… and it happens everyday - different people and different businesses. A year and change ago, I was asked to make an investment in a venture – a couple of smart technologist with previous management experience creating a VOIP related company. I knew the entrepreneurs and was absolutely convinced that they are smart and dedicated.

enjoyed playing 80’s New Wave and Alternative music which I found on my study abroad trips to Europe. Yesterday I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Tony DeMaio for the emerging Internet radio company, BigMediaUSA, for his program Ugotta Get Funded . A number of Pasadena Angels have been interviewed about the

For example, we did a huge user testing study where we tested over a dozen e-commerce web sites. One of the challenges of using Web analytics techniques to improve a site's performance is that Web analytics can only measure what's there - not what's missing. In working with two new clients I found that the most of their key indicators in Google Analytics were fine, but revenue was below their potential.

The drop follows double digit gains throughout 2007 and the first half of 2008 in year-to-year ecommerce sales. Among the winners in e-commerce for 2007: video games, consoles, and accessories, which saw increases of 29% year to year in sales; homes, garden, and furniture, with 25%; and sports and fitness also at 25%. A new report released this morning find that retail e-commerce sales dropped in Q4 by 3 percent, as the dismal economy began to affect the online retail sector. According to comScore, which tracks e-commerce spending, Q4 of 2008 was the first quarter of negative growth

The Angel Capital Association reported this week that investing activity by angel investments groups dropped by nine percent between 2008 and 2007, and 40 percent of angel groups expect overall investment to decrease again this year. The group, which released its ACA Angel Group Confidence Report this week, also found that the average group investment per deal was $276,918 in 2008, with total invested by groups in 2008 averaging at $1.77M. Individual group totals were not broken out.

A new study of the financial outcomes for Southern California venture-backed companies in the IT sector finds that approximately $48 billion in value has been created by those companies over the period 1995-2009. The study, conducted by Jon Funk of OceanRoad Partners , includes data from socalTECH.com's proprietary venture database , Dow Jones/VentureSource, and Greg Martin of Redpoint Ventures . Funk Funk initiated the study last fall to create an historical statistical analysis of the financial outcomes for the region's venture-backed information technology companies.

Andrew: Ok, alright, year not year 7 but 2007 which was I think year four of the business, or year three of the business. If you like my interview, please vote for it on my favorite news site. --Andrew Andrew In 2003, Siamak Taghaddos and his friend, David Hauser, launched a voicemail service.

Cost Per Click (CPC) or Download (CPD) – As the name implies, advertisers pay only for clicks on its advertisements or when a user downloads its software, case study or whitepaper. For example, RevUpNet , an online marketing agency I Co-Founded with Ben Kiblinger in 2007 and currently act as an addVisor , prides itself in establishing revenue sharing relationships in which it is rewarded when it drives incremental revenue for its clients.  “I know half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, but I can never find out which half.” John Wanamaker

A study of online search terms, released this week by comScore, is finding that the turmoil in the financial market is not only taking its toll on consumer's pocketbooks, but also their online search behavior. The report, which compared the total number of searches for the terms between December 2007 and December 2008, found that there was an increase of 206% in people searching for the term "unemployment", a 156% increase in people searching on the term "bankruptcy", and 247^ increase in people looking for the term "unemployment benefits" year to year. According to the report, based on December 2008 search data, there has been a huge increase in online searches for such terms as "coupons", "unemployment", "bankruptcy", and "foreclosure".

A study of the venture capital deal flow in Southern California conducted by socalTECH shows that venture capital deals dropped for Q3, to around $720M in deals, in a market dominated by clean technology firms. invested in Q3 of 2007, and down slightly from venture numbers in Q2, when there was approximately $966M in venture deals. The The numbers, which were drawn from venture deals tracked and reported in socalTECH's proprietary venture capital database, found that there was $719.7M in venture capital deals in the third quarter, down dramatically from $1.2B