Read more about how we’re thinking and where we’re investing here.

<a href="https://www.versionone.vc/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/2591539332_2232c15671_m.jpg"></a><a href="http://www.techvibes.com">Techvibes.com</a>, the network of local technology blogs, just released their <a href="http://www.techvibes.com"><img class="alignright" style="float: right;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3188/2591539332_2232c15671_m.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="135" /></a>first <a href="http://www.techvibes.com/blog/canada-start-up-index-july-2008/">Canada Start-up Index</a>. The methodology to determine the index is by no means scientific but the list still provides a really good overview of the Canadian start-up scene. The performance of the <a href="https://www.versionone.vc/portfolio/">W Media Ventures portfolio companies</a> (2 among the top 3, 5 among the top 100) made us pretty happy: <a href="http://www.suite101.com">Suite101</a> and <a href="http://www.abebooks.com">AbeBooks</a> secured the #2 and #3 spots, <a href="http://www.nexopia.com">Nexopia</a> came in at #12, <a href="http://www.techvibes.com">Techvibes</a> at #37, <a href="http://www.teampages.com">TeamPages</a> at #99 and <a href="http://www.indochino.com">Indochino</a> at #103. And congrats to the overall winner, <a href="http://www.metrolyrics.com">Metrolyrics</a> from Vancouver! <strong>Update</strong>: Techvibes also just released a <a href="http://www.techvibes.com/blog/comscores-top-start-ups-in-canada/">Canada start-up index based on Comscore data</a> - helped Nexopia jump from #12 spot to #2 spot! <a href="http://www.techvibes.com"><img style="vertical-align: text-bottom;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3259/2632661766_ea1d1c36d7_o.jpg" alt="" width="261" height="364" /></a>

Canada Start-up Index. The methodology to determine the index is by no means scientific but the list still provides a really good overview of the Canadian start-up scene. The performance of the W Media Ventures portfolio companies (2 among the top 3, 5 among the top 100) made us pretty happy: Suite101 and AbeBooks secured the #2 and #3 spots, Nexopia came in at #12, Techvibes at #37, TeamPages at #99 and Indochino at #103. And congrats to the overall winner, Metrolyrics from Vancouver!

Summer seems to be relaunch time for our portfolio companies: TeamPages has a fresh new look and an easier navigation and Tripsbytips completely relaunched its site making it much easier to add recommendations so that the best community-based travel tips should emerge very quickly for the main travel destinations of this world. In addition, LiveCurrent (where I am a board member) just relaunched their Cricket.com website – LiveCurrent’s cricket venture has seen some huge developments over the past few months and building out the Cricket.com website is another important step. All 3 relaunches look really great and are major steps forward for each of the companies – congrats to the product teams, keep up the great work!

<img class="alignright" style="float: right; margin: 5px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3074/2562286966_da68b7da2a_m.jpg" alt="" width="160" height="240" />Over the weekend I attended <a href="http://www.nextmediaevents.com/fdc/">NextMedia 2008 in Banff</a>. It was my first NextMedia conference and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the sessions and the attendants. A few thoughts that I took away from the conference: <ul> <li><a href="http://www.nexopia.com">Nexopia</a> is still one of the best kept secrets in social networking: while the site is now the <a href="http://mashable.com/2008/02/26/global-social-networking-usage/">4th largest social networking site in North-America in terms of total hours spent on the site</a>, not a lot of people in the industry know about the company and are always amazed to hear that we have more than 1 billion page views / month. Participating in the <a href="http://www.techvibes.com/blog/live-from-nextmedia-canadas-hottest-digital-media-innovators/">panel on "Canada's Hottest Digital Media Innovators"</a> definitely helped to raise our profile but we still have a long way to go to spread the word.</li> <li>Canada has some serious talent in the consumer Internet space and we are seeing more and more sizeable start-ups in this area - <a href="http://www.b5media.com">B5Media</a>, <a href="http://www.plentyoffish.com">Plentyoffish</a>, <a href="http://www.nexopia.com">Nexopia</a>, <a href="http://www.suite101.com">Suite101</a>, <a href="http://www.metroleap.com/">Metroleap</a> or <a href="http://www.nowpublic.com">NowPublic</a> are just some examples in a very vibrant scene.</li> </ul> More <a href="http://www.techvibes.com/blog/nextmedia-2008-day-one/">coverage of the event</a> on Techvibes, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/nextmedia/">NextMedia photos</a> on Flickr.

