At its simplest, Maker Studios produces content channels for YouTube. But Maker Studios is more than just a multi-channel network. It aims to be the United Artists of the online video age. Like UA, Maker provides a means for talented artists to build their own reputations, this time through the power of Internet video channels. Currently under siege, multi-channel networks are said to be on their way out-no longer a way for artists or studios to make decent money.

SoundCloud has its roots in the techno scene of the mid-2000s. Its founders, fans of the eclectic world of electronica, were finding it difficult to create and share music online, and, like so many of technology’s great disruptive ideas, developed SoundCloud to ease their own problems. The site grew into a specialized audio service to a full web platform, with hosted audio channels that’s attracting big-name acts.

AlwaysOn is proud to announce its seventh annual OnHollywood 100, representing the top companies that are disrupting the establishment and creating viable business models for the digital entertainment marketplace. The AlwaysOn editorial team, along with partners in the venture capital and investment community and entertainment industry experts across the globe, went out into the entrepreneurial ecosystem to find the top 100 private companies in digital entertainment that are continuing to innovate an increasingly digital Hollywood and disrupt an entrenched legacy institution.

This year, the AlwaysOn editorial team has identified 50 digital entertainment companies to watch during the coming year. Representing a wide range of sectors—advertising, marketing, consumer services, gaming, mobile, and more—these up-and-comers have solid, early-stage backing and the potential to hit $200 million in revenue during the next few years, indicating substantial returns for their inventors and rapid revenue growth in the short-term.

The AlwaysOn Power Players in Digital Entertainment list honors the most influential people in the banking, venture capital, legal, and accounting world who support technology entrepreneurs that are bringing massive technology breakthroughs to the digital entertainment world. These individuals and their firms are the infrastructure workhorses behind the ideas that make the Global Siliconn Valley an incubator for success, creating strong companies that are building forward-thinking, indispensable products.

AlwaysOn is excited to announce the third annual OnMobile 100, representing the top companies that are disrupting the establishment and creating viable business models for the mobile marketplace. The AlwaysOn editorial team, along with partners in the venture capital and investment community and industry experts across the globe, went out into the entrepreneurial ecosystem to find the top 100 private companies in mobile that are bringing together countless devices and creating an entirely new technology paradigm.

The AlwaysOn Mobile Power Players list honors the most influential people in the banking, venture capital, legal, analytical, and accounting world who support the startup entrepreneurs who are bringing technology breakthroughs and disruption to the mobile and wireless world. These individuals and their firms are the infrastructure workhorses behind the ideas that make the Global Silicon Valley an incubator for success, creating strong companies that are building forward-thinking, indispensable products.

The companies represented in this year’s 11th annual AlwaysOn Global 250 are opening up a new era in worldwide innovation that’s not only changing the way people live, it’s bringing a bright, new vision to the business world. Thousands of new ideas are making their mark in the Global Silicon Valley, thanks to an expanding venture economy and a wide range of options available to entrepreneurs with the tenacity to take their idea from concept to market.

I love Rubber Duck Debugging. I use this approach when writing, which I call “Writing with Yoda.” I have a little Yoda figurine staring at me at all times and when I stall out I just talk to him for a little while and then get started again. He always looks serene and wise and I almost always get going after talking to him for a little while.

The AlwaysOn X Fund surged 6.6% last week, the NASDAQ was up 3.2%, and the S&P 500 was up 2.4%. Year to date, the AO X Fund is up 75.4%, the NASDAQ is up 29.6%, and the S&P 500 is up 22.3%.

Search leader Google announced strong Q3 results with 20% revenue growth and 16% EPS growth. Cost-per-click continues to drop, down 8%, largely driven by users’ shift to mobile, but paid clicks grew at an impressive 26% rate and drove revenue growth. Additionally, YouTube mobile use now accounts for 40% of the total, up from just 25% in 2012. For the week, GOOG advanced 16%.

The setting: the spectacular office of one of the most respected names in entertainment, a senior executive in the motion picture industry. The players: the executive, accompanied by his bevy of direct reports and support staff, plus a CEO friend of mine and his chairman (we’ll call him Mr. Chairman).

The meeting was unusual in its purpose. Mr. Chairman, who does not come from the entertainment industry, wanted to share his epiphany on how movie-makers should rethink the categorization of movie genres. His hypothesis was that movies should not be called romantic, horror, thriller, etc., but instead use a schema inspired by psychologist Abraham Maslow’s famous “hierarchy of needs” that might better explain and predict which movies are likely to succeed.

