where i am investing and why · machine #50 on the net (1973) (40 years of email) including gary...
TRANSCRIPT
1
Where I Am Investing and Why: Some Insights
Howard L. Morgan, Founding Partner
First Round Capital
September 25, 2013
Some Personal History
2 Confidential & Trade Secret
I’m a lapsed academic (Prof at Cornell, Caltech, HBS)
CCNY ’65, Cornell Ph.D. ’68
UPenn (Wharton and Moore) from 72-84
Machine #50 on the net (1973) (40 years of email) including Gary Thuerk’s first spam in 1978
Angel investing 1990-2004 First Round– 2005 to present
First Round Capital
q 7 partners (Josh Kopelman, Chris Fralic, Rob Hayes, Bill Trenchard, Kent Goldman, Phin Barnes, moi)
q Offices in Philadelphia, NY, San Francisco q True to the name, we invest in seed stage (first
rounds) q Have done 250 investments over 8 years q eCommerce (Uber, Fab, One Kings Lane etc) q Social (Path, Cluster etc) q Lots of Adtech
3 Confidential & Trade Secret
What are we investing in Adtech
q Mobile (and local) q Social q Image q Video q Analytics, Networks and RTB
these often overlap
4 Confidential & Trade Secret
Why Mobile
q Deloitte TMT 2013 Predictions - q “Mobile” advertising is dead. Long live tablet and
smartphone advertising (and maybe the watch) q Numbers are growing q Targeting is getting better
5 Confidential & Trade Secret
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Local
q Great targeting – Yelp has made it work q Ads for movies, restaurants seem to be OK q Branding not so much
8 Confidential & Trade Secret
Social
q Facebook is working, so is Twitter q Adaptly, Social Wire, UberMedia, Path, Cluster,
Mango Health, MessageMe MightyText
9 Confidential & Trade Secret
Image
q Curalate, GumGum, Cluster, Instacanvas
10 Confidential & Trade Secret
Video
q Say Media, Gumroad
11 Confidential & Trade Secret
Analytics, Networks and RTB
q Analytics
12 Confidential & Trade Secret
Regions
q If you’re Adtech, you need a NY presence q LA is becoming more important, especially with
entertainment industry q SF and Bay Area
13 Confidential & Trade Secret
Exit view
q Tremor q MoPub q Buyers – FB, Twitter, Google, MSFT, Yahoo
14 Confidential & Trade Secret
Summary
q Advertising always moves to where the customers can be influenced – this is more and more online
q Integrating campaigns across media (TV, Online, mobile, Outdoor) is now far more possible
q The dollars are coming, so we VCs intend to be there funding the next great innovations
q Privacy concerns are not going away – Congress is likely to act, or at least muddy the waters
15 Confidential & Trade Secret
Thank You
q Reach me at:
q [email protected] q @HLMorgan q www.waytooearly.com
16 Confidential & Trade Secret