Over the weekend I attended NextMedia 2008 in Banff. It was my first NextMedia conference and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the sessions and the attendants. A few thoughts that I took away from the conference:

As the Internet evolves, the venture capital business starts evolving and we have been seeing more and more investors focusing on growth and late stages in the past few years. This is exactly the step that our partners over in Germany have taken in the past months: after having managed the corporate venture capital business for <a href="http://www.hubert-burda-media.com/">Hubert Burda Media</a> with a focus on early-stage companies (<a href="http://ventures.burdadigital.de/">Burda Digital Ventures</a>) for the past several years, the <a href="http://www.actoncapital.de/website/team.html">team around Paul-Bernhard Kallen and Christoph Braun</a> is now raising a second fund which targets later stage companies with an established track record of revenues and profitability (<a href="http://www.actoncapital.de">Acton Capital Partners</a>). Hubert Burda Media is one of the largest investors in this new fund that continues to focus on Internet and mobile-based, consumer-oriented businesses. 20 to 30 percent of the committed fund will be invested outside Europe and mainly in North-America (and through <a href="http://box693.bluehost.com/~version3/wp">W Media Ventures</a>). This means for us that we will increasingly focus on late and growth stage deals in our region (some past deals in this category include <a href="http://www.abebooks.com">AbeBooks</a>, <a href="http://www.suite101.com">Suite101</a> and <a href="http://www.nexopia.com">Nexopia</a>) but will continue to look at selected early-stage opportunities.

As the Internet evolves, the venture capital business starts evolving and we have been seeing more and more investors focusing on growth and late stages in the past few years.

