RSS
When You Rely On A Single Source For All Your Business, You're In Trouble
from the it's-that-simple dept
TechCrunch points us to a story that I had to triple-check wasn't an early April Fool's release, concerning a Canadian internet company named GeoSign that supposedly raised $160 million a year ago to fuel its Google ad arbitrage play, only to have it all collapse in a year, in part due to Google finally hitting back against arbitragers. The story is fascinating on a number of points -- from the idea of putting $160 million into what was clearly a fluke (though, it sounds like the VC probably pulled most of that money out of the company) to the fact that the company's collapse (and massive layoffs) happened just months after the $160 million was closed. However, the key point was that all of the company's revenue came from a single arbitrage play: buying Google keywords and sending people to landing pages with Yahoo ads on them. When Google pulled the plug (as it should have), the entire revenue line disappeared. While there are plenty of firms that rely solely on Google for traffic (and even sue when that traffic goes away), this should be a clear reminder to anyone: if you are totally reliant on a single company for your business to work out, you're probably in trouble. No good business is built entirely off a single supplier or revenue source.
8 Comments | Leave a Comment..
- If Google Is Serious About Reforming Patent Mess, It Should Make A Bold Statement And Stop Using Motorola Patents To Demand Cash
- One Reason Why The USPTO Granted Ridiculously Stupid Internet Patents: Patent Examiners Were Banned From Using The Internet
- The Web Is Saved: East Texas Jury Says Eolas Patents Are Invalid
- Tim Berners-Lee In Court To Try To Prevent Patent Troll Eolas From Patenting Key Web Concepts
- Ex-FTC Officials Remind Current FTC Officials That They're Supposed To Protect Consumers, Not Competitors
Reader Comments (rss)
(Flattened / Threaded)
You mean...
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Who's in trouble?
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
That's why smart suppliers...
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Good Work Google
Build rich unique content sites and Google will embrace you.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: You mean...
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: You mean...
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Relying on a single source for your Business Needs!
Thanks again for a brilliant post.
Regards:
Tina
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Add Your Comment