What came first? Without a blog, there can be no audience; but without an audience, what is the point of having a blog? The whole idea is to create a platform for communicating ideas and gathering feedback; a rich duplex exchange of ideas. But where to begin?

Our team has a can-do spirit, so we’ve always thought that the chicken and egg problem is self-defeating; it is circular and interdependent; it is the wrong question really. One of our portfolio company CEO’s, Chip Kahn, at IP Commerce is fond of saying “forget the chicken and the egg, its all about getting a hen and a rooster in the same place at the same time”. Being the highly intelligent and introspective CEO that Chip is, he is of course right.

This reframing of the issue is empowering and has application well beyond what it takes to get a blog started. It applies equally well to what it takes to build a successful business in our chosen area of investment; Network-Enabled Services. Our investments connect things and we monetize those connections by delivering a service that is of value to the multiple sides of a multi-sided market. With great entrepreneurs as partners, our mission is to harness innovation in services to build companies with enduring value.

Innovation in services and our unique view of the process of building great companies are but a few of the topics we’ll discuss in this blog. You will also find information on our new investment activity, goings on in our portfolio, our view of emerging themes that are driving innovation and investment opportunities in services and our assessment of issues facing the venture capital industry today.

Whatever your role, we hope you will contribute your views, making this blog better in the process.

The Meritage Team