As promised – a few thoughts on StartupWeekend now that I’ve had a chance to both get over my disappointment that we didn’t release anything on Monday morning and more importantly time to think about what worked and what didn’t work last weekend. There seems to be no lack of opinion on the subject (see the comments to the “Success and Failure” post on the StartupWeekend website and the mass of comments left on the TechCrunch article about the weekend or just do a Google search for StartupWeekend).

Overall, it was a great experience. We had an outstanding group of founders from a broad cross-section of Denver/Boulder technology companies. Andrew did a great job of facilitating the weekend without being too heavy handed (although see below for some ideas on where more structure might have benefitted the ultimate goal of the project). A lot of the people involved have posted on their blogs or elsewhere online that as a “Social Experiment” StartupWeekend was a success. I think what they mean is that we had a fun time, everyone contributed, and no-one wanted to kill anyone at the end of the weekend (which says something given that many people were operating on only a few hours sleep over the 50+ hours that the project was active). That said, if StartupWeekend is only a social experiment the concept will have pretty limited value (and a limited life – it’s fun to do once, but to make it a regular occurrence, there needs to be the realistic expectation that a ‘product’ will actually be released). Don’t get me wrong – I loved the ‘social experiment’ side of the weekend, but the goal of the project was to produce something in the period of time we were together (and capitalize on the buzz generated by the excitement around the process for the benefit of the company that was created). The journey was great, but we actually needed to get somewhere. I know Andrew wants to replicate the Boulder StartupWeekend elsewhere around the country – I’d love to see this happen and think what we learned last weekend will help make the effort in other cities more productive and ultimately more successful.

That said, VoSnap will launch – and soon. The project did live beyond the weekend and, after everyone got some sleep and returned to their Monday-Friday lives, there was a great deal of interest by the group in continuing with the project. Not just to the first launch, but beyond that (and potentially building a business around the project). When it’s up and working I’ll put up a note and link to the working site. It definitely says something both about the weekend and the group of people who participated that the project will live on beyond Monday. It’s emblematic of why the weekend was such a great experience.

Here are some summary thoughts on what worked, what didn’t work and what we might do differently when we do this again:

What worked:

• Picking the idea: We ended up with something that was realistic to do in a weekend and had the potential for legs beyond the two day project. Having a site where the founders could post ideas and doing an initial vote before we showed up on Friday night were keys to vetting the list before we even showed up (we spent around an hour picking the idea – that felt about right)
• Group dynamics: While there were plenty of type-a personalities in attendance, the group self organized really well and it was clear that people checked their egos at the door. It helped that this was a one weekend project (at least that was the thought going into it). A lot of work was done by these groups – much of it not visible to people following along on-line. PR, business development, marketing, etc. were all on their game and came up with plans/ideas that will serve the company well beyond Sunday night.
• Focusing on one project: When I looked around the room on Friday night I thought to myself “no way can this many people stay busy for the weekend”. Andrew held to his guns and insisted that we all work the same idea. He was right on – while a group of much more than this size probably wouldn’t work the weekend needs to be about ONE idea and the focus of the group needs to be singular in that respect.
• Quick meetings/quick decisions: Every hour we met for 7 minutes for an update. This is an incredibly effective way to communicate with a group w/o disrupting everyone for a long period of time. A few people have actually extended this idea beyond StartupWeekend to their day jobs. We were maniacal about keeping these short and as a result there was a lot of information conveyed at regular intervals in a very short period of time. Andrew also implemented a system of “quick votes” to make decisions (VoSnap would be perfect for this!) – the idea was to lay out the options, vote and move on. Quick votes allowed us to keep moving throughout the weekend.
• Buzz. StartupWeekend really took on a life of its own online last weekend. It started with David’s regular blog posts on www.startupweekend.com but also included the live video stream that was put up (which regularly had nearly 100 viewers), flickr photos and, of course, the TechCrunch posting. At the beginning of the weekend very few people outside of the Boulder tech community knew what StartupWeekend was and VoSnap didn’t even exist – by the end of the weekend there were hundreds of mentions online of both and tens of thousands of hits to the VoSnap site (there are more than a thousand people now on the VoSnap mailing list).

