Welcome to VentureBeat •the successor to SiliconBeat!
VentureBeat’s mission is to provide news and information about private companies and the venture capital that fuels them. People are at the heart of this project. VentureBeat will be a resource for entrepreneurs and other interested professionals facing some the biggest decisions of their careers.
VentureBeat will focus initially on Silicon Valley, and gradually, when possible, expand to cover innovation hubs around the globe.
Dear friends,
On Friday, I will serve my last day at the San Jose Mercury News and will no longer be blogging at SiliconBeat. VentureBeat has become my sole occupation and focus.
My Mercury News colleague Michael Bazeley and I launched SiliconBeat.com almost two years ago, in an effort to respond to the new reality of online media. The blog began as an experiment, taking up an hour or so of my day. Soon, it became much more: Baze and I found ourselves spending several hours daily on a blog that was supposed to be outside of our day jobs at the Merc. Baze, showing more sanity, pulled back from SiliconBeat and has taken a job managing the Mercury News’ Web site. For me, SiliconBeat continued as a labor of love, a way to filter the goings-on of this fascinating place we call Silicon Valley. Yet I was doing too much. So I approached the Mercury News, and told them I wanted to go out on my own.
To my delight, the Mercury News has become my first customer. It will syndicate the content I produce here. It has the right to run it in the paper, and to put it on their Web site. For me, it is a great deal. The Merc is the valley’s paper of record. It is my first read in the morning, and what I do here at VentureBeat is linked with the Merc’s mission. Like most of the people at the Merc, I care about the community in a broader sense. That is why I’m covering things from a geographical standpoint, as opposed to an industry niche.
You as my readers are the core of that community. Through your encouragement and daily comments of support and rebuke • it comes in all forms • you have spurred me to spread my wings. You are the ones I serve and listen to as I experiment going forward. I will strive to supply the same insights as I did at SiliconBeat, my fear is that I may lose some of you. I will have to focus. This will be a place only about private companies, the technology they are pushing — and the shenanigans they face as they launch from a seed idea, get funding (if they need it) and either flame out or join the ranks of sustainable companies. While readership counts, and is valuable for advertising (which pays my bills), quality is paramount: I’d rather have a core of very interested, loyal readers, than a wider, promiscuous one.
Here are a few more details about the site.
1) You will see on the left hand side, a column of hard news about the Silicon Valley start-up world. I will link generously to other news sources, when possible. Think of it as my opinion of what ranks as top news VC/start-up news of the day. You can bookmark this link separately, or subscribe via RSS (see RSS button on homepage at bottom of the wire).
2) In the middle column will be my own discussion of the news as it unfolds, where I hope to provide my own insights, and cover major milestones, just as I did at SiliconBeat. You can bookmark it here, or subscribe via RSS (see RSS button on top right of homepage). If you already have the SiliconBeat feed, you will continue to get this main VentureBeat feed. (Note: Some of the basic news items will move to the column of hard news, discussed above.)
3) On the right will be contributors, with insightful opinion • this is the place where we will try to provoke and debate. Anyone can be a contributor. I will solicit contributions from people, but am open to suggestions. If you know of anyone with a good idea, let VentureBeat know. The main targets will be entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, though other start-up professionals will be considered. I will hold a high threshold. Readers will have a chance to comment, too, and we will hold the more popular ones longer on the front page. These contributions will show up in the main RSS feed, but can be bookmarked separately here. Finally, beneath, we link to the other threads going on in the blogosphere.
4) On the far right and elsewhere will be advertisements (ahem, none yet). I am independent, and will avoid taking direct payments personally from companies or people I write about. Advertising will be a large part of VentureBeat’s income. Anyone willing to sponsor VentureBeat contact FM Publishing to place ads. I will be grateful, and I have given a free hand to FM Publishing to work with advertisers on proper wording that makes sense for this site.
5) We will continue to tinker with our direct “unfiltered news” submission feature. We’d kicked it off at SiliconBeat, but we’re trying to decide where to feature it on this site. For now, you will find a “story tips” link on the top of the homepage to submit upcoming releases or story ideas.
