I was reading through Marc Canter's new DLA article and noticed that Valerie Cunningham was also listed with Tony Perkins. A search on Valerie led me to this wonderful insight. The "Search the Future" paragraph below is amazingly profound.

So like the proverbial lemmings to the cliff, invariably the business models of many recent consumer-focused startups highlight advertising as a major revenue stream. Many are actually distributors of Google syndicated ads, ads much like the ones which surround the blog post you are reading now. This is not to say there is fault with this approach. However, one must be realistic regarding the sustainability of this revenue stream and the ultimate value to the consumer of ad-soaked content. Pick up a newspaper or a popular magazine and see how close new new media is to mainstream media in terms of ad placements. Everything old is new again. The so-called demise of mass media advertising is simply overblown. It has changed, that is quite certain. But wherever masses of consumers gather to consume media (or publish it), advertising opportunities will abound. The difference these days is that you will get embedded ads which are more likely to personally annoy you rather than ones that are easier to ignore. Progess?

Search The Future ...
When building a company, everyone starts out with an initial idea and vision of the future. Sometimes that idea is huge, and sometimes it is simply a germ of a much bigger idea. In any case, the world is filled with ideas, large and small, good and bad, original notions and cheap imitations. The entrepreneur's ability to focus resources and efforts on truly unique and fundamentally valuable ideas is what separates highly successful ventures from those which simply "go through the motions" and consume investor capital.

The difficult question to answer as a company founder is, "Is this venture a company, a product, or just a feature?" By fundamentally understanding this, it is possible to direct efforts at the proper level and with the correct players, and avoid wasting everyone's time and resources. The romantic emotionalism of an independent venture is quickly soured by the harsh reality of a term sheet that accurately spells out these stark differences. This is not the easiest way to learn, but many company founders have gained this knowledge in precisely such a blunt manner.

So the advice here is to be both honest and optimistic. Look carefully at the value chain and your company's role in it. Put the egoism on hold (but it will come in handy later during company promotions) and search the future for how the world will be different when your company is operational and is part of the value chain. Do not take too many leaps of faith, but a couple well timed jumps can get you very far very quickly. And try not to work without a good net, i.e. actively build a support network of partners, customers, advisors, and ultimately, investors.