21 thoughts on “A Scarcity Of Start Ups”

  1. It is caused by a bunch of things. I still remember when mp3.com tried to change the music label business by allowing artists to sell their tracks direct without going via a publishing studio. They also had a file locker where people could store their own CDs online to listen to them. Of course the recording industry latched onto that to sue them into irrelevance. More recent examples would be all the friction from taxi drivers against Uber, forcing Google News to pay for aggregating news in Spain and Germany, or the bans on Tesla direct car sales that car dealerships have been imposing over the US.

    So there is a lot of resistance by entrenched businesses against new business models that get into the profits they think they are entitled to. That is one factor yes.

    In the cases of the trade associations a case can be made for losses in jobs with the new automated business models, even if the result is a cheaper product for the consumer, and with rampant unemployment few governments are inclined to disagree.

    Another factor is that the middle class has less buying power. This eventually leads to a decrease in consumption because regardless of how rich you are there’s only so many things you can do with your time. Until before the housing bubble burst this decrease in buying power by a large fraction of the population was compensated by an increase in credit but that had to burst eventually.

    1. I remember the mp3.com debacle well. Esp. the CD locker concept, not being enough to salvage Mr. Robertson’s business. Although it acted like that, it was novel in that in order to secure a download you had to certify a “proof-of-purchase” using the actual CD as the key to enable first access to the on-line version. A novel approach I thought at the time and really another form of CD promotion. But the studios didn’t like this concept much more than the non-protected downloading biz and labeled it all piracy. Then along came the true Blackbeard, Mr. Jobs. Showing up hat-in-hand, agreeing to a limited catalog with a few key “studio distributors”, initially on their terms (with the exception that Jobs really wanted single downloads to be under $1 and refused deals that would not let that be) until the iPod and like devices became the dominate force in music sales as Jobs knew it would become. As soon as the brick-and-mortar stores began to fold, it wasn’t surprising to see Mr. Jobs deciding it necessary to “renegotiate” fees, and royalties on the iTunes store. Who didn’t see that one coming? Would that be a case of a start-up vs entrenched interest, or the battle royale of entrenched interests?

  2. There are plenty of factors but only one basic reason: growth of government (federal and local.) Unless we reverse this trend we are literally doomed. A congress exclusively made up of tea party members wouldn’t be enough to save us.

  3. Having a President who tries to make recession the new normal is a big factor.

    OT and great news: Andy Weir’s “The Martian” is now listed at IMDB for 2015 release. Starring Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Matt Damon (as Mark Watney), Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Sebastian Stan, Sean Bean…

    2. Look on the bright side. His ass gets stranded on Mars. 🙂

      It does show that the studio is fully behind the project and aiming for a blockbuster – with a technically accurate space exploration movie (I hope), which is very good news. They even have Ridley Scott directing. Maybe it will get people more focused on space flight and cause them to take another look at SpaceX, XCOR, and others versus the SLS.

    3. Awesome. I like Sean Bean in anything. It says Jeff Daniels (rumored). Hope someone with two brain cells to rub together tells Scott “Umm, What?”.

        1. Well, there goes that meme then. Sad day for the internet but good for Bean’s self esteem I suppose.

          Have the book qued up on my library card hopefully I get to read it soon.

          1. Sean Bean has a long career in “Sharpe’s Rifles”. Does a good job of acting there, too, in my opinion.

  5. I’m trying to think of alternatives in their 30’s or so. Jude Law, James Franco, Collin Farrell, Gerard Butler, Tom Hardy, Robert Downey Jr.

    Perhaps the advantage of going with Matt Damon is that he already had a space suit handy from his last movie – where he was stranded alone on a planet. He’s already got experience for the role! ^_^

  6. “Having a President who tries to make recession the new normal is a big factor.”

    The last time this topic came up people were pointing out how the people who would be most likely to start a company don’t have the money. It takes a while to save up enough money to start even a small business.

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