2010 = 1982 + 1999?

On 03.26.10, In Economics, History, Musings memories and observations, Politics, by David Pinsen

Something I thought about yesterday, after Tereza Nemessanyi tweeted this article from TechCrunch: Four VC Firms Battle For Foursquare. TechCrunch says Foursquare raised $1.35 million initially, and now it’s going to raise $10 million more, raising its valuation to $60 million to $70 million. I never quite got the point of Foursquare (at least a couple others didn’t either, as I mentioned on the old blog), but the attention it’s getting from VCs now reminds me of the Web 1.0 days of 1999. The recovery rally in the stock market reminds me a little of ‘99 too (valuations aren’t quite at ‘99 levels, but according to John Hussman, to quote one observer, stocks are “strenuously overbought”). The unemployment rate brings to mind 1982 though. I wonder how long this disconnect can continue.

Related posts:

  1. John Hussman echoes Robert Cray (and Vitaliy Katsenelson) Not verbatim, of course — they write in different idioms...
  2. Gold in 2010 versus oil in 2008 In his bullish MarketWatch column on gold yesterday (“Does gold...
  3. “The Cult of Equity” The Pragmatic Capitalist quoting an RBS research report: For a...
  4. Web 2.0 versus Auto 2.0 In a post on his Redeye VC blog today,...
  5. The WPA of today From the pseudonymous blogger Trumwill, currently working as a Census...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

David Pinsen

Visit Authors Website  |  All Articles From This Author

Related Posts

Popular Posts


  • A disconnect in value self corrects, eventually. Is 4sqr overvalued at 60 million? It appears to have the right mix of user based marketing + behavior change + business overlap. I'm just too lazy to checkin ;)
  • By "disconnect" I was referring more toward the divergence between the malaise of the real economy for most and the enthusiasm of investors (for stocks and, among VCs, web start-ups), than the divergence between the pricing of Foursquare's latest round and its value. I don't really know what its value is.

    Re your lack of use of Foursquare, is it laziness, or a lack of utility that prompts you not to check in? I guess part of the reason I don't get it is that I can't imagine that anyone would be interested to know that we're going to go to our usual Colombian place in Hackensack for lunch today. But props to that Andrew Parker fellow, for landing a big gainer (on paper, at least) for Fred's firm. I would have never thought of investing in Foursquare if I were in his position.
  • My variant would be a declaration of interest. "I'm at this location
    and want to spend < $10 on lunch for two, start the bidding"

    My soapbox
    Http://www.victusspiritus.com/
  • That's a great idea. It makes so much sense. Maybe too much sense to get you a $70 million valuation though.
blog comments powered by Disqus

Sites of Interest

Algorithmic hedging tool for stocks and ETFs

Tools and ideas for short sellers

Meet Bill Singer

Eminent securities attorney, irreverent Wall Street blogger, and proprietor of BrokeandBroker.com.

Live Traffic Feed