As I crowded gate C20 at O’Hare during a recent United flight to San Francisco, I felt a disturbance in the crowd behind me. An “important” passenger was in a rush was weaving his way through the anxious proletariat. He was an old white guy wearing a suit (shocking!), and walked with swagger of a made man, a 1K or global services passenger. I saw his foot step on that damn little red carpet and it triggered a moment of startling clarity.

onward »

I had breakfast with James Slavet of Greylock recently and asked him how many deals he sees on a regular basis.

mw: “So how many deals do you see a year?”
js: “I meet about 300 companies a year. Most are screened prior to me meeting them.”
mw: “And how many of those do you think are any good?”
js: “Maybe 30 are interesting and will get funding from some one. I’d say 3-4 are actually what I would call good ideas.”

onward »

In the last few months, we’ve seen Dieter Zetsche and Daimler desperately search for ways to channel Heidi Klum and to say “Auf Weidersein” to Chrysler and Carl Ichan leave a nasty board room brawl at Motorola, quoting Arnold Schwarzenegger Terminator-style, “I’ll be back.” Recall just three years ago we heard a very different tune. Back then, the marketplace was buzzing with with RAZRs and 300Cs. Both great products to be sure, but cautionary tales, that while great design sells lots of product, it is not a strategy.

Ketchup. At fast food restaurants, it comes in those annoying little sealed packs. You know, the ones that you open with your teeth while going 75. Spit out the plastic end and pray that you don’t unleash a pressurized ketchup stream, seemingly laser guided to land on your pants on the way to that important sales meeting. Well, if you are a fast food marketer, this represents an interesting dilemma, one that I recently discussed with a market researcher in the industry. The researcher knows that people hate those ketchup packs. She knows that her company could provide ketchup in easy open tubs that perch elegantly in the fry sleeve. But her company won’t do it. Why? Because according to ROI analysis the minor extra cost, simply can’t be justified.

onward »