I’d like to announce the final set of speakers for our upcoming GamesBeat@GDC executive game conference. The event is set for March 10 in San Francisco at the Game Developers Conference in the Moscone Convention Center.
Peter Relan, chairman of Crowdstar, Sibblingz, and Aurora Feint. He will appear in our panel on Disruptive Game Platforms. Relan is the Chairman of popular social gaming company CrowdStar, creator of Happy Aquarium and Happy Pets. He is also the founder and chairman of YouWeb, the incubator behind Aurora Feint: maker of OpenFeint, the iPhone’s fastest growing social gaming network; and Sibblingz, a company building a multi-channel social gaming platform for developers. Relan has spent the last 25 years in Silicon Valley in the networking, software, consumer and mobile services industry, both as product development executive at Oracle and Hewlett Packard and as a serial entrepreneur. Relan is also an active angel investor in, and board member and advisor to, a number of early stage companies.
Mark Friedler, business consultant and publisher of Industry Gamers. He will moderate our panel on a Sea of Mobile Devices. Friedler is a serial entrepreneur who has founded and sold three companies. He started GameDaily and grew it to one of world’s largest video games websites and ad networks. It was acquired by TimeWarner AOL in 2006. He was an AOL executive until late 2007. Previously, he founded Gigex, the leading download service for game and software demos. He started Internet content delivery company V-Cast, Inc, which was acquired by Verizon Wireless. He spent six years in Europe where he was Managing Director of Teleworld, a division of Philips Media, that operated interactive TV services with MTV. His first business was a cookie store chain in Sweden. Friedler consults with a variety of companies building their businesses. He is also an investor and board member of several Internet companies.
Here’s a review of our theme for the conference:
Disruption 2.0. We’ll focus on the next disruptions that will happen in the video game industry. In the past couple of years, social games with virtual goods business models have proved themselves and shaken up the status quo. The iPhone has become a hot platform, and Apple hopes to extend further into games with the iPad. Digital distribution and online games are growing. Will these trends gather more momentum and prove to be sustainable, or will new platforms and business models disrupt the disruptors?
The big game companies and brands are maneuvering into the market, even as successful startups are consolidating their gains and acquiring companies. Are console game makers poised to make a comeback as the recession ends? As growth returns to the industry in 2010, who will be poised to take market share and define the next-generation of games? Game companies that are doing the disrupting, adapting and growing will be speaking at the conference.
Who’s Got Game contest: The deadline has passed for our contest for best game startup. We received a total of 39 entries online and the judges are doing their initial evaluations now. The top finalists will appear on stage at GamesBeat@GDC before a panel of expert judges. Those judges will select the final winner.
For more conference info, check out our GamesBeat 2010 web site and our Facebook Group for GamesBeat@GDC. The full agenda is now posted at both of those locations. Our sponsors include the Georgia Department of Economic Development, PlaySpan, AdMob, and hi5.
mandag 1. mars 2010
Ask the attorney: What the heck is Class F stock?
(Editor’s note: “Ask the Attorney” is a weekly VentureBeat feature allowing start-up owners to get answers to their legal questions. Submit yours in the comments below and look for answers in the coming weeks. Author Scott Edward Walker is the founder and CEO of Walker Corporate Law Group, PLLC, a boutique corporate law firm specializing in the representation of entrepreneurs.)
Question: My buddy and I are launching a new venture, and we’ve read some articles on the web about incorporating in Delaware and other things we need to do from the legal side. One issue that came up that we don’t understand is Class F stock, which we read about on a couple of blogs. What is Class F stock and do you think we should be utilizing it?
Answer: This issue has come-up quite a bit recently with a few of my new clients. “Class F” stock is a special class of common stock that was designed by The Founder Institute (with the assistance of Yokum Taku, a smart Silicon Valley lawyer) to protect founders.
The “F” is for “Founders” – but it really doesn’t matter what you call it: Class H, Class Q or Class X. The key point is that a separate class of common stock is issued to the founders upon incorporation with the following special rights (as set forth in the sample certificate of incorporation on the Founder Institute’s website):
Super-voting rights (10 votes per share);
Certain protective rights similar to those that preferred stockholders are generally granted (e.g., the consent of a majority of the Class F holders is required for the company to enter into a “Liquidation Event”); and
The right to elect a director that has two votes on the Board (not one).
The advantage of issuing Class F Stock is that it arguably levels the playing field for founders in connection with their negotiations with investors. When investors present their term sheets, founders will own not only typical shares of common stock (referred to as “Class A” in the certificate of incorporation), but also shares of Class F stock, which could give entrepreneurs additional negotiating leverage.
