startup

Venture capital seems to be the most expensive sort of capital out there. True, they expect monetary return for their investment, and this can come at quite a cost. But the power they have over the startup company might be an even higher cost. The highest of these costs is probably the "CEO eject button."

It seems like the real tech success stories are short term. While there are a few lasting corporate dynasties, it's the little guys that are most interesting. YouTube is a great example. The original owners made it big in about a year, then sold out to Google for a small fortune. 3com, once an industry networking innovator and leader, is now an afterthought. The original founder is quite well off, though, and is in no way inconvenienced by the current fate of his former company. Digg, del.icio.us, flickr, and all the other Web 2.0 innovators that are snapped up by Yahoo! are the real winners.