This just in off Business 2.0 site An article on had this: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2006/09/01/8384349/index.htm?postversion=2006102617 20 Smart Companies to Start Now Howard Schultz, Steve Case, Vinod Khosla, and other major investors are sharing their best startup ideas. And they're willing to give a collective $100 million to the entrepreneurs who can make them happen. ------------------- Helping Vlogs to Flog
The Investor: Steve Krausz, general partner, U.S. Venture Partners What he's backed: PodTech Network, Verity, Vontu What he wants now: A matchmaking site that brings new forms of advertising to one of the Web's fastest-growing new phenomena, the video blog. Popular vlog Rocketboom got the concept off the ground earlier this year by auctioning off 15-second house-produced ads at the end of its Web newscasts; then-host Amanda Congdon also wore T-shirts from startups eager for exposure. Krausz wants a startup that can offer a clearinghouse of placement opportunities from major advertisers like Apple (Charts) and Nike (Charts) - from 10-second trailers to insertion of products in the creative. Videos would be subject to screening and approval by the advertiser, but Krausz thinks that's a service that could eventually be outsourced. Payment to vloggers could be negotiated any number of ways: They could receive fees based on impressions, click-throughs, or both. The startup, of course, would take a healthy cut. "It would allow this explosion of user-generated content to get an additional revenue stream," Krausz says. "Nothing like this exists yet." What he'll invest: $2 million for a proof-of-concept site and sign-on from a handful of top advertisers Send your pitch to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- S.H.