The disadvantage of Class F Stock is that it may scare investors away. It’s tough enough for start-ups to raise capital these days; throwing Class F stock in the equation may make your company less attractive. Moreover, the added complexity of issuing Class F stock increases your legal fees both at the incorporation stage and at the funding.
The bottom line is that the issuance of Class F Stock is relatively new and uncommon. Accordingly, in the current economic environment (where money is scarce and investors generally have the leverage), Class F Stock probably only makes sense for successful, serial entrepreneurs who are going to have lots of investors interested in their venture. For first-time entrepreneurs, it probably makes sense to keep it simple and just issue ordinary shares of common stock.
That being said, I tip my hat off to Adeo Ressi, the founder of the Founder Institute, for his efforts. Having spent the bulk of my career doing large M&A transactions in New York City, I was surprised to see how complex and pro-investor the standard VC financing documents are. Clearly, any effort to level the playing field is a net plus for entrepreneurs.
Disclaimer: This “Ask the Attorney” post discusses general legal issues, but it does not constitute legal advice in any respect. No reader should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information presented herein without seeking the advice of counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. VentureBeat, the author and the author’s firm expressly disclaim all liability in respect of any actions taken or not taken based on any contents of this post.
Tags: ask the attorney
Question: My buddy and I are launching a new venture, and we’ve read some articles on the web about incorporating in Delaware and other things we need to do from the legal side. One issue that came up that we don’t understand is Class F stock, which we read about on a couple of blogs. What is Class F stock and do you think we should be utilizing it?
Answer: This issue has come-up quite a bit recently with a few of my new clients. “Class F” stock is a special class of common stock that was designed by The Founder Institute (with the assistance of Yokum Taku, a smart Silicon Valley lawyer) to protect founders.
The “F” is for “Founders” – but it really doesn’t matter what you call it: Class H, Class Q or Class X. The key point is that a separate class of common stock is issued to the founders upon incorporation with the following special rights (as set forth in the sample certificate of incorporation on the Founder Institute’s website):
Super-voting rights (10 votes per share);
Certain protective rights similar to those that preferred stockholders are generally granted (e.g., the consent of a majority of the Class F holders is required for the company to enter into a “Liquidation Event”); and
The right to elect a director that has two votes on the Board (not one).
The advantage of issuing Class F Stock is that it arguably levels the playing field for founders in connection with their negotiations with investors. When investors present their term sheets, founders will own not only typical shares of common stock (referred to as “Class A” in the certificate of incorporation), but also shares of Class F stock, which could give entrepreneurs additional negotiating leverage.
The disadvantage of Class F Stock is that it may scare investors away. It’s tough enough for start-ups to raise capital these days; throwing Class F stock in the equation may make your company less attractive. Moreover, the added complexity of issuing Class F stock increases your legal fees both at the incorporation stage and at the funding.
The bottom line is that the issuance of Class F Stock is relatively new and uncommon. Accordingly, in the current economic environment (where money is scarce and investors generally have the leverage), Class F Stock probably only makes sense for successful, serial entrepreneurs who are going to have lots of investors interested in their venture. For first-time entrepreneurs, it probably makes sense to keep it simple and just issue ordinary shares of common stock.
That being said, I tip my hat off to Adeo Ressi, the founder of the Founder Institute, for his efforts. Having spent the bulk of my career doing large M&A transactions in New York City, I was surprised to see how complex and pro-investor the standard VC financing documents are. Clearly, any effort to level the playing field is a net plus for entrepreneurs.
Disclaimer: This “Ask the Attorney” post discusses general legal issues, but it does not constitute legal advice in any respect. No reader should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information presented herein without seeking the advice of counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. VentureBeat, the author and the author’s firm expressly disclaim all liability in respect of any actions taken or not taken based on any contents of this post.
Tags: ask the attorney
"Brev til Jackie" formidler US hjertesorg
Når USAs president John F. Kennedy ble myrdet nesten 50 år siden, etterlot han en nasjon lamslått av sorg og full av spørsmål.
Qualys launches cloud-based scanner to detect drive-by malware on your site
Drive-by malware has become a huge problem lately. That’s where hackers use a vulnerability in your web site to embed malware within it. Then, anyone who visits your site will download the malware onto their computers.
