At a web services conference a few weeks back, I remarked that the story behind the show was really that fixed costs will become variable / “flexible” costs costs. This is better than capital efficiency, this is capital alchemy. Only allocate capital the instant it can marry customer demand. In the start-up world the trend is hard to ignore.

It used to be that start-up needed $5 million just to build the infrastructure that was needed to launch a website. That’s $5 million just to test whether or not an idea had any legs. That’s $5 million whether just one person who visited your website or millions did. But today, Amazon Web Services has turned this “fixed” infrastructure costs into variable expense. Get your credit card, sign up for an AWS account, and pay as you go. Tough to imagine companies were once launched any other way.

Another example is CPC advertising. It’s only been in the past decade that we’ve seen widespread adoption of pay-for-performance advertising. Instead of doing a fixed $X0,000 media buy, businesses can bid on keywords knowing that they will only pay if someone clicks their ad. A fixed marketing expense is now variable.

Capital alchemy is a trend that has already revolutionized both the advertising worlds and the web infrastructure worlds. Undoubtedly, it will impact many more sectors of the economy. I’d love to meet with entrepreneurs who have some ideas on where the magic of capital alchemy might strike next.

Since our first Office Hours event in Palo Alto last fall, First Round Capital has hosted similar events in Vancouver, New York City, Austin and Philadelphia. We’ve met terrific entrepreneurs at each one. The energy and enthusiasm is always inspiring.

We never know what might happen at Office Hours. Before the first one, headlines about Wall Street’s tumble were dominating the news cycle. But more than 50 entrepreneurs came to the University Café and lit it up. In January we held Office Hours in Vancouver. Chris Fralic and I took pitches outside Agro Café while we tried to keep warm in our ski parkas. The next Office Hours was in New York and was later featured in Businessweek. A few days later we were in Austin for SXSW and met with folks at the Rio Grande. Yesterday, I had a follow-up meeting with one of the entrepreneurs whom I first met in Texas. And in Philadelphia in late May, one entrepreneur showed up at Office Hours still wearing the gown from his UPenn graduation earlier in the day. Great stuff.

We’re finally bringing Office Hours back to the Bay Area. For the first time the entire First Round team will be there. And, in another first,  we’re finally hosting an Office Hours in our office. Who knows what other great things might happen?

Details below and sign-ups here:

First Round Capital Offices
217 Second Street San-Francisco, CA 94105
6/11/2009
12:00 PM- 2:00 PM PST

Been back from the ski trip for a long while but I still catch myself day dreaming about it. Enjoy the video above. It was a phenomenal trip. If you are thinking of heading to La Grave or Chamonix and have any questions about how to find a guide or places to stay, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll be in touch.

Heading out this afternoon to begin a week long ski vacation with some friends. It’s hard to believe, but this will be just the second time in eight years that I’ve taken a full week off from work. I’ll be out of the office and on a cornice, in couloir, or riding a tram until March 2nd. Until then, I’m likely to be a bit slow to respond to emails. Thanks in advance for your patience… Next stop, La Mieje.

Posted in skiing Tagged: kent goldman, La Grave, La Mieje, skiing ]]> http://thecornice.com/2009/02/20/gone-skiing/feed/ 0 cornice Cornice Warning http://thecornice.com/2009/02/11/office-hours-sxsw/ http://thecornice.com/2009/02/11/office-hours-sxsw/#comments Thu, 12 Feb 2009 01:20:48 +0000 kent http://thecornice.com/?p=310 ]]>

Now that the First Round Capital team has hosted Office Hours in two countries, we thought we might be ready for Texas. In October, we met with more than 50 entrepreneurs in Palo Alto. In January, we heard great ideas from more than 40 entrepreneurs in Vancouver. They say everything is bigger in Texas. Now it’s time to prove it.

On Monday March 16th, Rob Hayes, Christine Herron and I will be hosting Office Hours SXSW . Just like the original Palo Alto edition, we’d love to meet with entrepreneurs, people thinking about becoming entrepreneurs or folks who would like join a start-up. We’ll be available for a bunch of informal ~10 minute chats. No agenda. We’ll provide the napkins to write on and maybe some margaritas while you wait. Maybe. Details below.

Date: Monday, March 16th

Time: 11:00am – 1:00pm

Location: Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant, 301 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX

Please help us load balance meeting times by signing-up at this link to let us know if you plan to attend in the first hour or second hour of the event. It’s first come, first serve, but we’ll be sure to message you with an update. You can find the Facebook Event page here.

And, yes, I’ll be sure to have my ropers on.