Jim Cramer, StartupAlpha.com: Bootstrap Tech Ventures in Silicon Alley
By DONNA BOGATIN • Jun 9th, 2008 • Category: CONFERENCE CIRCUIT
Irony of Web 2.0 ironies! Just as Silicon Valley bankrolls another flashy mashup determined to solve the purportedly pesky problem of ”San Francisco nightlife discovery”, one of the original Silicon Alley pioneers laments how the West Coast has dropped the ball on “solving the big problems of mankind.”
Who needs Silicon Valley after all, given West Coast VCs are content to throw money at “me-too” Web 2.0 entertainment plays with no greater vision than (long shot) quests to be the “next Guitar Hero.“
Who says? Jim Cramer. I enjoyed breakfast with my fellow Internet 1.0 veteran this morning, poolside at the exclusive Soho House rooftop lounge.
Cramer founded TheStreet.com in 1996 in New York City; In 1997, I created the first Internet For Entrepreneurs Workshop in the Big Apple, on behalf of the SCORE division of the Small Business Administration, and founded my own Web venture, also still doing deals: UrbanSavings.com.
In a discussion hosted by TheStreet.com’s latest property, MainStreet.com, Kramer underscored how real technology innovation is NOT being fueled by trendy Silicon Valley, but within a mistakenly overlooked middle America focused on developing the stuff our future will be built upon: Engines for hybrid cars and energy-efficient building infrastructure systems.
Contrary to conventional lore, the best engineers are NOT flocking to Silicon Valley and the world’s future “new-tech” big investment opportunities will NOT be West-Coast based, Kramer projected.
What about Silicon Alley, I asked Kramer. The East Coast holds promise for Web content plays willing to “start on a shoestring” and “fill a need” not being met by mainstream publishers, Kramer told me. In other words, BOOTSTRAP!
I AGREE! As Founder & CEO of StartupAlpha.com, I hosted the inaugural Internet Week lunch last Tuesday: “How To Launch Your Silicon Alley Startup For $198.” Dozens of technology entrepreneurs and startup founders joined me for a Bootstrap Workshop picnic in Bryant Park for strategy brainstorming, alliance building and self-financing growth.
SEE PHOTOS OF STARTUPALPHA.COM BOOTSTRAPPING EVENT
ALSO: DO YOU HAVE AN ONLINE STARTUP, OR AN IDEA FOR ONE? PITCH YOUR VENTURE HERE FREE AT THE STARTUPAPLPHA.COM FREE PITCH NETWORK!
Jim Cramer Photo: Copyright Donna Bogatin
DONNA BOGATIN is the Founder & CEO of STARTUP ALPHA
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