That’s why Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Qualys is launching two new services today. The first one is Qualys Guard Malware Detection, a free cloud-based service that scans your site to determine if you’re a victim of a drive by and your site has inadvertantly become a distributor of malware. The software also cleans up the malware and provides you with automated alerts. It identifies the snippets of bad code so that you can immediately remove it.
The second is Go Secure, a paid service that lets companies take more actions to protect themselves. For $995 a year, the service checks to see if your web certificate is up to date, which allows for secure e-commerce. It also scans for other vulnerabilities and reviews your web applications for vulnerabilities. If you subscribe and pass muster, you get a security seal on your site. If your site is hit with an attack, the security badge is removed and then automatically reinstated when the site is cleaned up.
Qualys was originally founded in 1999 to pioneer a software-as-a-service model for security software. The Qualys Guard service is used by 4,000 companies.Qualys itself now has $57 million in revenues and 42 percent of Fortune 100 companies are using its security software. The company has 240 employees and has raised $65 million to date.
Philippe Courtot, chief executive and chairman, said in an interview that the software is highly accurate, with only 3.2 errors for every 1 million scans. It can also scan millions of URLs daily. Courtot said there are built-in protections to make sure that the scanning does not slow down a site so it is unresponsive.
The software uses both static analysis and behavioral analysis to identify malware while scanning. The static analysis identifies the source code that is typically used in malicious attacks, such as encoded JavaScript, web bugs, and character encoding inside of inline frames. Behavioral analysis catches behavior that occurs when visiting a site with an unpatched browser or operating system. It monitors the unpatched machine for suspicious behavior, such as programs being installed or files being written to a hard disk.
Rivals include Dasient.
That’s why Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Qualys is launching two new services today. The first one is Qualys Guard Malware Detection, a free cloud-based service that scans your site to determine if you’re a victim of a drive by and your site has inadvertantly become a distributor of malware. The software also cleans up the malware and provides you with automated alerts. It identifies the snippets of bad code so that you can immediately remove it.
The second is Go Secure, a paid service that lets companies take more actions to protect themselves. For $995 a year, the service checks to see if your web certificate is up to date, which allows for secure e-commerce. It also scans for other vulnerabilities and reviews your web applications for vulnerabilities. If you subscribe and pass muster, you get a security seal on your site. If your site is hit with an attack, the security badge is removed and then automatically reinstated when the site is cleaned up.
Qualys was originally founded in 1999 to pioneer a software-as-a-service model for security software. The Qualys Guard service is used by 4,000 companies.Qualys itself now has $57 million in revenues and 42 percent of Fortune 100 companies are using its security software. The company has 240 employees and has raised $65 million to date.
Philippe Courtot, chief executive and chairman, said in an interview that the software is highly accurate, with only 3.2 errors for every 1 million scans. It can also scan millions of URLs daily. Courtot said there are built-in protections to make sure that the scanning does not slow down a site so it is unresponsive.
The software uses both static analysis and behavioral analysis to identify malware while scanning. The static analysis identifies the source code that is typically used in malicious attacks, such as encoded JavaScript, web bugs, and character encoding inside of inline frames. Behavioral analysis catches behavior that occurs when visiting a site with an unpatched browser or operating system. It monitors the unpatched machine for suspicious behavior, such as programs being installed or files being written to a hard disk.
Rivals include Dasient.
Check Point launches ZoneAlarm DataLock to protect laptops and netbooks
Just like laptops, netbooks are easy to steal. So security software maker Check Point Software Technologies is launching software that can protect your data even if the laptop or netbook is stolen.
The ZoneAlarm DataLock software is designed to encrypt laptops and netbooks so that they’re useless to whoever steals them.
A survey by Harris Interactive revealed that 56 percent of laptop owners would be concerned if their personal data was stolen, but only 10 percent of them use encryption to protect their files. Mostly that’s an education issue. But the software hasn’t been that easy to install either.
Redwood City, Calif.-based Check Point focused on making the software easy to handle. It automatically encrypts all hard drive content, including credit card numbers, personal photos, social security information, financial documents, medical records and other important data. ZoneAlarm DataLock also safeguards information that users forget about, such as automatically stored passwords and things that they’ve thrown into the recycle bin — but still isn’t flushed from the system’s storage. (Hint, you have to empty your recycle bin periodically).
Users have to provide the correct username and password before they boot the operating system on the computer. If you forget the password, ZoneAlarm has a 24-hour per day password recovery phone service. ZoneAlarm DataLock by Check Point sells for $29.95 but can now be purchased from the ZoneAlarm web site for an introductory price of $19.95.
