I noticed in the news that Verizon is merging with Alltel. This sounds good to me and will hopefully result in new services and even better coverage, possibly including more broadband Internet options to rural Montana. I have mentioned before I grew up on a ranch in northern Montana to which I am still closely tied. Having worked with TechRanch it is very clear to me how the Internet and cell phone coverage can increase a small business's potential. The dial-up connection at my parent's house is incredibly annoying but they are unable to generate high-speed Internet due to their...continue reading...

We all know that valuation for small tech-based companies is very difficult. Discounted cash flow doesn't work. Neither does P/E analysis. And any methods based on the balance sheet fall apart in early stage companies. You can also throw out those qualitative methods that start out by rating the management team, the state of the IP and the market size. We're not left with much in the tool box except to ask "how much would it cost for another company to replicate what we have?" That's the '100 Monkey's Valuation'. I'll disparage the tech team for a moment. "How many...continue reading...