Silicon Valley after a Microsoft/Yahoo merger: a contrarian view | Hacker News Reader

Silicon Valley after a Microsoft/Yahoo merger: a contrarian view

blog.pmarca.com

35 points__12 comments

god bless Andreesen. As someone who actually used to use Mosaic, I feel vaguely vindicated that he is not, in fact, a dumbass.

Disney, in particular, looks to be set to go on a rampage. Internally it's pretty clear that some dead weight needs to go, and new talent is finally being purchased at market price -- Pixar was the top of the slope.

As far as I can tell, Yahoo would be a very expensive albatross for Microsoft. And I'm just fine with that. Meanwhile the rest of the field remains free to innovate and shoot for Teh Next Google status/mindshare.

Other than Club Penguin and Pixar, has Disney done any acquisitions recently? These are the only two substantive ones I know of, but maybe there are more on the smaller scale?

Most computer graphics artists in the film and adverting industry work on short contracts. Typically, film animators are contracted per film, or are contracted in later phases, as the project scales. Additionally, computer animation HR departments are accustommed to doing visa paperwork. So, you've got a huge pool of global talent which sloshes around a shortlist of companies. If you get a string of hit films then you'll attract talent, grow organically and hopefully perpetuate hits.

Pixar's deal with Disney gives it access to Beuna Vista's distribution. Without that, Pixar would have grown organically. Disney acquisitions will be outside of film and animation.

They're planning more.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/28/new-group-at-disney-to-...

Ah yes. Now I remember... It will be very interesting to see where they go with this.

I'm sorry, who thinks Marc Andreessen is a dumbass?

I found this line interesting:

"were tiny enough that Yahoo didn't even have to disclose the purchase prices"

What's that amount? Does anyone have a sense of how high an acquisition price can be before it MUST be disclosed?

"the best way to get bought is to not be for sale."

Worth it's weight in gold!

The startup I worked for previously was so obsessed with making the right noises and preparing themselves to be acquired that they forgot all about usability, reliability and making a product that actually made a difference to the user's work flow. And they are still waiting to be acquired 4 years after they began.

From the article "most startups that start with the goal of getting bought, fail."

Hmm. Startups that aim to get bought fail before this happens. However, few startups float. The majority are bought and the remainder stay private. So, the best way to maximise your return is to avoid being bought, even if it is the most likely option. That is a paradox.

Nice to see him doing some substantive blog posts again.

the only prob I have with the article is that it doesn't mention the open source projects that yahoo provides with either developers, money, or both.

these projects are either important to starups now or will be in the near future

great post. i think the point about the merger being a huge distraction for goog/msft/yhoo is also important for startups that cough might be making competitors to things large companies might also be working on :)

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