The Singularity University in Silicon Valley has an ambitious mission when it comes to educating its international, diversified student base: the 10^9 challenge, which involves developing ideas that improve the lives of at least one billion people over the next 10 years. In the eyes of visionary founders Ray Kurzweil and Peter Diamandis, these large-scale, […]
Industry report – Crowdfunding, the JOBS Act and the future of innovation funding
| Posted in Blog | No commentIf you back a Kickstarter crowdfunding project by a company that ends up selling to Facebook for $2 billion, do you deserve to get a return on your campaign donation? This is the q uestion raised by some of the backers of the September 2012 crowdfunding campaign of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, which successfully […]
Churn Is King: How SaaS Business Models Affect Software Company Valuations
| Posted in Uncategorized | No commentIn 2012 Oracle CEO Larry Ellison announced the availability of Oracle Cloud, declaring cloud computing “a fantastic opportunity for technology companies to help customers simplify IT”. Software vendors across the world are embracing the ‘software as a service’ (SaaS) cloud-based business model in growing numbers. According to San Diego-based investment firm Software Equity Group, SaaS […]
Business Model Innovation: Why Building a Better Mousetrap is Not Enough – Industry Report
| Posted in Blog | No commentWhat do solar energy and personal communications have in common? While energy and communications seem unrelated industries, they have significant similarities if one considers the role of business model innovation as a precursor to success in bringing new technology to market. Take, for example, two companies: SolarCity Corporation (Nasdaq: SCTY), a solar panel installation company, […]