What didn’t work/what to do differently:

• The product. I guess I have to start here. On Monday we had a lot of things working, but the product wasn’t one of them (still isn’t – at least not publically). I think we should have put up whatever we had on Monday morning. On the one hand, this would have been fodder for those online who were down on the idea of creating a product over the weekend. On the other hand, it would have been true to the idea of the weekend (to create something in 2 days).
• The development process. We had a lot of great developers, but we made a bad choice of dev environments (at least in the context of putting something out in a weekend) and as a result we ended up scrapping a lot of the initial work that was done on Saturday on the product. In retrospect, we should have appointed a dev lead ahead of time, probably had the development team meet before the weekend to review the likely top candidates (based on the pre-weekend voting) and make the choice of development platforms ahead of time. The decision wouldn’t have been rushed and it would have been more well thought out. In the end, we made some choices that might have been right for the long term success of the product, but made it difficult for us to complete the first rev in time to launch on Monday. There were also a few among us that recognized this early (David, Andrew and I had this conversation on Saturday) but we (wrongly) decided to let it go.
• More developers. Out of 70 people we had probably 7 hard core developers. This ratio was too light. Many of our early stage companies are between 30% and 50% development staff. While on top of the 7 dev types, we had a handful of other people that would probably count as “engineering” in the numbers I just quoted, this imbalance set us up for some challenges (not the least of which was that development of the business plan, pr, marketing, etc pretty quickly got very far ahead of what we could do in a short period of time and probably contributed at least some to feature creep).
• Communication after the fact. During the weekend we did a great job of communicating with the outside world. Through emails, blogs, streaming video, flickr, etc, we were very open about what we were up to. A surprising amount of work has taken place since Monday, but we’ve been totally mum about it beyond the founder group (to give you a sense of the volume of email traffic, I’ve created a separate inbox just for VoSnap related email so I can see it all in one place).

I’ll end with a few pictures to give you a sense of the environment we were working in (two views of the main room and one of a stand-up product meeting).

I’ve had an ongoing series running on my blog dealing with various topics related to mergers and acquisitions (link to the full serieshere). As part of that group of posts, Daniel Benel wrote a  guest column from his perspective as an m&a professional at Verint. Yesterday he dropped me the following note: I was in a negotiation last week where the bankers on the other side had googled me and found my blog posting on your site and then started complaining that I NEVER believe projections! I thought it was pretty funny — not sure if it helped or hurt. While it’s amusing that this happened it brings up a good point about preparing for any negotiation (or fundraising pitch or customer meeting, etc.) which is that you should take a little time to figure out who it is you are meeting with. Sounds obvious, but sometimes the obvious advice is the best advice (plus I’d say that this level of preparedness is the exception rather than the norm in my experience).

Most people won’t go out on a blind date without Googling their prospective dinner partner. Don’t walk into a meeting – particularly one as important as a negotiating session to buy or sell a business – without doing some prep work. Figure out what they like; what they’ve written about; what books they are reading; what articles have been written about them; where they went to school; who they know that you know; etc. Then use this information wisely to make a better connection with the people you are dealing with. A little upfront work can lead to large dividends around the negotiating table.

Over the past week I’ve been gathering work-from-home tips from Foundry Group portfolio companies. Here are some of the best suggestions – from WFH veterans as well as some newbies quickly getting up to speed. I highlighted a few that I thought were particularly good ones.

Work Space

• Create a dedicated work space distinct from high traffic or personal areas. Make sure that it’s uncluttered, professional and comfortable. You will also want to have good lighting and A/V accessories. If a dedicated space isn’t feasible, get creative and find some workable nook in your home where you’re comfortable and can focus.
• Listen to some music. If you’re in a lot of meetings this can be hard, but try to squeeze it in when you can.
• Invest in a good desk chair. Your back will thank you. Yoga balls are cheap, available for quick delivery, and ergonomically healthy. Note: I actually stole back into our office this weekend to get my standing desk and my back is already thanking me.
• Work near a window and keep it open. The cold air is a game-changer.
• Light your favorite candle in your office.
• (For CEOs and managers): If a critical employee needs something, get it for them. Make sure people are comfortable and can be productive. If a key employee needs a monitor or a standing desk, order it for them.  
• Make occasional tweaks. Move things around in your WFH space and try something new each week. Over time you’ll discover little boosts from mixing things up. 
• Not every task necessitates a laptop or sitting at desk. Can you take that next meeting from the couch, and use your iPad for your notes? Can the meeting after that be from your phone and headphones while you take a walk? 