<a href="http://www.1800gotjunk.com/us_en/about/brian_scudamore.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brian</a> just shared this document with all participants of the <a href="https://www.versionone.vc/building-a-great-company-culture-how-hard-can-it-be/" target="_self" rel="noopener noreferrer">Burda Digital Ventures / W Media Ventures event last Friday</a> and I thought it would be worthwhile sharing this with a larger audience. <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 5pt 0in; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial;">The Painted Picture of 2008</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 5pt 0in; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">The best way to ensure the future happens is to create it first in our minds. At 1-800-GOT-JUNK? we commit to this picture as though it’s already happened. Our Painted Picture serves to create the vivid mental image of what 1-800-GOT-JUNK? will look like, feel like, and act like on December 31, 2008. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">The 1-800-GOT-JUNK? vision will be achieved by living our mission each and every day: </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">To make the ordinary business of junk removal exceptional. </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">Our 2008 focus is to create a lean &amp; keen company that is ready to springboard into the next wave of fast, efficient growth. We will have a solid financial and operational platform that will allow us to continue our journey ‘to a billion.’ We will achieve an absolute minimum 20% growth in world-wide revenues with a 20% profit margin. We will start the year with a clear, well defined four-pillar strategy that covers the areas of Growth, People, Profits, and Service. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">Brand Presence</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">Our BHAG is t</span><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">o become one of the world's most admired and visible consumer service brands, by consistently delivering '<em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wow</em> experiences' to <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">everyone</em> we serve (and maximizing profit per household). We’ve made great progress this year. We’ve figured out how to ‘swim down’</span><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">—</span><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">how to use the size of our network to move together in one B.I.G. direction as a brand. We’re more aligned as individuals across the 1-800-GOT-JUNK? family than we’ve ever been before. We’ve created remarkable power across our network, across the media and across our customer base that has solidified and strengthened our first mover advantage in all three countries we service. Never before have we had such clear strategy, direction, and focus. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">People, Culture, Values and Spirit</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">We are proud of the statement, “It’s all about people.” Our It’s All About People (IAAP) Committee has helped bring back the spirit of the ‘old’ Junktion – a culture </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">where you can feel the spirit, the fun, and the intensity, as well as the care for one another.</span><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;"> Our engaged, high performing team is ready to win awards again as a top ranking employer in Canada. We have worked hard to make it all about the right people and treating people right. With every decision we make, we first consider our people.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">Through the introduction of a rigorous performance management system, we now have a culture where change is never a surprise. Our culture is a results-driven, ‘work hard, play hard’ culture, where personal accountability is a system-wide priority. Our hiring systems attract nothing but the best for the positions we offer, attracting team members who are proud to be a part of our vision. We are proud of our high ratings on our two key people metrics: Employee Longevity and Employee Engagement. We are an enviable organization executing with PIPE (Passion, Integrity, Professionalism, and Empathy). We are a driven team and we only recruit and retain people at all levels of the company who share the same underlying values and the same incredible excitement towards building something special.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">We encourage every member of the 1-800-GOT-JUNK? team to create, share, and become involved in the opportunities of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?. Members of the Junktion have shared once again in the profits that have resulted from our hard work and aligned efforts.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">The Junktion</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">We’re in a high-energy, bold, visual, space that we’re all proud to call the 1-800-GOT-JUNK? home office. The Junktion is back to its blue and green look, and feels reminiscent of the ‘old’ Junktion. Every single member of the Junktion gathers daily at Huddle to share good news, provide Top 3 updates, and highlight missing systems, obstacles and opportunities.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">The Sales Center is an integral part of the Junktion. The Sales Center floor has its own exciting, fast paced culture similar to that of a Wall Street brokerage house. Customers are <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wow</em>ed by the well matched</span><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> level of energy and enthusiasm delivered from </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">frontline team members who conduct business in three languages. This 24/7 inbound and outbound sales center continues to convert more jobs at a record rate. Web-based orders now account for one third of all orders created. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">The newest addition to the Junktion, our WAR Room, is a centrally located, visual nerve center vital in monitoring our growth. Timely, accurate, and relevant information is posted and updated in this room daily: Strategies, Goals, Objectives, current org charts, key metrics by business area, and a list of key decisions or actions taken. All WAR meetings take place in this special room where the progress of all objectives and action items are projected on the wall in real time. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">Leadership</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">We are a company of leaders. Insiders and outsiders alike notice our clear, decisive, focused, accountable and passionate leadership at all levels of the company. Our Leadership Team, which now includes a President, demonstrates a level of passion and commitment that most companies could only dream of. Our new President/COO is an exceptional leader with proven experience in building remarkable businesses. Our President/COO has brought invaluable experience to the table that has helped to lead, develop, and prepare our people and our strategy for the next wave of growth. We have used our Rigorous Performance Management Process as a tool to develop our leaders. Our leadership and cascading alignment propel our flywheel forward: bigger and better without weakening our foundation.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">Franchise Partner Profitability/Success</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">We recognize first and foremost that we would not be where we are today without the profitability of our Franchise Partners. Profits are essential to their long-term sustainability and success. Key decisions are made considering the potential impact they would have on our Franchise Partners’ profitability. We take great pride in our Field Team’s intense focus this past year working to help each Franchise Partner achieve their growth and profitability goals.</span><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> <span lang="EN-CA">Our efforts have paid off as we continue to achieve top rankings in our Franchise Partner Satisfaction Rating.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 172.5pt;"></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">Customer Service</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Our mission is to make the ordinary business of junk removal exceptional. With this new clarity of purpose we’ve taken big steps towards ensuring that we leave every customer an enthusiastic advocate of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? We finally understand who our customers are, why they use and why they don’t. We’ve completed significant research and analysis resulting in a deeper understanding of our customers’ needs, attitudes, and behaviors so we can engage with them more effectively and consistently deliver exceptional service. To accomplish our goal of Improved Service Delivery we’ve benchmarked our <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wow</em> service levels and we monitor our Net Promoter Index daily (by franchise and system-wide). We’ve created the systems to track and respond to customer feedback promptly. </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">Our relentless commitment to the QFAs of On-Time Service, Up-Front Rates, Clean, Shiny Trucks, and Friendly, Uniformed Drivers is lived by each and every franchise. It’s not what we do, it’s how we do it that has become important and as a result, referrals are abundant.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in 3pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-outline-level: 3;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">Measuring and Monitoring Growth</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">What gets measured gets done. We are a metrics-driven organization measuring the results of our marketing, our Partners and our people. Our dashboard reports serve as tools for better leadership, management, and decision making. Each day our CEO gets ‘An Inspect What You Expect’ Daily Dashboard allowing for a tighter finger on the pulse of our growth. Our reporting is simple to read and easy to digest. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">Levels of alignment and accountability within the Junktion are like you’ve never seen. The status of all Goals, Objectives and Action Items are reviewed each and every week through an alignment application known as TOPS. Each team, from the Leadership Level down, has a tight pulse on progress. All weekly WAR meetings start with a TOPS review. All meetings have been properly prepared for with clear purposes, outcomes, and agendas. Each meeting concludes with a clear, “Who will do what by when?” With each meeting and decision we move closer towards achieving our shared vision and our SMART goals and objectives. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">We are very fiscally fit: we are cash flow positive, we continue to be profitable (20% margin), and we have ‘rainy day’ funding in place. </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Our payables are current and we're in excellent standing with all vendors and suppliers. We have a strong three-year strategic plan in place that provides clear strategic and financial direction for North American and international expansion. Australia now has on-the-ground support and huge PR momentum that continues to help drive both junk removal and franchise sales. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">Communication</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">Communication is a major priority. Our dedicated Communications Department ensures all communications throughout the system are clear, concise, timely and accurate. All communications are executed consistently with our values of PIPE.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">Our dedicated Franchise Advisory Council is a vital component of our success, helping to identify key frustrations and then working with us to help systematically tackle, solve, and clearly communicate the results to the system. The FAC plays an important part in the crafting and review of every important system-wide communiqué.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in 3pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-outline-level: 3;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">Media</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">Online media has become a massive opportunity for us to generate brand awareness and sales. We now proudly place amongst the top three positions through natural search (Google and Yahoo) in every major market we service. Franchise Partners everywhere have opted into topping up their Paid Search accounts to garner top positions across paid search. We have created massive buzz through our leveraged efforts on online portals, blogs, and social networking sites.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">The media has helped us gain national exposure that most brands couldn’t afford to buy. The 1-800-GOT-JUNK? story has become many different stories each with their own well-targeted angle. 1-800-GOT-JUNK? continues to make regular appearances on top home and garden shows, morning talk shows, primetime news programs, top magazines, and online portals, news sites and customer review sites around the world. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in 3pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-outline-level: 3;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">Systems</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">Systems are a vital component to the growth of all facets of the 1-800-GOT-JUNK? brand. Working towards complete systematization of all components of the business has proven to promote both efficiency and profitability. Never before has a company woven so tightly into its culture the philosophy of ‘people don’t fail—systems do.’ Our search for missing systems and continuous improvement is never ending. The time has been taken to ensure that best practices have been documented, shared and followed system-wide</span><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">Success</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial;">Success is about winning, contributing, feeling recognized, and having fun! We work together as a team to ensure that we achieve our personal goals as well as support each other in achieving our collective vision of creating a globally admired brand. Our teams execute with excellence creating exceptional experiences for everyone we serve. We practice Focus, Faith, and Effort in everything we do. 2008 was about frequent wins and celebrations—celebrating the fact that we truly have made </span><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">the ordinary business of junk removal exceptional.</span></p>