Finally, a word of thanks to everyone who has given me feedback and support on this project. They know who they are.
Of them all, Thor Muller, a Web application specialist at Rubyred Labs, stands out. He conceived this site’s design with me in the early days, and developed it patiently even as I went way over budget. He’s been outstanding — offering everything from business strategy savvy, to knowledge of obscure Web code. I can’t thank him enough.
Matt Marshall
44 Comments
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Sean Wise said:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let’s give up for Mr. Matt Marshall. Still giving us the news we need, but now with his own entrepreneurial viewpoint.
Writing both a column on Venture Capital myself (albeit north of the border in chilly Canada) and a blog on the same topic, I know how tough it can be balance all parties’ interests.
Best of luck to you Matt, I’m sure this will be a huge success.
Sean
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jamescoops said:
Hey matt - was great to meet you in London with umair and co. good luck with the new blog.
James
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James Borton said:
Matt,
An excellent debut. Count me as a new contributor. I continue to cover the emerging China venture capital space and the linkis with Sand Hill Road.
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wayjer said:
Congratulations Matt, I loved SiliconBeat and look forward to what you will bring to the table in VentureBeat, I made many a front page on Digg with your stories from SiliconBeat. I look forward to many front page stories on Netscape from your content. Keep up the awesome work.
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Richard Lusk said:
Congratulations Matt, best of luck. The new site looks terrific!
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Danny Sullivan said:
Congrats, Matt — and best of luck with the new launch!
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dan farber said:
I have bookmarked the site…looking forward to my daily read
DF -
Stewart Alsop said:
Matt: Congratulations. I left Infoworld in 1984 to publish my own newsletter. I love to see journos go out and learn how to do business! Of course, I didn’t have to sell advertising to do my business… But, whatever you do, don’t take any money from vulture capitalist! :-)
Stewart
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John Furrier said:
Congrats Matt. Venturebeat will be a hit. Count me as a subscriber.
Good move and I like the site design.
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Will said:
I also left a big corp to go it alone so know you’ve taken a brave step. The site looks great and sure it’ll go a long way. Good luck Matt from London.
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Chris Yeh said:
Congratulations Matt! Best of luck in your quest to be the latest to jump from journalist to content mogul. Om better watch out!
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Noor Menon said:
Loved SiliconBeat. Now that VentureBeat is your main focus, I’m sure it’ll be even better. I’m happy for you. (And I’ll try not to be “promiscuous.”)
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Dave said:
Congratulations Matt! So this is what you were up to when you interviewed me about Fanpop! It’s great that you’ve ventured out on your own. Very timely in light of the Business 2.0 article. The site looks great and has a very nice NYTimes feel to it. I’m subscribing right now!
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Pat Phelan said:
Looks great Matt
Best of luck with it. -
Paula said:
Matt, congratulations on a brave new venture and a great looking site. Have always been a big fan of yours and knew you were going places. From Geneva
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Boris Babic said:
This site is now read in Serbia, as well. A lot of generally interesting stuff, not just a look around your corner, in that geographic sense. And I’m sure it’ll only become better, bigger, cooler and, akhem, “funner.”
Boris, Belgrade -
paulpod said:
Matt, brave move and it looks like you are off to a cracking start, with an excellent site - good luck with VentureBeat.
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Mike Pate said:
Well Done Matt !!
I Look forward to the day when the entrepreneurs of New Zealand will make your site the first reference of their day. -
David Scott Lewis said:
Matt, sounds like a great gig. What I’m looking forward to is not just a free version of the best from VentureWire Professional and PE Wire, but the columns written by you and your contributors. (Ditto for my favorite blog, Emergic. Rajesh Jain’s insights are much more valuable than his article clippings and summaries, although they’re great, too.) More analysis, focused news, is a good thing.
