Despite the fact that most of the world is in recession, there are still plenty of businesses out there making good money.
Some are treading water, managing to maintain their existing sales levels. Some are doing very well, and despite the downturn are significantly improving on last year’s sales. And a small number are positively thriving. Not surprisingly (Proof: 50% of successful companies work with SoftwarePromotions!) some of the latter category are our clients.
The same thing is going on in the murky world of startups, and for those fortunate enough to be thriving, Google have a new offering.
Google ventures has ‘tens of millions’ of dollars to invest:
“Our team includes entrepreneurs, investors and innovators, along with some 20,000+ exceptional Googlers whose breadth of knowledge, experience and creativity constitute perhaps our own most valuable resource. You don’t have to be a potential Google acquisition for us to want to work with you; we’re out to build great companies, period.”
Read that last sentence again.
For those who believe that there’s no such thing as a free lunch, here are Google saying that they may work with you for nothing. They just like building great companies. Period.
If it sounds a little good to be true, that’s because it is.
There’s a little item in the website’s disclaimer that might raise an eyebrow:
“Because of what we do, we receive a high volume of business plans, presentations, pitches, memos – you get the picture – and because these materials are often similar, because they come to us in a variety of forms, and because we read a ton of stuff, we cannot and do not accept responsibility for protecting against the misuse or disclosure of any information unless we have expressly agreed (in writing) to do so.”
Ouch. If I was operating a startup I think I’d be looking for other options.
Funding is drying up, there’s no doubt about it. But there are still a lot of investors looking for opportunities to plant and nurture their money.
If I was a cynic, I might assume that the idea of Google Ventures was to feed the egos of people who want to be somehow associated with Google. Be careful when following the bright light.
