With the credit crunch, it seems inevitable that upstart companies will face challenges getting fresh capital. Yet, as seen with recent deals - such as the $28.7 million financing of Digg - there is still interest from investors.

To get some insight on all this, I had a chance to interview Thomas O'Keefe. He runs a cool site called Bizak, which helps value Net startup companies.

No doubt, O'Keefe knows the space fairly well, having founded a variety of companies (like WiredAlumni.com and Research Connect) He was also a financial equity analyst at Thomson Reuters.

Now, to the interview.....

Q: Some background on Bizak?

A: Bizak gives equivalence to startups so investors and entrepreneurs can make equal comparisons on their earnings potential and business valuation. I founded Bizak so entrepreneurs could compute the financial performance of their startup, compare their performance to industry averages and research profitable industries for future ventures. The premise for Bizak came from the earnings per visitor metric (EPV) which allows startups to equally compare their financial performance to other startups on a per visitor level - in essence the EPV creates an equal comparison irrespective of traffic volume.

Continue reading BloggingStocks Interview: So what are startups worth now?

BloggingStocks Interview: So what are startups worth now? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Is eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is becoming the destination of choice for money-losing Internet startups looking for new owners? USA Today seems to think so.

The colorful newspaper today reported that more than 10 dot-coms have recently sold themselves on the auction site. I'm not sure what's crazier, the fact that companies are selling themselves on eBay or the fact that people are paying six figures for companies they find on the site.

How good could a legitimate company that needs to troll for buyers on eBay possibly be?

On the plus side, this does underscore the vibrancy of the eBay marketplace. Every time people run out of wacky ideas for stuff to sell on the site, someone always comes up with a wackier one. Maybe eBay will be able to exploit the desire of these entrepreneurs who are looking for a cheap way out.

Some reality, however, is in order.

I know that people never know where the next Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) will emerge. Investors also don't get rich unless they are willing to take a risk or two.

But thanks to the Internet, a sucker is born every millisecond. There are plenty of ways for people to separate themselves from their money online.

Anyone who is considering buying a company listed on eBay might want to lie down and take a nap until that feeling goes away.

Want to buy a company listed on eBay? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 May 2007 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.