Check Point Software Technologies, a publicly traded software firm, bought Zone Alarm six years ago. Back then, the company had firewall software that offered basic protection for a computer. Zone Alarm now protects more than 60 million computers.
ZoneAlarm competes with rivals such as Symantec and McAfee.
The ZoneAlarm DataLock software is designed to encrypt laptops and netbooks so that they’re useless to whoever steals them.
A survey by Harris Interactive revealed that 56 percent of laptop owners would be concerned if their personal data was stolen, but only 10 percent of them use encryption to protect their files. Mostly that’s an education issue. But the software hasn’t been that easy to install either.
Redwood City, Calif.-based Check Point focused on making the software easy to handle. It automatically encrypts all hard drive content, including credit card numbers, personal photos, social security information, financial documents, medical records and other important data. ZoneAlarm DataLock also safeguards information that users forget about, such as automatically stored passwords and things that they’ve thrown into the recycle bin — but still isn’t flushed from the system’s storage. (Hint, you have to empty your recycle bin periodically).
Users have to provide the correct username and password before they boot the operating system on the computer. If you forget the password, ZoneAlarm has a 24-hour per day password recovery phone service. ZoneAlarm DataLock by Check Point sells for $29.95 but can now be purchased from the ZoneAlarm web site for an introductory price of $19.95.
Check Point Software Technologies, a publicly traded software firm, bought Zone Alarm six years ago. Back then, the company had firewall software that offered basic protection for a computer. Zone Alarm now protects more than 60 million computers.
ZoneAlarm competes with rivals such as Symantec and McAfee.
LG LG9400 Maxx bringer 1 GHz godhet til Sør-Korea
The LG KM900 Arena får en erstatning - LG LG9400 Maxx (AKA Arena Maxx). Det er lansering i Sør-Korea for LG Telecom, men hvis vi er heldig og spise våre grønnsaker det bare kunne hodet ut til resten ...
New York Times to appear on big displays at coffee shops and other venues
The New York Times and RMG Networks are launching a venture where the newspaper’s web site will appear on digital displays in coffee shops and other locations in five major cities.
The NYTimes.com web site will appear on more than 800 screens in business district cafes and eateries in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and San Francisco. That’s a subset of more than 60,000 screens that RMG (formerly known as Danoo) has nationwide.
People standing in line waiting to get their coffee can look at the screens to see headlines and a sentence or two of the stories, as well as photos and some videos too.
Viewers can go to www.NYT2day.com on their mobile devices to view the same articles displayed on the screens. Gary McGuire, chief executive of RMG, said that the company’s strategy is to offer the best video entertainment and information it can to engage people while they’re on the run. That’s increasingly necessary in an age when viewers aren’t sitting still in front of their TVs to watch 30-second commercials anymore.
On a monthly basis, the New York Times can reach six million people on the run through the 800 locations, McGuire said. Murray Gaylord, vice president of marketing at NYTimes.com, said that the screens are a way to extend the company’s brand to business professionals in key markets.
RMG pipes in the pages to the screens via broadband Internet connections. It can send messages and coupons to the phones of the people standing in line, as long as they turn their Bluetooth radios to reception mode. Through its 60,000 screens, RMG Networks says it can reach 25 million people a month. RMG’s investors include National CineMedia and Kleiner Perkins.
The NYTimes.com web site will appear on more than 800 screens in business district cafes and eateries in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and San Francisco. That’s a subset of more than 60,000 screens that RMG (formerly known as Danoo) has nationwide.
People standing in line waiting to get their coffee can look at the screens to see headlines and a sentence or two of the stories, as well as photos and some videos too.
Viewers can go to www.NYT2day.com on their mobile devices to view the same articles displayed on the screens. Gary McGuire, chief executive of RMG, said that the company’s strategy is to offer the best video entertainment and information it can to engage people while they’re on the run. That’s increasingly necessary in an age when viewers aren’t sitting still in front of their TVs to watch 30-second commercials anymore.
On a monthly basis, the New York Times can reach six million people on the run through the 800 locations, McGuire said. Murray Gaylord, vice president of marketing at NYTimes.com, said that the screens are a way to extend the company’s brand to business professionals in key markets.
RMG pipes in the pages to the screens via broadband Internet connections. It can send messages and coupons to the phones of the people standing in line, as long as they turn their Bluetooth radios to reception mode. Through its 60,000 screens, RMG Networks says it can reach 25 million people a month. RMG’s investors include National CineMedia and Kleiner Perkins.
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