Brian just shared this document with all participants of the Burda Digital Ventures / W Media Ventures event last Friday and I thought it would be worthwhile sharing this with a larger audience.

<p>Last week we brought together over 20 founders, CEO's and senior managers from 6 portfolio (<a href="http://www.abebooks.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AbeBooks</a>, <a href="http://www.suite101.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Suite101.com</a>, <a href="http://www.nexopia.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nexopia.com</a>, <a href="http://wwww.teampages.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TeamPages</a>, <a href="http://www.techvibes.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Techvibes</a>, <a href="http://www.carrieanddanielle.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Carrie &amp; Danielle</a>) and 2 associated companies (<a href="http://www.livecurrent.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LiveCurrent</a>, the company behind <a href="http://www.perfume.com">Perfume.com</a> and <a href="http://www.cricket.com">Cricket.com</a>, <a href="http://www.strutta.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Strutta</a>) for our first Burda Digital / W Media Ventures event in Vancouver. It was a day packed with best practices and company presentations but the talk that resonated most with everybody was <a href="http://www.1800gotjunk.com/us_en/about/brian_scudamore.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brian Scudamore</a>'s "How to build a great company culture" speech. Brian is the founder and CEO of <a href="http://www.1800gotjunk.com">1800-Got-Junk</a> and an entrepreneur I truly admire. It wasn't so much that anybody needed convincing that a strong company culture is something to strive for - it was more that Brian reminded us how much hard work it is on a daily basis and how easy it is to forget about this aspect in day-to-day operations. The one thing that really works for 1800-Got-Junk is the daily huddle that brings together the whole company for 7 minutes every day. 7 daily minutes during which the team can feel the current vibe of the company , 7 daily minutes during which everybody can be reminded of the company values, 7 daily minutes during which everybody from customer service agent to CEO can show leadership in front of the whole company. And as 1800-Got-Junk now has over 200 employees, the excuse that our companies are too big for such a daily all-company meeting is not really valid for most of us - try it out!</p>

