It's hard to build a $50MM+ ad-supported business

Another in my recent string of posts pointing to articles I enjoyed in my daily perusal of VC and entrepreneur blog postings.  This time it’s Jeremy Liew’s note on add supported businesses.  It helps to read his previous writing on the subject, which he links to in the post.

The main thing I like about these is the fact that he puts the numbers into some perspective - you can look at the kind of sites he’s namechecking for comparison and ask tough questions about your own business’ ability to scale that big.  Some of the time when I chat with other entrepreneurs whose business models are entirely ad-based I just don’t see a credible way they can scale to this degree.  One thought does sort of pop up though - I think the number of those companies that receive VC funding puts a question mark behind the statement that VCs only back companies that are swinging for the fences, and not looking for singles.  It’s hard to see how so many survive the scrutiny of thinking about revenue growth the way Jeremy talks about it.

Ads & Twitter (and Disqus) - reposting some comments

I recently commented on one of my favourite VC blogs - Both Sides Of The Table

As an aside, this is the first time I’ve done this.  I am usually a lurker.  But I like Disqus - the idea that if I comment it’s not lost in the ether, it’s easy for me to keep track of.  Now my comments are a conversation, and part of my constant process of learning.