tibbetts

tibbetts

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2 comments posted · 0 followers · following 0

15 years ago @ Paul Kedrosky: Infecti... - Venture Capital Cartog... · 0 replies · +1 points

Many people would like to think that high taxes and expensive real estate make for a hostile business climate. That might be true if you are building a widget factory. However, if you are creating an innovative knowledge-based business, like most VC-backed ventures, then you go where the best people are. California, and other innovation hubs like Massachusetts, are the kind of places that the best people want to live. Sure, that means high taxes. But the high taxes buy you great schools and great neighbors.

As a former Michigan resident, it saddens me every time someone tries to make a state more competitive by cutting taxes. When it comes to attracting business, no one in the US should be trying to win on price. Even if it is possible to outbid Mexico for some factory, it ends up costing the state money. Instead, states should invest in the kind of policies and services that attract and retain good people. Businesses will follow.

15 years ago @ Feld Thoughts - AOL Acquires SocialThing · 1 reply · +1 points

Congratulations on the acquisition. I'm not that familiar with the history of SocialThing, but it looks like their service is still in private beta. I can think of a handful of startups that were acquired before a full public launch (and validation) of their product (Dodgeball/Google, Buzzword/Adobe).

I wonder if you can comment on the economics of a deal like this (how do you value a potential user base?), and the role of preexisting relationships in the valuation.