“More expensive and less functional.” That was the recommendation I had for a friend’s startup. Why? The free version of the company’s product works too damn well. You’ve probably heard of Freemium. There’s also Previum and a dozen other variations I’m sure. The exact differences aren’t really worth getting into because at the core is this: Something’s gotta break. [...]

This post about competitive dynamics has been stewing in my mind for months now and it’s still a work in progress.  At its heart is a framework for thinking about a common type of tech company:  the aggregator.   The aggregator takes disparate items, gathers them, and presents them as a unified front. Aggregators can exist [...]

Lions, Tigers, and Spyware on Phones, Oh My! Mobile spyware is the focus of the tech media’s latest frenzy. It started when a hacker discovered that the Pre sends back location data about users to Palm.  Next, a blogger ‘discovered’ that certain iPhone apps also phone home.  The frenzy came to a head when ReadWriteWeb [...]

(This is the second of a two part post.  The first part contains a profile of a startup.  This part contains numbers and analysis related to that startup.) First, some background.  I became interested in the mobile coupon business space a few years back when I started thinking about how mobile coupons could effectively be [...]

(This is the first in a two part post. Part one contains a profile of a startup.  Part two contains numbers and analysis related to that startup.) Mobile Spinach is a small and ambitious Bay Area startup focused on the mobile coupon space.  The company is still at a very early stage — seed funded [...]