So we have decided to follow up on our previous two events (opensource and mobile multimedia) with one event which, in my mind, draws many of the themes we've been discussing together under the moniker of web 2.0. I know there are many people who hate this term and many people who think it very useful ; I think it's a very convenient way of pulling together the themes that I see pre-occupying many of the more visionary VCs and underlying the more strategic acqusitions.
If you want to come along drop me a mail or apply via our website: http://www.firstcapital.co.uk/news/events.php
Its a great speaker panel:
John Battelle Founder of Federated media publishing http://battellemedia.com/
Judy Gibbons, Board of Directors, O2. Corporate Vice President, MSN Global Sales and Marketing. http://www.02.com/about/gibbons.asp
Simon Levene, Managing Director, Corporate Development Yahoo!
Nick Kingsbury, Global Software Head & Partner, 3i. http://www.3i.com/contacts/biographies/nickkingsbury.html
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Web 2.0: disruption creates opportunity
"Thomas J. Watson famously said that he saw no need for more than five computers in the world.
We now know that he was wrong…
...we now know that he overestimated the number by four."*
Web 2.0 is here but how do VCs and entrepreneurs make sense of the disruption and identify where the real opportunities lie?
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The speakers are:
* John Battelle, Founder and Chairman of Federated Media Publishing. Previously, Battelle was founder, chairman, and CEO of Standard Media International (SMI), publisher of The Industry Standard and TheStandard.com. Prior to founding The Standard, Battelle was a co-founding editor of Wired magazine and Wired Ventures. He is the author of "The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture" (Portfolio, 2005).
* Judy Gibbons, Board of Directors, O2. Corporate Vice President, MSN Global Sales and Marketing.
Judy founded the MSN business in the UK and then went on to manage MSN Europe and then MSN International. She was most recently responsible for MSN sales and marketing across the US and 39 other markets worldwide. Prior to joining Microsoft, Judy held positions in systems engineering, applications development and marketing with Hewlett Packard and Apple Computer. In 2004, she was presented with an award for 'Thought Leadership' by the IVCA for her contribution to the digital economy.
* Simon Levene, Managing Director, Corporate Development Yahoo!
The Yahoo! corporate development group reports to Terry Semel, Chairman and CEO of Yahoo!, and is responsible for developing corporate strategy and leading transaction activities across the company worldwide. Prior to Yahoo!, Simon was at AOL Time Warner, Excite@Home, Goldman Sachs and the LEK Partnership.
* Nick Kingsbury, Global Software Head & Partner, 3i. Nick's role involves setting the strategy for investment in software and he is a key member of the team reviewing all software investments globally. He also works closely with the major IT corporates to ensure that 3i understands their strategies, and makes introductions at very senior levels for 3i's portfolio companies.
*Credit to Clay Shirky.
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The Internet is being transformed by lightweight & compatible software services, business models that rely on efficient lead generation, a very low cost of entry, and an equally low cost of scaling with huge operating margins.
ASPs, mashing, P2P, user generated content, monetising the long tail, podcasting, blogging, media convergence, AJAX, REST, cooperating internet services, multi device software, data syndication. What is this brave new world and where is the smart money going?
If the web is truly becoming one big operating system in the sky, how should VCs differentiate between the fads and the longer term trends?
This event is bringing together key individuals from the venture capital community, the entrepreneurial community and industry to stimulate ideas and discussion, through a number of short presentations from industry leaders, followed by a panel debate.
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Registration will commence at 8.15am with coffee and pastries, with presentations commencing at 9am. After the debate there will be an opportunity for networking, and the event will finish at 11am.
This seminar is by invitation only, and is open to venture capitalists, strategic investors, business angels and entrepreneurs.
