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Accel and Benchmark have completed a $12 million investment into Israeli start-up Zlango. Maybe I'm just not getting it, because immediate thoughts are:
[Update]
So I asked Judy (Gibbons) of Accel this afternoon about the Zlango investment. She gave me a plausible explanation of the capital deployment and revenue model. I don't think Accel would thank me for discussing here, but she's addressed my key questions: why $12 million and where's the revenue model.
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Face it Jason, you're getting too old to understand the youth market. :-)
Posted by: fukumimi | February 22, 2007 at 03:40 AM
No doubt about that. :-)
It's the venture "economics" that has me scratching my head. Maybe I've been in Europe too long and have become a cynic...
Posted by: Jason Ball | February 22, 2007 at 07:18 AM
lets not forget that benchmark invested in second life. arguably this is far more useful.
Posted by: ming666 | February 22, 2007 at 11:00 AM
Useful, perhaps. Able to generate revenue, big question mark.
Even if they're selling/licensing to operators, I can't see the multi-million dollar revenue stream here.
Habbo hotel should have hit the $70 million mark last year. I'm guessing that Second Life is going to be behind that (b/c that's a serious revenue stream), but revenue generating nonetheless. I'd be very surprised if zlango can produce those levels of revenue.
Posted by: Jason Ball | February 22, 2007 at 09:23 PM
have to say i don't get it either. this is marginally interesting - even according to my three kids. its like second life - i am just waiting for the clown to pop out of the screen and reveal that all this has been a joke that i am not privy to.
Also if anyone has seen the fabulous Jean Shepard story/movie called, "A Christmas Story" you might remember that the 11 year old protaganist uses a decoder ring very much like this to decode a message from little orphan annie. the message ends up being "always drink your ovaltine" - Will that be the revenue model? pictographic coded adverts?
when do we get back to building killer systems!
Posted by: ming666 | February 24, 2007 at 10:42 AM
You must have gone through a lot of trouble trying to write "Me say zlango no worth 12 million money" in zlango language, instead of just typing it.
If so... then isn't this a clear sign that this investment will fail ?
(thank god you also wrote the words under the icons so i could understand what you wanted to say!)
Posted by: George S. | February 24, 2007 at 11:03 AM
Yes, it was relatively painful.
Posted by: Jason Ball | February 24, 2007 at 08:02 PM