The PayPerPost Revolution Accelerates (yes, again)

This was a good week for PayPerPost, probably the biggest since we led their A round last October. Some of the highlights include:

• Launch of new PayPerPost.com
• Launch of PPP DIRECTory, promoting all of the bloggers interested in cutting their own sponsorship deals with PPP Direct
• Launch of PPP Labs (shh...this is kinda secret)
  
• Start of new VP Marketing Shaun Pope (welcome Shaun!)
• Announcement of a pre-emptive $7M B round by Draper Fisher Jurvetson, including investment from Inflexion, Village Ventures and DFJ Gotham
• Coverage of the launch and funding across social media, including Marcus breaking the story, a rather public display of Arrington's VC investing ignorance (sorry Mike, I thought ignorance was a kinder description than deliberate misinformation), a hypocritical Jarvis flip-flop (sorry JJ, your refusal to take a position on my wager makes it pretty clear you know sponsored posts deliver more relevance to SEs than typical organic posts), and yet another thorough review by Andy
• Coverage across traditional media: Forbes, Today Show and others...

The result: PPP's Consumer Generated Advertising revolution is growing faster than ever -- signups by 11am today were already 2X our largest day ever. I'll take that... ;-)

Convertible Notes vs. Equity

Over at AsktheVC someone asked:

"Should Entrepreneurs Be Worried About Convertible Notes as a First Financing Event?"

Jason provided a pretty good answer to the entrepreneur's specific question and I commented about the broader question of VC vs. Angel comfort with convertible notes. It's worth a read for anyone facing this question. I've copied my comment below:

"It can differ by geography, but I'd say that convertible notes are the exception for institutional rounds; whereas they are quite common for angel rounds.

Unless deal speed is critical or there is a huge gap in valuation expectations, VCs aren't interested in their dollars converting into a valuation their dollars helped create. Unless the VC goes there, I wouldn't spend too many cycles trying to go debt instead of equity. You want everyone aligned and equity does that best.

Angels can differ widely, however, and if they will accept convertible debt it might be worthwhile. It avoids the valuation dance with an angel and the risk that such a dance results in a valuation that will create problems for the next round. Of course, they may have the same concern as VCs (e.g. their dollars working against their conversion valuation), but not as often.

If it's a close call, I'd err toward solutions that keep everyone aligned..."

Floridian Judging Next "American Inventor"

Clearwater, FL native, runner-up on "The Rebel Billionaire" and inventor of Spanx body shapers, Sara Blakely, recently spoke with the Tampa Tribune about her experience judging "American Inventor". She worked with Simon Cowell, George Foreman, Peter Jones and entrepreneur Pat Croce on the show's second season.

I remember being excited about "American Inventor" when it was first announced, but I only saw one episode. I was hoping it was about entrepreneurs and startup companies, but it was really about wacky inventions. As with all those reality shows, it's about entertainment.

This season sounds like no exception. As a venture capitalist, I see a lot of crazy ideas, but this quote sums up what we might expect from season two:

"We saw a man who had invested $1 million to create a new superhero, The Cougar," Blakely said. "He showed up with his friend dressed from head to toe in the all-black 'The Cougar' costume. It was weird. Another man invented what was basically a wheel, and when we told him that it had already been done, he started yelling at us."

Here's a couple videos for all you inventors out there -- passion is critical, but it ain't everything:

UPDATE, 06-07-07: The brother of one of the AI contestants commented below and I liked the core idea. How can Greg make it a no-brainer for buyers? Enjoy the video via Jeff at Northstar Thinktank:

Related images: American Inventor, George Foreman, Pat Croce, Sara Blakely, Simon Cowell, inventions