users) even though there is some cross-over there.

Verticalization

If we look around us, we see examples of verticalization everywhere. From the cars we drive to sneakers we buy to television channels we watch. We used to drive a  read more »

Yesterday we announced a partnership with PC World, a subsidiary of IDG, world's leading multi-billion dollar technology media company. With more than 8M unique visitors a month to its online property alone, PC World has been known for its test center, high quality expert reviews and news coverage of tech products (computing and electronics) since its incepti  read more »

I attended Tiecon last Fri and Sat. Despite the economic uncertainty, the place was buzzing with entrepreneurs, bankers/investors, executives from hi-tech and non hi-tech companies and people with aspirations to do something different, something meaningful with their life and their careers. Keynotes from Chris Anderson, Peter Thi  read more »

What's the big deal about closing another round of funding? So many companies have received funding over the last two years so that's not a reflection of the viability or success of a venture. In fact, Erick Schonfeld over at Techcrunch just posted a nice article on venture funding of new-age (web 2.0, web 3.0 whatever you want to call them) consumer internet companies. Wow, so many companies  read more »

Sharper Image filed for bankruptcy on Feb 19th, 2008. What a ride. A brand known for innovation, cool products and great customer service couldn't keep up with the pace of innovation, differentiation and rigor needed to build and market today's sophisticated products. Not only did the company suffer from bad publicity and lawsuits related to their flagship product  read more »

A little before mid-night on Nov 18, Retrevo launched its next big innovation. This innovation dramatically simplifies gadget (electronics) shopping for masses. You see, consumer electronics category is inundated with constant technological innovation, price changes and obsolescence. It is daunting to take the shopping journey even for the tech-savvy consumers. You don't know where to start and when you do manage to start the journey and zoom into a set of products that meet your brand and feature preference, you are never sure which product delivers a good bang for the buck.  read more »

A few weeks ago I was on a panel at Investor Business Forum when one of the venture investors attending the session asked "why is it that we see more entrepreneurs and even companies we fund founded by immigrant entrepreneurs"? I answered the question and it is not hard to understand why it is so. From 1513, when the Spanish explorer Ponce De Leon discovered Florida to French and German emigration in mid 19th century to emigration of Russians in late 19th century, Italians in early 20th century and Asians in mid 20th century, America has been the land of opportunity that has attracted talent, labor and intellectual capital from all over the world. And I would argue this has been the major driver behind the growth that has made America the super-power it is today.  read more »

Many of us have still not gotten used to the changed daylight saving time (three weeks earlier in March and one week later in Nov). And those of us who are at least aware have often rationalized the inconvenience by savings in energy cost (myself included). Yes, we will get used to starting work at odd hours and working at odd hours in the evening. But will we really save energy? There was an article in the journal today that covered this topic at length. According to Megan Barnett, the spokeswoman of US Energy Department "The jury is still out on the potential national energy savings". Well, that kills my excitement about the change in daylight saving implemented earlier this year.  read more »

Humans are inherently lazy. The consumer electronics industry knows this and profits off of it. When seeking enjoyment and entertainment, if it takes to long, we give up. Who wants to work at having a good time? Well, many people (unfortunately) feel the same way about going green. Theyre often deterred by the amount of effort it takes to be a consciencious and eco-friendly consumer. Or they lack the knowledge and know-how to do the green thing. Phillips Electronics understands our struggle, and offers a solution. According to Cnets blo  read more »

The self-proclaimed online tech gossip rag, valleywag, coming to you straight outta S.V. (Silicon Valley represent), is pissed at greenpeace and other long-haired hippy environmentalists about coming down hard on Apple for their apparent lack of greenness. Man, are they pissed. Apple forgoes an online rant, replying to the environmental smackdown by announcing some new green initiatives, reminding us that Steve and Steve were once hippies themselves.

 read more »