As you may have heard, the mobile app Shots has been on fire. It has over 5 million active users (and growing fast), just launched 3-second video, and recently raised $8.5 million in its Series A financing. My venture fund, DominateFund, invested in Shots during the seed round. We’ve kept our involvement pretty quiet, but… Continue reading Why We Invested in Shots
Category: Entrepreneurship
When Two Apps Are Simpler Than One
If there’s one entrepreneurial mantra that Steve Jobs taught us, it’s this: Simplify! Complex products fail. The complex MySpace lost to the simple Facebook. The simplicity of Snapchat, Instagram and Dropbox transformed them into world-class products. Tumblr famously cut a feature when it added a new one, always keeping the interface clean as hell. Foursquare,… Continue reading When Two Apps Are Simpler Than One
Announcing “Captivology”, My Book on the Science of Attention (HarperCollins/2015)
Dear friends, family, colleagues, and supporters,
I’m thrilled to announce my first non-fiction book, working title “Captivology: The Science of Capturing People’s Attention“, due in early 2015 from HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins.
I hope you will sign up for updates on Captivology through my book’s website. You can follow @Captivology on Twitter or like Captivology on Facebook. You can also follow @BenParr for regular updates. And finally, here’s a link for sharing this announcement.
Snapchat and the Logic of Turning Down $3 Billion
In July 2006, a two-year-old company received the offer of a lifetime: a $1 billion acquisition offer from Yahoo. While its board was ready to accept the offer, its founder and CEO instantly dismissed the offer. “I don’t know what I could do with the money,” the CEO said. “I’d just start another social networking… Continue reading Snapchat and the Logic of Turning Down $3 Billion
The Tech Community Must Invest More In San Francisco
Several years ago, when Square was just eight people, I was invited by Jack Dorsey to his loft in SOMA to meet the team and get a sneak peek at the Square device. After I interviewed Dorsey, he took me up to his roof and showed me his neighborhood. He specifically pointed out the outdoor… Continue reading The Tech Community Must Invest More In San Francisco
Mark Zuckerberg Is an Awesome CEO. Watch Me Explain Why on CNBC [VIDEO]
I was on CNBC earlier today to answer the question, “Is Mark Zuckerberg In Over His Hoodie?”, facing off against Silverback Social CEO Chris Dessi. My argument was simple: Facebook stock has been on the rise in the last six months, and replacing a founder with a manager at the CEO level is usually a… Continue reading Mark Zuckerberg Is an Awesome CEO. Watch Me Explain Why on CNBC [VIDEO]
Announcing “Startup Attention & PR 101”, Now on Udemy
I’m thrilled to announce the launch of “Startup Attention & PR 101: From Launch to Damage Control and Beyond“, my 19-lecture online Udemy course. I’m also thrilled to announce that half of the course’s proceeds will be donated to THRIVE-GULU, a not-for-profit dedicated to building rehabilitation and community centers across Africa, starting with Gulu, Uganda.… Continue reading Announcing “Startup Attention & PR 101”, Now on Udemy
My Column Is Heading to CNET!
Dear friends, colleagues and supporters, I’m thrilled to announce that I’m joining CNET and CBS Interactive as a contributing columnist and commentator! Ever since my departure from Mashable, I’ve posted my personal take on the big technology news of the day on BenParr.com. The response to my work has been overwhelming, and traffic to this… Continue reading My Column Is Heading to CNET!
The Rise of the Smart Assistant
Almost everybody wants to have an assistant, even if people won’t freely admit it. Who doesn’t want an extra set of hands to help out with chores, scheduling, reminders, meetings, reservations, and the myriad of other tasks that we need to complete every single day? Just a few years ago, the only way you could… Continue reading The Rise of the Smart Assistant
The Talent Crunch Will Define the Tech Industry in 2012
The unemployment rate in the U.S. is 8.6%, but you wouldn’t know that by looking at the tech industry. There is an all-out war for engineering and design talent here in Silicon Valley, and the battle is driving up salaries and making a lot of us wonder: where are all the engineers? The Wall Street… Continue reading The Talent Crunch Will Define the Tech Industry in 2012