Routines

• Establish work routines that are similar to your in-the-office routines and will trigger you entering work mode. Start with a morning routine (breakfast, walk the dog) and ease into the work.  Similarly, it’s helpful to wrap up the working day with a routine (touch base call or email, jotting down tomorrow’s to-do list or just closing down your computer for the day). This helps you keep the two modes separate. 
• Take the time you normally would have spent commuting for a workout.
• If you have kids at home with you, establish ground rules for moving around the house and when and how you can be disturbed. Consider creating blocks of time dedicated for meetings or heads down time. By the same token, establish times when they know you’ll engage with them. That said, know that you’re in a fluid environment and chaos is bound to appear so embrace it with good humor when it comes. Note: I love that the new WFM culture embraces the occasional interruption on a Zoom or conference call from kids or pets. I’ve taken to asking my kids to come say hi when they accidentally step in on a call.
• Consider chunking up the work into bite-size intervals. Some prefer 60 to 90-minute periods while others like the shorter periods of 30 minutes. The important thing is to leave a space of time 5 to 15 minutes at the end of each period to take a break.
• Be disciplined about your calendar. This goes beyond faithfully calendaring your meetings. Set time aside for heads down work so colleagues will think twice about disturbing you. On the flip side, consider dedicating a block of time for catching up with people. 
• Drink plenty of water. Not necessarily because water is good for you, but to replace those “water cooler” moments – Grab your phone when you head to the kitchen for water/coffee breaks and try to text a friend for a few minutes.
• Stop worrying if you’re doing it right. At home you’re the office manager, so you can change things up!

Communications

• Communicate, communicate, communicate. It is even more important in a remote environment.  Use video calls as much as possible. They create a sense of community much more effectively than phone calls. To lighten things up and have a little fun, many video conferencing apps allow users to change their backgrounds. Try Gallery Mode on Zoom – it’s nice to see everyone’s smiling face in Brady Bunch mode. Also, don’t be afraid to converse on multiple levels. Chat can enhance and add nuance to teleconferences.
• Back-to-back video conferencing meetings are more draining than in-person meetings and leave little time for moving the body, staying hydrated, etc. Try shorter meetings 25 and 50 minutes, instead of 30 and 60 minutes to force people to have breaks during the day.
• Behave as if everyone is remote even if you have multiple people in the same location. Have everyone log into a video conference on their own individual computers. It levels the playing field and facilitates engagement by everyone. 
• If something isn’t solved within 3 exchanges on Slack, jump on a Zoom. A face to face conversation usually sorts things out much quicker. 
• Update your vocabulary. Out Of Office / OOO and Away from my desk are no longer meaningful in the COVID-19 era. Away from Keyboard is universally applicable.

Physical/Mental Health and Morale

• Encourage people to get outside. Spring is arriving so get out, breath in some fresh air, and soak in the energy from rebirth all around you (but keep social distancing rules in place, please!). 
• Think about the fact that you’ve been given the gift of time and place. Sure, there’s a lot that’s out of your control, but you now have more control over your time and your immediate environment. In many respects, the pace of life has slowed down. Be selfish with this newly found time and spend it with the people with whom you are close – at home or virtually. Reach out to lapsed friends or family. Finish a project. Read a book. Make the best of it.
• Regulate the amount of news you consume and pick your times to check it. Many of us are news junkies. It’s easy to get distracted and even consumed by events in the world around us. While the new information is constantly coming to light, the overall narrative rarely changes.
• As a culture/excitement perk consider sending a little something to your team. Cookies or snacks help spirits stay high and give people a little surprise. Their families appreciate it too. 
• Build social interaction into your work routines. Carve out opportunities for spontaneity with banter time at the start of regular meetings. 
• Try 4pm “Happy Hour” meetings with no agenda. It’s a great way for the team to connect for 30min and bring everyone back to their workstations if they got distracted for some reason. You can also try “crew time”: lunches or yoga. Trivia or Jackbox games over Zoom are also fun. Slack has apps like Poke or Donut that encourage ad hoc engagement. 

Lots in here. And lots more that I’m sure others have discovered and are implementing (a quick Google search reveals a number of blog posts and articles on this subject). Remember, everyone is in the same boat. As for help if you’re struggling with the new reality. And remember to stay connected.

A lot of companies are struggling to figure out how to respond to the economic crisis that was precipitated by COVID-19. Should they cut staff or should they furlough them (and what’s the difference)? Should they ask people to take a pay cut? How much should they be cutting back on marketing and other expenses? What can they negotiate with their landlord? What are the federal programs that might support their business through this? How can they apply for the new PPP (Payroll Protection Plan) SBA loans?

