I just sat on a panel at a local “boot camp” event for entrepreneurs; probably about 250 attendees. Our panel topic was “Opportunities in Media and Telecom Convergence” with myself, an exec from a prominent local company that provides mobile phone & app distribution, and 2 VC’s. The VC’s were pretty well versed in the space and had about $300 Million between them; at least one was of the sort that might actually invest in a very small deal. And there was at least one more VC in the audience, who does only small early stage deals. Definintely a TRE for an aspiring entrepreneur.
The market opportunity around this topic is, to put it mildly, ENORMOUS. US telecom spend is about $875 Billion (!!) a year, and the media market is so large it’s undefinable. Both markets are being transformed by convergence and new technologies and concepts. Tens or hundrerds of billions in spending will be redistributed in this space before the end of the decade, and who knows how many billions in wealth will be created.
And …….We had maybe *3 dozen* attendees in our room. (!!!!!) Meanwhile, a session next door entitled “Opportunities in Web 2.0″ was overflowing. The panel had nobody in particular on it, and with all due respect to those guys, nobody who would be of any real help to a startup.I challenge them (or anyone) to define any tangible market for “Web 2.0″ – it’s a buzzword, and an old one at that – O’Reilly picked up the phrase about 4 years ago to define concepts born years before that. But like lemmings they flocked to seek out fame and fortune in a buzzword. And ignored one the largest market opportunities in history and a room flush with expertise and dollars to chase it.
I learned a lesson today about the power of a buzzword that people think is cool. I think PT Barnum must have had a similar epiphany.
Posted by hbart 
