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# Insights, not just posts

Tech, Startup and VC insights. with a twist

## Sitemaps

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## Posts

- [Intro to Startup anti-pattern Series](http://www.itamarnovick.com/intro-to-startup-anti-pattern-series/) - An anti-pattern is a commonly used process, structure, or pattern of action that, despite initially appearing to be an appropriate and effective response to a problem, has more bad consequences than good ones.Simeon Simeonov first wrote an introduction to the value of startup anti-patterns back in 2013. To sum it up, it’s hard to pinpoint
- [Startup anti-pattern #4: if you build it, they will come](http://www.itamarnovick.com/startup-anti-pattern-4-if-you-build-it-they-will-come/) - As part of the continued series on startup anti-patterns, we look at the battle between conviction and validation.First, a story. In 2000, Intech technology, a fledgling startup out of Israel, was building a new type of billing software for property managers. Intech had one potential customer- the Israeli government - that shared the founders’ vision
- [Startup Anti-Pattern #9: (Founder) Arrogance](http://www.itamarnovick.com/startup-anti-pattern-9-founder-arrogance/) - In the early days of Apple, Steve Jobs was famously arrogant. He believed he knew what users wanted before they even realized it themselves. His confidence led to groundbreaking products like the Mac and the iPhone, but it also resulted in some significant missteps—like the overly expensive Lisa computer and the rigid, closed system of
- [Startup Anti-Pattern #12: Design by Committee](http://www.itamarnovick.com/startup-anti-pattern-12-design-by-committee/) - As part of the continued series on startup anti-patterns, we examine the productivity-killing practice of collective decision-making: "Design by Committee." First, a Story In 2014-2015, my team at Life360 struck a strategic partnership with ADT, the #1 home security company. They invested $50m in our company, we agreed to strategically launch a co-branded version of
- [Startup Anti-Pattern #11: Bridge to Nowhere](http://www.itamarnovick.com/startup-anti-pattern-11-bridge-to-nowhere/) - As part of the continued series on startup anti-patterns, we examine the dangerous territory of bridge rounds that lead nowhere: "Bridge to Nowhere." First, a Story In 2018, I came across a promising fintech startup that had raised a solid Series A but was burning through cash faster than expected while pursuing an ambitious expansion
- [Startup anti-pattern #10: Boiling the Ocean](http://www.itamarnovick.com/startup-anti-pattern-10-boiling-the-ocean/) - First, a Story, or two In the early 2010s, Magic Leap captivated the tech world with its ambitious vision for augmented reality. Backed by billions in funding from companies like Google and Alibaba, it promised a revolutionary AR headset that would change the way people interacted with digital content. The problem? Magic Leap wasn’t just
- [Startup anti-pattern #2: Ignorance](http://www.itamarnovick.com/startup-anti-pattern-2-ignorance/) - Listening to a startup pitch a few weeks ago I had to exercise effort not to shake my head in disbelief. The presenters were describing the products and business model of an established company I was very familiar with and doing it with what seemed to be blatant disregard of reality. They forgot to mention
- [Startup anti-pattern #3: platform risk](http://www.itamarnovick.com/startup-anti-pattern-3-platform-risk/) - One of the fastest ways for a startup to grow has always been to ride on the shoulders of a successful platform: from Microsoft/OSS in software to AWS in cloud computing to iOS/Android in mobile to Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest in social to IAB/Google in advertising and the many SaaS players. Betting on a platform focuses product development
- [Startup Anti-Pattern #13: Confirmation Bias](http://www.itamarnovick.com/startup-anti-pattern-13-confirmation-bias-2/) - In 2011, the founders of Color Labs raised $41 million before launching their product—a proximity-based photo-sharing app. The team, stacked with experienced tech executives, was convinced they'd cracked the code on mobile social networking. They had data from user studies that "confirmed" people wanted to share photos with nearby strangers. They had advisory board members
- [Startup Anti-Pattern #14: Bleeding on the Edge](http://www.itamarnovick.com/startup-anti-pattern-14-bleeding-on-the-edge/) - In 2013, a startup called Leap Motion shipped a gesture-control device that let users interact with their computers through hand movements in the air. The technology was genuinely impressive—based on breakthrough infrared sensor technology that could track finger movements with sub-millimeter accuracy. Leap Motion raised over $44 million and generated enormous buzz. The problem wasn't
- [Startup anti-pattern #1: elephant hunting](http://www.itamarnovick.com/startup-anti-pattern-3-elephant-hunting/) - Startup anti-pattern #1: elephant hunting Insights, not just posts
- [Consumer AI: The Next Frontier for Venture Capital](http://www.itamarnovick.com/consumer-ai-the-next-frontier-for-venture-capital/) - After a decade of investing in B2B/SaaS and discounting consumer investment, I’m increasingly getting excited about the paradigm shift than I am right now. The AI revolution is here, and it's fundamentally transforming how humans interact with technology across every consumer vertical. That's why I'm thrilled to announce that Recursive Ventures is launching a $1M