BTW, I’ve left Worksoft (which you covered in May) and I’m now with a firm with a special relationship with Tsinghua University, China’s MIT. (Our CEO is also the head of outsourcing at Tsinghua.) The company, Startech Global, helps (mostly) U.S. firms launch research centers in China, staffing them with (mostly) Tsinghua talent. High-end software development: Data visualization, bioinformatics, fuzzy control systems, things like this. Anyway, I’m coming across a lot of Tsinghua incubated start-ups, so when you decide to expand your coverage to include China, let me know and perhaps I can contribute as I already do for AlwaysOn, the Sand Hill Group and Business Forum China.
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Sahad P V said:
Hey, great move. Congratulations! I was wondering why you hadn’t taken this step earlier :-) Look forward to reading you at VB.
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Tom Foremski said:
You did the right thing Matt. But what took you so long… :-)
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su Nguyen said:
Keep up the good work!!! YOu are doing great.
Thanks!!!!
Su -
Joe M said:
Well done Matt….here is to new beginnings!! The site looks great. Best of luck.
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Brad Bowers said:
Congrats on taking this next, big step Matt. I’m sure you’ll have great success based on the value of what you are providing to your audience.
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Ted Grafe said:
Congratulations Matt! The site looks terrific. I’m looking forward to running a couple legal opinion column ideas by you. Cheers!
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Rob Hof said:
Wow, great-looking site, Matt. Best of luck!
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Neil said:
Congratulations on the launch. The site looks great. I’ll be checking in daily. It certainly can be scary to venture out on your own but I’m sure you’ll find, like I have, that its well worth it. Congrats again!
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Mark Lee said:
Matt:
Please do not be the official PR firm for both Google and KP. -
Startups.in/India said:
Matt, Our best wishes for a great future.
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Otis Johnson said:
Congrats Matt!
All the best with VentureBeat. I am a big reader and will continue to do so. Question - will you be covering the upcoming Web 2.0 conference in November?
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BillSaysThis said:
Best wishes, Matt, and please keep up the quality from SB even without your old partner. Thor did his usual great work.
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Matt Marshall said:
Thanks everyone, for kind words.
Mark Lee, you crack me up. No, won’t be PR machine for KP and Google. Google, in particular, has harangued me for my hard-edged coverage of them in the past. I would agree, though, that I’ve tucked the scalpel recently. I will not promise anything here, b/c words are cheap. But stay tuned…
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Alex Le said:
It’s sad that SiliconBeat has been closed down because it was my most regularly visited site, and it means that I have to update my bookmark. But every end opens up new begining. I’m glad that VentureBeat does have the posts from SiliconBeat and the same entreprenuer spirit still remains.
Please keep up the good work. You guys are doing an amazing job.
“words are cheap” - what a great line!. Matt, you are the man
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Eghosa said:
fantastic Matt…official congrats on the new gig…love the new site…already bookmarked on my b’berry… :-)
cheers, eghosa -
Brian Solis said:
Matt…Stewart Alsop, Danny Sullivan, Tom Foremski??? Way to go!
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Baris Karadogan said:
Matt,
Congratulations. I look forward to reading VentureBeat and let me know if I can help you in any way. I already sent some linklove your way. -
SB regular said:
All the best.
Siliconbeat had soul. Lets hope you maintain that over here.
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Robert Andrews said:
Interesting stuff. Good luck will all this, Matt!.
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Daniel said:
Felicitaciones Matt, he seguido tu Blog en SiliconBeat y espero que esta nuev aventura sea todo un exito
Gracias
Daniel Varela
Chile- SouthAmerica -
Russ Anderson said:
At least for me, your right column (the contributors) is not working properly. Congratulations on the new site.
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Erika Brown said:
Matt,
Congratulations on launching your new publication! I expect great things from you–and I’m impressed by what you’ve done so far. -
Jordan said:
yo whats up
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simon said:
thanks for the post
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Robert Andrews » Matt Marshall strikes out to launch VentureBeat said:
[...] VentureBeat, a WordPress-powered blog which launched a few days ago, chronicles the same tech-centric start-up climate but allows Marshall to strike out on his own and likely rake in advertising dollars through John Battelle’s Federated Media agency. [...]