So, having just dropped the kids off at school a few hours ago, I encountered a big ugly garbage truck. It was blocking the road and I was forced to wait. I am impatient so I didn't wait long. I don't personally write out the bills so I was unaware who collected our garbage...turns out its RSS! I laughed out loud. No, I haven't given up on RSS, far from it, as my new gig will utilize it in a variety of ways. But as far as moving on to a new chapter in my professional life, with things really heating up for the Pump Networks team this week, I found it ironic enough to stop the car and snap the photo.
At Attensa we've raised some $12 MM to date, and I'm going to guess based on press releases that NewsGator has raised around $20 MM and KnowNow (for this effort anyway) raised about $10 MM. For all of the companies one thing I know for sure, it is not nearly enough. Not even close. The opportunity is the enterprise and it has always taken tens of millions and very long sales cycles. The real bitch with enterprise RSS is that only a few investors are drinking the Kool-Aid; Mobius, RSS Investors, SmartForest, MastHead, KPCB and a few others. I've been in the business a long time and I can attest to this - enterprise RSS does not impress investors. Investors don't see the "pain." Companies, they DO see it, the inquiries from major corporations are considerable. Having the necessary capital to go after the business however is the hard part.
All of us (though for the record I left Attensa in April) have done a lot of pitching about not only the future of RSS in the enterprise, but that it is in fact here now. It is still early, and there remains a lot of tire-kicking, but the potential is clearly huge. Unfortunately, and in my opinion, the vast majority of venture folks see RSS as a big garbage truck driving by and pay it no attention. At least I took a picture.
American Cancer Society SAO Oregon Zoo El Gaucho
