Stories about: Idealab

Is R&D in the US losing focus, or just shifting focus?

New.net, an alternative domain name registry, has announced its first major foray into the corporate market by signing up wholesaler Bulkregister.com for high-volume domain name sales to large companies and Web design firms.

Superficial smiles hid underlying tensions in the runup to the first meeting in Australia this week of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

TopTutors.com Inc., an Idealab-backed online tutoring service, has cut most of its staff and scaled down its business dramatically because it was unable to raise another round of funding, according to an executive at the company.

SAN FRANCISCO (09/28/2000) - Compaq Computer Corp.'s board of directors voted Thursday to name Michael Capellas, the company's chief executive officer and president, to an additional role -- that of chairman of Compaq's board.

NONPROFITS ON THE WEB AND A PRAYER

I get asked a lot, "Is it hard to come up with topics to write about every week?" The toughest thing about covering Internet commerce isn't coming up with ideas (plenty of things are always happening in the I-commerce space). The tough part is deciding which ideas to write about (I only get so much space). In a perfect world, I'd write five columns a week, but despite what my boss might hope, I do actually need to sleep once in a while.

Internet payment startup X.com Corp. lost its chief executive last week. Bill Harris, who had been CEO since last November, cleaned out his desk on Thursday. Founder Elon Musk will assume the role of CEO.

Even before planning and executing an e-commerce project, you need an idea. Many of these ideas come from the brains of e-commerce strategists, who work in the realm of possibilities.

Idealab, the Pasadena, California-based venture capital firm founded by Bill Gross, filed for its initial public offering Thursday afternoon. Many expecting the move - but what was unexpected was a surprise on the board of directors: General Electric Co. Chairman and CEO Jack Welch. Idealab plans to raise $300 million in the initial public offering, using the proceeds to finance and operate more businesses and for general corporate purposes, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company will use the ticker ILAB. Goldman Sachs, Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, Merrill Lynch, Robertson Stephens and Thomas Weisel Partners will be the underwriters of the deal.

Everyone's looking for a chance to strike it rich by jumping to an internet startup. But knowing which opportunity is the right one is not easy. When faced with such a choice, there are certain questions you should ask about the company and about yourself.