It’s a lot to take in. At Foundry we’ve been having daily briefings, calls and email updates with our portfolio to try to stay on top of it. That’s great for the companies that have access to resources like this, but what should you do if you’re a small business that isn’t a part of a network like ours? The vast majority of small businesses aren’t venture-backed. The vast majority don’t have a CFO or senior level financial professional to help them out.

Today we’re launching the COVID-19 Finance Assistance Network (yes, it was named by finance pros, not marketing ones…). In partnership with Lew’s List (which those in the Denver area will know is a long time networking and finance jobs group with over 11,000 members run by Lew Visscher) and High Plains Advisors (a local advisory services business). We’ve assembled a group of experienced CFOs, controllers and other finance professionals to help small businesses navigate through the crisis. It’s a free service – people are volunteering their time to help out. 

If you’re a business looking for help you can click through the link above, fill out a short form with some basic information on your company and we’ll get in touch with you to connect you to a financial pro who can help out.

Please help us get the word out about this. This is open to all businesses who have been affected by the COVID-19 economic crisis (restaurants, retail, services companies, etc). I recognize that many of these companies will be outside of our traditional networks (and geographies). Let’s make sure they know that this service is available to them.

Here’s a great idea:

David Jackson has started posting transcripts from company conference calls on his web site (he’s actually been this for a while, but now has pretty extensive coverage of tech company earnings calls).

I try to listen to a handful of earnings calls each season, but invariably I get to fewer than I want to, or miss the key moment of a call – even when I’m listening to the replay (which is almost always what I end up doing).  I’d much rather peruse the transcripts. Much easier to consume quickly.  Much easier to search.  Much easier to quote from (if you’re into that sort of thing).

Thanks David.  Nice work.

I did something this morning that falls into the category of ‘seemed like a good idea at the time’ but which upon reflection (or more accurately, upon understanding reality) falls into the category of “you dumb mother-fucker”. Put another way, I unleashed Plaxo on all my contacts this morning as I calmly sipped my first cup of coffee sitting comfortably in my pajamas at my kitchen island – oblivious to the hell I was setting free. I’ve been waiting years to do this, but something always held me back. I finally broke down and decided that I really did need to clean up my contact database (I keep a lot of contacts and its helpful to know what’s up to date and what’s not). So if you are in my contacts and I have your valid e-mail address, this morning you received a cheerful note from me asking you to update your information. THIS WAS NOT A GOOD IDEA. While I got some useful information back, there were some second order effects that I had not thought about. Here’s a few: 1)ont-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;”> I basically just spammed my entire contact list. I wasn’t really thinking about this as spam at the time, but that’s essentially what it was 2)ont-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;”> I got several hundred e-mails from Plaxo itself, clogging my inbox as people updated their information (fortunately Plaxo lists people in groups, so one notice would have 20 or 30 updates announcements in it – so I suppose it could have been even worse). 3)ont-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;”> I got a bunch of e-mails from people telling me they hate Plaxo (mostly because they don’t trust it) and then giving me their contact information in e-mail form (which I had to enter manually – pretty much what I was trying to avoid). 4)ont-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;”> Plaxo errantly sent some update requests to a few mailing lists that I’m on (and have permission to send to) – that was a bit embarrassing. 5)ont-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;”> I reached out and touched a lot of contacts at one time, which resulted in a lot of people reaching out and touching me – I now have about 30 ‘catch-up’ lunches/coffee/meetings scheduled over the next month as a result (don’t get me wrong – I’m happy to catch up with these people – just not all at once) 6)ont-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;”> I have a long list of contacts that couldn’t be reached. While this is what I was looking for when I set out on my Plaxo mission this morning, seeing them all listed out makes me wonder exactly what I though I was planning on doing with all this information in the first place (perhaps ignorance really is bliss) What I should have done was install the program and not sent out the update request (Plaxo has a reasonably nice way to manage your contacts as e-mails come in) – this would have gotten me about 98% of what I now realize I was looking for without any of the annoyance.

To everyone I Plaxo’d today –
sorry.

I’m an idiot.

I won’t do it again.

I don’t know what happened to Google alerts, but I’m not getting anything from my alerts these days. I have maybe 60 alerts set up and get maybe a one alert every other day – I know I’m missing just about everything that’s really being written out there, but can’t figure out why. While they say that ignorance is bliss, I’m feeling less utopic than just uninformed. I was going to switch everything over to Yahoo! alerts but I thought that before I did that I’d poll you to see if anyone had suggestions on alternatives. Any ideas?