- [Startup Anti-Pattern #8: Analysis Paralysis](http://www.itamarnovick.com/startup-anti-pattern-8-analysis-paralysis/) - As part of the continued series on startup anti-patterns, we look at the crippling effect of overanalyzing decisions: "Analysis Paralysis." First, a story. In 2014, a promising IOT startup in my portfolio (which I won't name) was working on a revolutionary home security product. The product was cutting edge from an AI standpoint. The founders
- [Startup Anti-Pattern #7: Chasing "Blue Oceans"](http://www.itamarnovick.com/startup-anti-pattern-7-chasing-blue-oceans/) - As part of the continued series on startup anti-patterns, we look at the perilous pursuit of endless new unknown markets: "Chasing Blue Oceans." What It Is “Chasing Blue Oceans” is the anti-pattern where startups repeatedly seek untapped markets that lack competition but also lack the necessary customer demand or market size to sustain a venture-scale
- [Startup anti-pattern #5: Bad Revenue](http://www.itamarnovick.com/startup-anti-pattern-5-bad-revenue/) - First, a blast from the past which some of us might remember. As a kid growing up in the 80s, I was a movie junkie and rented movies from Blockbuster several times a week. I’d binge-watch the movies I loved (I've probably seen the entire James Bond series 20 times). Back in the 80s, Blockbuster
- [Startup Anti-Pattern #6: Chasing the Competition](http://www.itamarnovick.com/startup-anti-pattern-6-chasing-the-competition/) - First, a story. In 2012, Twitter launched Vine, a platform that allowed users to create and share six-second looping videos. Vine quickly gained popularity, becoming a cultural phenomenon and amassing a substantial user base. At its peak in December 2015, Vine had over 200 million active users(!).However, as competitors like Instagram and Snapchat introduced their
- [The Power of Proprietary Data and creating an "AI Moat"](http://www.itamarnovick.com/the-power-of-proprietary-data-fueling-ai-and-competitive-advantage/) - In the fast-evolving landscape of AI Data has emerged as the new currency (alongside access to Nvidia H100 GPU). Data serves as the fuel that drives AI. AI systems solving complex problems require an immense amount of data to deliver high quality services. This is especially true in a use cases that don't have a
- [AI winners and the race for the ultimate prompt UI/UX](http://www.itamarnovick.com/ai-winners-and-the-race-for-the-ultimate-prompt-ui-ux/) - AI winners and the race for the ultimate prompt UI/UX Tech, Startup and VC insights. with a twist
- [Investing in AI companies? Think Data first, AI second](http://www.itamarnovick.com/investing-in-ai-companies-think-data-first-ai-second/) - By now, with ChatGPT and the doomsday media hype around it, almost everybody got the memo that AI has the potential to revolutionize industries, reshape business models, and potentially destroy humankind in the process (e.g. Choas-GPT).As an investor in AI (seems like these days everybody is), it's crucial to understand the key factors that contribute
- [Why Facebook is winning with mobile ads](http://www.itamarnovick.com/why-facebook-is-winning-with-mobile-ads/) - Facebook has been making waves in the investment community with it's massive success in mobile ad revenues. And they are just getting started. According to eMarkter, Facebook's mobile ad revenue will top $2 billion in 2013, an increase of more than 300% from the less than half a billion dollars earned in 2012. Unsurprisingly, Mobile developers
- [How big Companies (often) lose on Mobile](http://www.itamarnovick.com/how-big-companies-often-lose-on-mobile/) - The mobile explosion is simultaneously the biggest opportunity and biggest threat for established brands and companies. Unfortunately, many big companies just keep failing on this front. A lot of companies do this: It's a big mistake. Mobile has to be front and center, an inherent part of the company's DNA and not an afterthought. Mobile
- [Berkeley SkyDeck accelerator - application now open](http://www.itamarnovick.com/berkeley-skydeck-accelerator-application-now-open/) - I've recently joined Berkeley Skydeck as an ambassador. It's a wonderful program and a great fit for startups who are interested in building their business in the U.S. and more specifically in Silicon Valley. On top of investing $100k, SkyDeck offers a lovely shared office space in Berkeley, and has resources lined up for founders
- [How big is "connect" technology - that big !](http://www.itamarnovick.com/how-big-is-connect-technology-that-big/) - Almost a year ago we heard quite a hype about Facebook Connect, Google Friend Connect and Gigya Socialize that are supposed to connect the Social Web with the regular website (some nice links can be found here and here). But since than it's been quiet on this front, and for no obvious reason. Now, you
- [Age of the open Social Stream](http://www.itamarnovick.com/age-of-the-open-social-stream/) - The Social stream has already been recognized as a major factor in the evolution of the Social web, a force that is able to change the way we communicate in the virtual world (why shot an email about amazing Susan Boyle when you can easily treat all your Facebook friends with her full screen video?)