Last week we brought together over 20 founders, CEO’s and senior managers from 6 portfolio (AbeBooks, Suite101.com, Nexopia.com, TeamPages, Techvibes, Carrie & Danielle) and 2 associated companies (LiveCurrent, the company behind Perfume.com and Cricket.com, Strutta) for our first Burda Digital / W Media Ventures event in Vancouver. It was a day packed with best practices and company presentations but the talk that resonated most with everybody was Brian Scudamore‘s “How to build a great company culture” speech. Brian is the founder and CEO of 1800-Got-Junk and an entrepreneur I truly admire. It wasn’t so much that anybody needed convincing that a strong company culture is something to strive for – it was more that Brian reminded us how much hard work it is on a daily basis and how easy it is to forget about this aspect in day-to-day operations. The one thing that really works for 1800-Got-Junk is the daily huddle that brings together the whole company for 7 minutes every day. 7 daily minutes during which the team can feel the current vibe of the company , 7 daily minutes during which everybody can be reminded of the company values, 7 daily minutes during which everybody from customer service agent to CEO can show leadership in front of the whole company. And as 1800-Got-Junk now has over 200 employees, the excuse that our companies are too big for such a daily all-company meeting is not really valid for most of us – try it out!

Today we announced our investment in Indochino, a website that helps people <a href="http://www.indochino.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">to buy a tailor-made suit directly from a professional tailor</a> in China. Together with a few other angels, I had been invested in the company since last summer and was very impressed what <a title="Indochino launch coverage" href="http://techvibesblog.com/suit-yourself-with-indochino/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the founders Kyle and Heikal built up</a> with very little money in very little time. The <a title="Indochino investment coverage" href="http://www.techvibes.com/blog/indochinos-shanghai-surprise/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">investment announced today</a> will now give the team more resources to quickly expand their service. So what do we like about Indochino’s business model? It is its simplicity: everybody who has ever traveled to Asia knows what great deals you can get by just walking into a tailor shop in China, Thailand or Vietnam and get a suit just made for you at prices that are below most of the suits you would buy in your hometown. This is exactly the experience that Indochino now brings directly to your doorstep – Indochino sends you measuring tape and swatches (if you wish so), you measure yourself (or get measured by a tailor around the corner), you provide these measurements and chose the suit style online and two weeks later the tailor-made suit arrives at your doorstep. And it becomes even easier once you start ordering a second time (which I have done)….Congrats to closing the investment, Kyle and Heikal – and good luck with building up the business between Victoria and Shanghai!

Today we announced our investment in Indochino, a website that helps people to buy a tailor-made suit directly from a professional tailor in China. Together with a few other angels, I had been invested in the company since last summer and was very impressed what the founders Kyle and Heikal built up with very little money in very little time. The investment announced today will now give the team more resources to quickly expand their service. So what do we like about Indochino’s business model? It is its simplicity: everybody who has ever traveled to Asia knows what great deals you can get by just walking into a tailor shop in China, Thailand or Vietnam and get a suit just made for you at prices that are below most of the suits you would buy in your hometown. This is exactly the experience that Indochino now brings directly to your doorstep – Indochino sends you measuring tape and swatches (if you wish so), you measure yourself (or get measured by a tailor around the corner), you provide these measurements and chose the suit style online and two weeks later the tailor-made suit arrives at your doorstep. And it becomes even easier once you start ordering a second time (which I have done)….Congrats to closing the investment, Kyle and Heikal – and good luck with building up the business between Victoria and Shanghai!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.carrieanddanielle.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Carrie &amp; Danielle’s</a> vision is to inspire authenticity – understanding who you are, what’s working in your life and what’s not, and turning that understanding into action. The <a title="About Carrie and Danielle" href="http://www.carrieanddanielle.com/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">two founder ladies</a> (by the name of Carrie and Danielle, who would have thought?) have been hugely successful in the past few years with their style statement consultations and their Style Statement book (order at <a title="Order at AbeBooks" href="http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?isbn=0316067164&amp;sts=t&amp;x=24&amp;y=8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">AbeBooks</a> or <a title="Order at Amazon" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316067164?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=wwwcarrieandd-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0316067164" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amazon</a>). </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">Interesting offline media business but what has that to do with consumer internet? Comes in Dan Gibbons who <a href="http://www.techvibes.com/blog/carrie-danielle-dan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">just joined Carrie &amp; Danielle as their new CEO</a> – Dan is not only a serial entrepreneur but also one of the few people that I know who understands technology and media equally well. Under his leadership the company will turn an interesting offline media business into the leading social media company focusing on authentic living. The <a href="http://www.techvibes.com/blog/carrie-danielle-round-up-some-angels/">financing that was announced today</a> will help achieve this vision – building out the website, creating interesting tools and applications and investing in unique content. The investment also shows in my opinion that Vancouver as a <a href="https://www.versionone.vc/news/vancouver-is-becoming-a-web-20-hotspot/">location for consumer internet businesses</a> is evolving – it took just 4 weeks to pull together the round, with the money mostly coming from local angels. Congrats Carrie, Danielle and Dan – let’s start building a great social media company!</span></span></p>