Damon Darlin argues in an article earlier this week in the Times that serendipity has become "lost in the digital deluge". His premise is essentially that through services like Twitter, Facebook and others we’ve essentially crow-sourced content discovery and lost is the beauty of discovering "something we never knew we wanted to find" (he uses the example of browsing a friend’s CD or video collection as something that the digital age has killed).  Even services like StumbleUpon or UrbanSpoon, which are designed to surface information that users typically wouldn’t find themselves – Darlin argues – really just gravitate to the mean.

What?!?

The Internet that gives us almost unlimited access to almost unlimited information, which allows us to browse for hours on any subject imaginable, that enables us to follow links from site to site on random topics that pique our interest, that shows us what our friends are up to at any given moment, enables us to see what music the people we know are listening to, to discover new and as yet unheard of content that is related to the things you already like (music, movies, books, blogs, etc) – this same Internet is somehow killing serendipitous content discovery?!? Is he talking about the Internet that the rest of us are on?

Even the specific examples Darlin gives don’t stand up. Finding content through Twitter group think is quite serendipitous. Discovering a new band through a The Hype Machine or a news article through StumbleUpon is not only the Internet acting to surface new content, but it increases the frequency of serendipitous events. The more time we spend online the more we’re likely to find things that we wouldn’t otherwise have discovered ("ser-en-dip-i-tous – to come upon or found by accident" according to dictionary.com). In fact for me, one of the greatest things about the social web (as opposed to the information web of the late 90’s and early 00’s) is it’s ability to bring new ideas and content directly to me. I’m constantly amazed at the variety of new and interesting content that I run across all brought to me from different sources and friends across the web. It’s all quite . . . serendipitous . . .

Today’s guest post comes from Ted Rosen, a partner at the law firm Fox Rothschild. How to write an effective company “teaser” is one of the most common topics I’m asked about by entrepreneurs and I think Ted has some excellent thoughts on how to prepare a company summary that hits the right points but isn’t so long that you’ll lose your reader’s attention (or make them abandon the summary before reading the important parts). Ted really nails it in the piece below. I’d especially call out “jargon free” and “keeping it simple” – the inverse of which are probably the two most common traits of poorly formed executive summaries. As always, I welcome comments, ideas, suggestions, etc. You can reach Ted directly at trosen@foxrothschild.com.

PREPARING AN EFFECTIVE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY — OR “TEASER” TO LAND VENTURE CAPITAL FINANCING

By: Ted D. Rosen, Esq., Partner Fox Rothschild, LLP

An effective executive summary — also known as a “teaser” — is a crucial tool that helps entrepreneurs catch the eye of venture capitalists and other sophisticated investors. Those venture capitalists and investors have the money that could make the difference between the success and failure of your fledgling business, but they tend to be bombarded with business plans to the point that they could not possibly read all the information they receive from business owners seeking financing.

A well-written business plan is also crucial, but it is generally premature at the start of the courtship — the right tool at the wrong time. A clear, concise, well-written teaser is an initial sales document and therefore the tool of choice to get a business owner from the start of the process to the point where an investor needs the more specific information that a business plan contains.

As legal counsel to many emerging companies, I have read hundreds of teasers and am all too often taken aback at how poorly they present the companies’ initial case for funding. Owners of such businesses and their advisors must package the business and present its compelling story in such a way that it increases the likelihood of success in a capital raise.

As with most communications, business owners seeking capital should focus at least as heavily on the venture capitalists’ expectations and desires as their own. A well-written teaser describes for a prospective investor the three main benefits that the business offers its customer base, in descending order of importance. From that, a prospective investor can weigh the likelihood of robust sales and revenue — crucial elements in the decision whether to fund. (An effective follow-up document, the business plan, will mirror this format with greater detail of the competitive benefits a company offers.) 

For each benefit to the marketplace, the teaser should describe what customers’ needs are met by the business’ products and services; touch on whether the business model is sustainable and how revenue will be generated; and discuss why customers will pay for what the company offers. Opine on whether the company offers must-have or nice-to-have products and services. Does the company solve some crucial problem for its target customers? Don’t exaggerate on any of these points and generally avoid unsupportable superlatives — the best, the only one of its kind, or self-serving phrases such as game-changing or life-altering — because savvy venture capitalists will see through that gambit quickly. Support your claims by providing supporting research — past performance, for example, or clients’ testimonials and studies that buttress your claims.

