Twitter shook its own ecosystem this week, while more than 80 startups tried to shake up investors at the Y Combinator Demo Day. At the same time, venture capitalists are finding it harder to fund good companies. These links and more are below.
Got any exciting news about your projects you’d like to share? Hit reply and let us know about it.
- Thursday
Introducing Twitter’s new business: Twitter
Twitter rolled out stricter guidelines for how its API can be used, threatening my apps that depend on Twitter. That, combined with Twitter cutting Instagram and Tumblr’s friend finders, represents the direction Twitter is going to take for monetization.
Should developers be sued for security holes?
The typical EULA requires users to sign away their option to sue a software company, but there are arguments — at least on the academic level — that software developers should be liable for the repercussions of security flaws in software.
It’s hard out there for a venture capitalist
Venture capitalists aren’t seeing great returns — or even returns that beat other investments — on average. Fred Wilson has some opinions as to why, and while they’re biased towards his own style of angel investing, he has a point.
To keep your company growing, think of your business as a forest — and burn it down sometimes
David Hurst’s new book, The Ecology of Leadership, applies the principles of ecology to businesses. This brief rundown of the ideas in the book will get you started, but reading the whole thing will give you a new perspective on how companies can grow.
Move over, Kickstarter: Microfunding sites target communities
Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter have already proven their value to the tech community. But a host of locally-focused organizations are using the model to improve communities. If there are any local elements to your projects at all, you may be able to tap these groups for funding.
What are some things non-Facebookers believe about Facebook but Facebookers know are laughably way off?
There are certain claims about Facebook (or any big company, really) that get repeated over and over again, but that folks who actually work for the company find hilarious. This Quora question brings some of them together.
What Silicon Valley really thinks about Y Combinator’s Demo Day
More than 80 startups pitched at Y Combinator’s Demo Day this week and the reactions have been mixed. Christina Farr, at Venture Beat, pulled together some of the best coverage, along with providing some context of her own.
Retro link of the week:
What we look for in founders
Given this week’s devotion to Demo Day, it seems like a perfect time to revisit Paul Graham’s essay on what he looks for in startup founders.