- [Facebook opens it's stream to the world (and plans on cashing in)](http://www.itamarnovick.com/facebook-opens-its-stream-to-the-world-and-plans-on-cashing-in/) - It started out with Mark Zuckerberg's letter about upcoming changes (which had quite a few blah blahs about controlling your data's privacy) focusing on dropping the regional networks and privacy-per-post, but somehow ended up very differently. Who knows? Maybe the plan was to have this one slip through the community by sparking up the conversation
- [Apple vs. Adobe Flash - Round 2](http://www.itamarnovick.com/apple-vs-adobe-flash-round-2/) - Apple has been pushing web publishers and video platforms to switch to HTML5 as part of the iPad launch. Amazingly, within just a few weeks many publishers, such as Brightcove , have answered Apple's call to arms. it's pretty clear that the one to suffer here is Adobe, or more specifically - Adobe's dominance in
- [The Social Network](http://www.itamarnovick.com/10/) - Watching "The Social Network", regardless of whether the stuff they show there about Mark Zuckerberg are true or false (or somewhere in between), you can’t help but think it’s a great movie. Also, it made my mind race with a few thoughts. It's one of the first movies (if not THE first) that illustrates the
- [Making Y-connect and Yahoo Social strategy work](http://www.itamarnovick.com/making-y-connect-and-yahoo-social-strategy-work/) - According to WSJ Yahoo are making an effort to take their Social Strategy seriously, again. They are launching a new service called Y-Connect, aimed at media sites and publishers with the end goal of bringing more traffic. TechCrunch and Blogs around the web are just all over the place talking about how Y-Connect will fail,
- [sFund and the challenges of the Social Web](http://www.itamarnovick.com/sfund-and-future-challenges-in-the-social-web/) - Intense discussions about the new era of Social in web and mobile have been all over the place this week. Those discussions are, rightfully, getting tons of media traction. It started with the announcement of the new sFund from VC Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, who joined hands with Facebook, Amazon.com, and Zynga to announce a new $250 million fund for
- [Which social media platforms drive most traffic into websites?](http://www.itamarnovick.com/which-social-media-platforms-drive-most-traffic-into-websites/) - Although I guess this is wide spread knowledge for most Social Media professional, I think it's worth discussing some of the stats about Social Media related traffic on external web-sites from a different point of view (note: "external websites" in the context of this post are traditional non-social network sites). Here is a graph from a
- [Myspace finally surrenders to Facebook](http://www.itamarnovick.com/myspace-finally-surrenders-to-facebook/) - Sometimes it's unbelievable how fast and disruptive things can be in the harsh world of online - http://techcrunch.com/2010/11/18/hell-freezes-over-as-myspace-fully-surrenders-to-facebook/ Today, Myspace announced that there are basically surrendering what used to be their core business - Social Networking and Social Graph. It's true that have already announced that they will focus on Media, Music, etc. moving forward, but still, implementing Facebook Connect
- [Social platform integration - Which platform is right for you?](http://www.itamarnovick.com/social-platform-integration-aligning-your-marketing-strategy-with-the-right-platforms/) - Although I'm a fan of integrating as many social platforms as possible in external sites and application, it's clear that marketers are sometimes forced to focus their efforts and budgets on one platform or the other. Having a clear strategy and goals in place can help make smart choices. For example, if you are planning
- [Is Facebook overvalued at $50 billion?](http://www.itamarnovick.com/is-facebook-overvalued-at-50-billion/) - Does Facebook valuation indicate that a Tech Bubble is build up? In the last week we've heard quite a few voices claiming that Facebook might be overvalued at $50 billion, and that a new bubble might be forming in tech sector (Here are a two - Economist - http://www.economist.com/economist-asks/facebook_overvalued_50_billion, Bloomberg - http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-27/facebook-overvalued-at-50-billion-in-global-poll-of-investors.html). There might be a Tech bubble out
- [A reminder about what platform play is all about](http://www.itamarnovick.com/a-reminder-about-what-platform-play-is-all-about/) - The action on the Twitter platform last week with UberMedia reminded me what platform play is all about. Talking to colleges, I was surprised to hear that some people think that UberMedia can "beat the platform" and create an off-Twitter network. Knowing first hand some of the developer policies that platforms like Facebook and Twitter