Carrie & Danielle’s vision is to inspire authenticity – understanding who you are, what’s working in your life and what’s not, and turning that understanding into action. The two founder ladies (by the name of Carrie and Danielle, who would have thought?) have been hugely successful in the past few years with their style statement consultations and their Style Statement book (order at AbeBooks or Amazon). Interesting offline media business but what has that to do with consumer internet? Comes in Dan Gibbons who just joined Carrie & Danielle as their new CEO – Dan is not only a serial entrepreneur but also one of the few people that I know who understands technology and media equally well. Under his leadership the company will turn an interesting offline media business into the leading social media company focusing on authentic living. The financing that was announced today will help achieve this vision – building out the website, creating interesting tools and applications and investing in unique content. The investment also shows in my opinion that Vancouver as a location for consumer internet businesses is evolving – it took just 4 weeks to pull together the round, with the money mostly coming from local angels. Congrats Carrie, Danielle and Dan – let’s start building a great social media company!

Vancouver-based <a href="http://www.communicate.com">Communicate.com</a> announced today that I will be <a href="http://www.communicate.com/news_display.php?newsID=320">joining their board effective immediately</a>. Since taking over as CEO and Chairman a few months ago, Geoff Hampson (who is also my business partner in <a href="http://www.techvibes.com">Techvibes.com</a>) has assembled a really strong management team led by Jonathan Ehrlich (<a href="http://www.techvibes.com/blog/digital-media-people-to-watch-in-bc-in-2008/">one of the digital media people to watch in BC in 2008</a>) and they have aggressive plans to turn the company into a leading e-commerce and media company, initially focusing on <a href="http://www.perfume.com">Perfume.com</a> and <a href="http://www.cricket.com">Cricket.com</a>. We need more large and fast-growing Internet companies in the region and and I am therefore extremely happy to be part of the Communicate.com development going forward. Official press release below: PRESS RELEASE: Communicate.com Inc. Appoints Consumer Internet Pioneer Boris Wertz to the Board of Directors VANCOUVER, BC – March 17, 2008 – Communicate.com Inc. (OTC BB: CMNN) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Boris Wertz to its Board of Directors effective immediately. The addition of Dr. Wertz to the Communicate.com board demonstrates the Company’s intent to build out a seasoned team of Directors to strategically grow the business of developing premium e-commerce and content destinations. Dr. Wertz has an established career of strategic management and operational experience in the consumer internet space. He currently serves as CEO of Nexopia, the most popular social networking utility for Canadian youth, and CEO of W Media Ventures, a Vancouver-based venture capital firm that focuses on consumer internet investments. Before founding W Media Ventures, Dr. Wertz was the Chief Operating Officer of AbeBooks.com, the world's largest online marketplace for books. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for AbeBooks as well as Suite 101, Tripsbytips.com, Indochino.com, TeamPages and Techvibes.com. Dr. Wertz completed his Ph. D. as well as his graduate studies at the Graduate School of Management (WHU), Koblenz, majoring in Business Economics and Business Management. Geoffrey Hampson, CEO and Chairman of Communicate.com stated, "Dr. Wertz brings a wealth of experience to the Communicate.com Board which will provide management with invaluable insights and direction. His extensive knowledge and operational experience as a director of many successful consumer internet businesses will help to aggressively drive forward our efforts to evolve Communicate.com into an industry leading e-commerce and media company. Along with other recently appointed team members, Dr. Wertz will provide direction aimed at maximizing the value of the Communicate.com assets and creating value for our shareholders." About Communicate.com Inc. Communicate.com builds, owns and operates content and commerce destinations on the Internet. Founded in 1994, Communicate.com has headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia with a location in Bellingham, Washington. Communicate.com is publicly traded on the NASD OTCBB (CMNN). For more information, visit www.communicate.com. Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although Communicate.com Inc. believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions; it can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include financial performance, regulatory changes, changes in economic conditions and other risks detailed from time to time in Communicate.com's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Media Contact: Communicate.com Inc. Becky Porter Director, Corporate Communications (206) 713-7959 <a href="mailto:becky@communicate.com">becky@communicate.com</a> Investor Contacts: Communicate.com Inc. Adam Rabiner Director, Investor Relations (604) 453-4875 or 1-866-898-4354 <a href="mailto:adam@communicate.com">adam@communicate.com</a> Alliance Advisors, LLC Mark McPartland Vice President (910) 221-1827 <a href="mailto:markmcp@allianceadvisors.net">markmcp@allianceadvisors.net</a>