AVC regular Donna White posted this to her Tumblr yesterday:

I’m a crotchety old guy. I worry about all these new companies. I’m glad that they’re easier to start, but the problem is, they’re just as hard to finish as they have always been.

The quote is from Mike Olson in this post.

The thing in Mike’s quote that really speaks to me is the difference between starting and finishing. Starting requires an idea/inspiration, a team, some technical skills, the ability to iterate on the MVP and find product market fit.

One of the hardest things in venture is timing. Pick the wrong time to disrupt a segment, and the result is a lot of optimism and lost investment dollars. Pick the right time to disrupt and you can build a massive company in a short period of time. Ideas are rarely bad, they are often simply at the wrong time.

A few years ago, we decided that the time had come for innovative changes in education. We followed that up with some very successful investments in companies like Lumosity, Knewton, Schoology, Straighterline, and others. Our macro thesis was pretty simple. First, it was an extremely large important market that hadn’t changed in a long time.

The OnHhollywood 100 represents the top emerging companies that are creating new business opportunities in the world of digital entertainment. Hollywood continues to redefine its digital reality, forcing entertainment executives to sit up and take notice of the innovators that are coming out of the Global Silicon Valley. The growing sophistication of consumers is pushing digital entertainment startups in new, creative directions.

The AlwaysOn Power Players in Digital Entertainment list honors the most influential people in the banking, venture capital, legal, and accounting world who support technology entrepreneurs that are bringing massive technology breakthroughs to the digital entertainment world. These individuals and their firms are the infrastructure workhorses behind the ideas that make the Global Siliconn Valley an incubator for success, creating strong companies that are building forward-thinking, indispensable products.

Recent Microsoft (MSFT) and Gartner announcements have put hybrid cloud front and center for the next 3-5 years, and for perhaps a much, much longer period. Market caps for several players could be at stake: during these 3-5 years you could see the hybrid cloud eclipse the public cloud, both in terms of growth and overall enterprise spend. You think I jest? Read on.

I talked about the multi-billion market potential of the hybrid cloud in March 2013’s Will VMware or Microsoft Cash in on the Hybrid Cloud (VMW). It could be a $60B total addressable market, when one makes a few reasonable assumptions:

I’ve been involved with technology product design in one form or another for nearly 25 years and seen one mistake consistently repeated.

The single biggest mistake most product teams make is building technology for what they believe the user would want rather than what the actual end-user needs.

From the experience in my earliest days of designing products for Windows and OS2 machines in the early 1990′s I developed a product philosophy, “Design for the novice, configure for the pro.”

Over 13 years ago, in March of 2000, I wrote a blog post titled “The Most Powerful Internet Metric of All.” The key thesis was this: if an Internet company could obsess about only one metric, it should be conversion. No other metric so holistically captures as many critical aspects of a web site – user design, usability, performance, convenience, ad effectiveness, net promoter score, customer satisfaction – all in a single measurement. Yet despite the remarkable power of this metric, it is alarming how few companies today truly understand conversion and how to optimize it. As such, it is time to pound the table again – conversion is by far the most powerful Internet metric of all.

The AlwaysOn X Fund (AO X) dropped 2.5% last week, the NASDAQ was down 0.4%, and the S&P 500 was up 0.8%. Year to date, the AO X Fund is up 64.5%, the NASDAQ is up 25.6%, and the S&P 500 up 19.4%.

Amazon won a legal fight against IBM to build the cloud infrastructure for the CIA and can now resume to work on the project, which will bring a total of $600 million over 10 years to the ecommerce leader. This is Amazon’s first ever private cloud project and is likely to open doors for other significant customers in the future. For the week, AMZN was down 2.6%.

I make a lot of lists. It’s an old habit that started when I was in grade school. Lists of to dos, lists of goals, lists of workouts. Lists, lists, lists. I’m also a nostalgic person and so I tend to save a lot of these lists and use them as touch points for storing memories and keeping track of the passing of time. Every now and then I’ll come across an old list and re-read it. Some of them make me think deeply and others make me laugh at my younger self’s absurdity.

Recently, I came across a list in my desk labeled simply “Mentors”. I’ve had a lot of mentors in my life – many who may not even know they played this role for me. I’ve always kept an eye on them and noticed the choices they’ve made and how they’ve carried themselves personally and professionally.