MUSTS, AND MUSTS-TO-AVOID

As with any pursuit, there are some rules of the road to follow. I have observed over the years what tactics work and which ones fall short. Many of these suggestions may seem obvious, but they are worth repeating because following them should result in an effective teaser that might catch the eye of your next investor.

In clear, concise, jargon-free language, write a reader-friendly summary that an executive in any industry can grasp. Besides describing the benefits of your goods to your customer base, explain clearly the revenue model and value proposition; include information about your market, its size and demographics so investors can judge the scale of opportunity; pricing issues and competition. Investors know that virtually all companies have competition, so trying to convince them that you don’t will damage your credibility from the outset. You should explain why you have or perceive a competitive advantage over your competitors and why you believe you will maintain that advantage, but avoid puffery and bluster.

Your management team will probably be of great interest to investors, so describe the people, their qualifications and their track records. Make projections, but make them realistic. State how you intend to use the proceeds of the capital raise, but keep that broad and flexible. Finally, state clearly how much you are seeking to raise and how you arrived at that figure.

Employ KISS twice: keep it simple, stupid and keep it short, stupid. Avoid highly technical writing because at this early stage, investors are trying to get a big-picture snapshot of your company, not what kind of alloy you use in your widgets. Technical writing will turn off an investor if he doesn’t understand the teaser, which should appeal to a broad base of venture capitalists, not just those intimately familiar with your industry. So too will excessive verbiage; keep the document to four pages at the most.

Write in an active voice, not the passive. Be realistic, but avoid negativity of any kind. Avoid empty adjectives that carry no substance. And avoid the spell-check land mine; triple-check spelling and formatting. Venture capitalists have so many teasers and business plans — and underlying businesses — to choose from that they are likely to discard those that appear sloppy.

Finally, avoid the temptation to use a power-point display to supplant or accompany a teaser. Power-point presentations tend to be too long and, frankly, too dull for most investors’ patience levels, particularly at the early stages of the relationship.

David Jackson, who is the author of The Internet Stock Blog (as well as a series of other blogs on investing and technology), was kind enough to add me to his recommended VC blog list. As part of our exchange about this I noticed that he hadn’t ‘burned’ his feeds through Feedburner (which is a Mobius backed company). I asked him why he hadn’t done this and he replied with some really good questions about their service.  I thought I would reprint them here, along with my responses with the idea that if David, as a sophisticated blogger, had these questions other people probably do as well.

David writes:
I’ve resisted using Feedburner, because:
1. It’s not clear to me how to migrate my current RSS feeds to them (without asking everyone to re-subscribe)
2. The company’s web site gives very little information about the service
3. I’m nervous entrusting my RSS feed to a company that might try to monetize it in future in ways I don’t want
4. I expect that Google’s RSS ads will end up providing fairly rich stats about the RSS feeds anyway

Here’s my response (actually in two e-mails, which I’ve combined here): 1. If you have control over the http directives on your site you can burn your feed without any change to your subscribers. See this post from the Feedburner forum http://forums.feedburner.com/viewtopic.php?t=3.

2. I totally agree – their site pretty much sucks. I expect this will take some time to change, but they’re starting to hire up (they were 5 guys when we made our investment – we’re up to 10 and growing).

3. I get the concern, but can tell you that they absolutely won’t do anything to your feed that you don’t request. Here’s Feedburner CEO Dick Costolo’s post on the financing that talks about their business model – http://feeds.feedburner.com/BurnThisRSS2?m=68. They are going to make money by managing feeds, by offering premium statistics and by taking a cut of ads in feeds (but ads will only be inserted in feeds that sign up for them).

4. Google stats I think will only provide you stats on the ads themselves, not the feeds. FB’s total stats pro package provides pretty in depth info on what people are reading and where they are coming from (you can trial this package on their site). Also with Google ads you have to have edit the source template, which is a pain (and something not everyone is able to do) and also means that you have to insert feeds into all of your posts (given the way most readers work, FB generally only inserts feeds in a portion of feeds to keep the content to ad ratio reasonable).

Don’t know if I convinced David to move over to Feedburner or not, but he knows I’ll keep on him . . .

Look for announcements soon from Feedburner on some very large feeds now using their service.

UPDATE: I received a trackback ping from Dadu Mimram writing on Strategic Board Blg – a great perspective from a Feedburner user and much more eloquent than my original post.  See Dadu’s post here.