- [Social Media monitoring solutions are all the rage right now](http://www.itamarnovick.com/social-media-monitoring-solutions-are-all-the-rage-right-now/) - In the last two weeks the Social Media monitoring scene has been virtually lit on fire. With Salesforce snatching Radian6 for approximately $276 million in cash and $50 million in stock and shelling out another $10 million in stock and $4 million in cash to Radian6′s founders, and Visible Technologies raising an additional $6m in
- [The Israeli VC market gap](http://www.itamarnovick.com/the-israeli-vc-market-gap/) - The fact that there is currently a sizable gap in the Israeli VC market is not new, but lately it seems that the situation is slowly improving. Also, US based venture firms have noticed this market gap and are making a move to benefit from it. A quick recap of the he Israeli VC industry
- [Google+ launch - is it too late to rebuild the Social Graph?](http://www.itamarnovick.com/google-launch-is-it-too-late-to-rebuild-the-social-graph/) - This week Google has made a bunch of Silicon Valley folks happy with the launch of Google+ and a slew of additional social and communication features (Huddle, Hangout and Sparks). It seems like the Social Network "war" is officially back on, and remarkable this is happening exactly on the same week that Facebook's old Nemesis,
- [Facebook's innovation machine](http://www.itamarnovick.com/facebooks-innovation-machine/) - Facebook’s recent product releases in F8 are potentially disruptive on multiple fronts and very exciting. My plan is to write a few short posts about the changes, and this first post is mostly about Timeline. Facebook's strategy Almost all of the changes announced reinforce Facebook’s strategy on increasing engagement, collecting more personal data, and extending
- [Social Gambling is right around the corner](http://www.itamarnovick.com/why-social-gambling-is-starting-to-make-sense/) - Social Gambling (i.e. Zynga Texas-Holdem Poker, the world’s largest poker site of any kind) has been around for years now with virtual currency, but only recently has the media picked-up this theme and started playing around with it, drawing parallels to social gaming, and suggesting the Zynga might actually switch to real currency. Investors and
- [Facebook fan pages changes - guest post by Guy Azar](http://www.itamarnovick.com/facebook-fan-pages-changes-guest-post-by-guy-azar/) - This post is a guest post - an open letter to Facebook - written by a good friend, Guy Azar (http://il.linkedin.com/in/guyazar). Guy has been working hard to build a business on top of Facebook, helping brands promote themselves on the platform. Facebook significant changes to fan page platform, soon to take full effect on March
- [Here is why Facebook will be worth more than $200B](http://www.itamarnovick.com/why-facebook-would-be-worth-200b-in-just-a-few-years/) - In late 2010 I wrote a blog post about how Facebook could easily be worth $100B. Some of my colleagues called me up and did nothing short but claim that I must be crazy. That's perfectly fine. I have a feeling that I'm going to get even more calls about this post. My rationale isn't
- [Privacy on the web is dead. Geo privacy is next](http://www.itamarnovick.com/privacy-on-the-web-is-dead-geo-privacy-is-next/) - Back in 2010, Mark Zuckerberg went on stage and told TechCrunch's Michael Arrington that the age of Internet privacy was over and hinted that we should get over it. 2 year later, web privacy is officially dead and every other thing we do is posted online on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Major and minor details
- [The Family Networks is the next big thing, and it's different then anything that came before it](http://www.itamarnovick.com/family-networks-is-the-next-big-thing-and-its-different-then-all-the-networks-weve-seen-before/) - For a couple of years now people have been fascinated by Social Networks and how they have impacted our lives. We have seen social networks raise to become some of the most prominent tech companies of our times - Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. When you think about it, it makes sense - People want to
- ["Internet of Things" is all the rage at CES this year](http://www.itamarnovick.com/internet-of-things-is-all-the-rage-at-ces-this-year/) - IoT had a massive presence at CES this year (2014), with a big focus on Smart home devices. The hype around the "Smart home" is just getting started... Who doesn't wants to a have a fridge that can tweet all by itself? More seriously, It's fascinating to see how quickly new devices are getting to market
- [Smartphones are the hub for everything](http://www.itamarnovick.com/smartphones-are-the-hub-for-everything/) - Reading through the annual KPCB internet trends (shouldn't they change to the Annual Mobile trends report?) one graph stood out the most for me: What does this mean? It means that every industry is essentially disruptable via Mobile. Enough said.
