Guys, it’s a great idea. But don’t make the same stupid mistakes your bosses made and claim you need $30 million to do it.
Did it cost $30mm for Ninja, RocketBoom, WebbAlert or Diggnation to make serious money? Nope, it did not. Don’t take VC money and fail. Do it smart, lean and right on the web. In short, don’t do it in a packaged goods way. Do it conversational.
Update: I know that these guys want to make traditional movies, but there are so many new ways to finance movies as well. You don’t need to finance the company to the tune of $30mm to do it…
Its only a mistake to take big money if they are also giving up a massive amount of control and equity in their venture. If they can generate interest from a large number of firms, which is likely, they will get very favorable terms by the “winning” financing partner.
If what you’re saying is that it will effect their product qualitatively, again, I’m not sure I agree. Are WebbAlert, Rocketboom, et al really making “big money”?
My instinct (hope) is that these guys are trying something new, and will succeed or fail on those merits. The real question is how their idea and team are being valued on Sand Hill.