- [What's wrong with the Smart Home?](http://www.itamarnovick.com/whats-wrong-with-the-smart-home/) - For a while now we have had a slew of companies big and small promise us that the age of the Smart Home is finally here. The industry has seen a rash of early products that have raised soaring expectations and contributed to an expanding universe of ideas - it has become one of the
- [Why LinkedIn's content strategy makes a lot of sense](http://www.itamarnovick.com/why-linkedins-content-strategy-makes-a-lot-of-sense/) - LinkedIn is one interesting "Social" network, and their new content strategy makes a lot of sense to me. Here is why. Even though LinkedIn is not as viral as Facebook or Twitter, it has proven to monetize well ($8 annually per monthly user compared to Facebook's $1.5). The higher revenue per active user opens the
- [Bots are great for the Enterprise, not just for consumers](http://www.itamarnovick.com/bots-are-great-for-the-enterprise-not-just-for-consumers/) - 2016 was already declared the year of bots. While potentially being slightly over-hyped, it seems that many consumer companies have been putting a lot of meat behind their conversational UI efforts. Facebook is banking on its messaging apps to get back into becoming a leading platform again. They are already allowing users to chat with
- [The convergence of SaaS and Consumer](http://www.itamarnovick.com/the-convergence-of-saas-and-consumer/) - Silicon Valley loves talking about the next big trend and how it impacts the world, so it should come as no surprise that the convergence of SaaS and Consumer technologies (or “Consumerization of the Enterprise”) has been on the radar for a while now. But there are less discussions about what it takes to win
- [On-demand is not a "winner takes it all" market](http://www.itamarnovick.com/on-demand-economy-is-not-winner-takes-it-all/) - A bit over a year ago I was invited to invest in Lyft's series F ($1B mega round led by GM) as part of syndicate. Even though the investment was too late stage for me I was intrigued and decided to dig in. I learned early on that some of the existing investors are selling
- [Recursive Ventures top 100 Global seed investor](http://www.itamarnovick.com/recursive-ventures-top-100-global-seed-investor/) - Humbled to share that I've been chosen #17 on the inaugural Business Insider Seed 100 - The best early-stage investors - list of Global seed investors made by Business Insider and Tribe Capital. Very thankful for the opportunity to support amazing startup founders. Read more about my investments and strategy at Recursive Ventures. https://archive.is/8M4fu
- [How does Early-Stage Venture Capital Perform in a Recession? (or: It’s Time to Build & Invest!)](http://www.itamarnovick.com/how-does-early-stage-venture-capital-perform-in-a-recession-or-its-time-to-build-invest/) - Co-authored with Tom White from Stonks and Ram Ben Ishay from the VC Podcast Venture Capital has existed as a discrete asset class for over seventy years now. A great deal has been written about what constitutes Venture Capital and what does not (including by Tom White) in these seventy years. Though many different things
- [What are "Solo Capitalists" and why are they winning?](http://www.itamarnovick.com/what-are-solo-capitalists-and-why-are-they-winning/) - Traditionally, Venture Capital has been driven by the firm. The fundamental idea was based on VC Partnerships, with the sum of all partners and investments professionals adding up to more than the individuals themselves. The traditional VC firm with multiple partners has the ability to come across more investment opportunities and be able to better

## Categories

- [Social Networks](http://www.itamarnovick.com/category/social-networks/)
- [Venture Capital](http://www.itamarnovick.com/category/vc/)
- [Mobile](http://www.itamarnovick.com/category/mobile/)
- [Anti-patterns](http://www.itamarnovick.com/category/anti-patterns/)
- [Startups](http://www.itamarnovick.com/category/startups/)
- [AI](http://www.itamarnovick.com/category/ai/)