Vancouver-based Communicate.com announced today that I will be joining their board effective immediately. Since taking over as CEO and Chairman a few months ago, Geoff Hampson (who is also my business partner in Techvibes.com) has assembled a really strong management team led by Jonathan Ehrlich (one of the digital media people to watch in BC in 2008) and they have aggressive plans to turn the company into a leading e-commerce and media company, initially focusing on Perfume.com and Cricket.com. We need more large and fast-growing Internet companies in the region and and I am therefore extremely happy to be part of the Communicate.com development going forward. Official press release below:

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial">This past week I attended <a href="http://www.ted.com/index.php/pages/view/id/7"><st1:personname w:st="on">TED</st1:personname> 2008</a> in <st1:city w:st="on">Monterey</st1:city> (last time in this location as <st1:personname w:st="on">TED</st1:personname> moves to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Long Beach</st1:place></st1:city>) and - as usual - brought back tons of ideas and inspiration (good coverage <a href="http://www.lunchoverip.com/">here</a>). <st1:personname w:st="on">TED</st1:personname> is definitely one of the best conferences one can attend, full of energy, interesting people and new discoveries. This <st1:personname w:st="on">TED</st1:personname> made it also clear to me how the conference is really developing into a fully-fledged media business. The original <st1:personname w:st="on">TED</st1:personname> concept was to bring a small group of interesting people once a year together in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Monterey</st1:place></st1:city> to listen to even more interesting people. It was very close to a traditional conference business with the exception that <st1:personname w:st="on">TED</st1:personname> was invitation-only (hence exclusive) and one of the more expensive conferences. When <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Anderson_(TED)">Chris Anderson</a> bought <st1:personname w:st="on">TED</st1:personname> a few years ago, he turned a conference and a small community into a world-wide community and media platform for “ideas worth spreading”. His best move in this process was probably the launch of <a href="http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks"><st1:personname w:st="on">TED</st1:personname> talks</a> – free videos of the <st1:personname w:st="on">TED</st1:personname> talks that could be viewed by everybody in this world on <st1:personname w:st="on">TED</st1:personname>.com. It turned a small, though exclusive platform that reached a thousand conference attendees each year into a worldwide media platform that now reaches millions of people. This extended reach does not only help to attract more interesting speakers to <st1:personname w:st="on">TED</st1:personname> but also more companies as sponsors that want to show good corporate citizenship by getting involved in <st1:personname w:st="on">TED</st1:personname> projects. Interestingly enough, the <st1:personname w:st="on">TED</st1:personname> business model resembles very much that of many Web 2,0 companies – <st1:personname w:st="on">TED</st1:personname> has built a platform on which users create content for free that <st1:personname w:st="on">TED</st1:personname> then distributes and monetizes. Definitely something to consider for other conference organizers…</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial"></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial">Would love to hear from other people if they share my thoughts on this development.</span></p>

This past week I attended TED 2008 in Monterey (last time in this location as TED moves to Long Beach) and – as usual – brought back tons of ideas and inspiration (good coverage here). TED is definitely one of the best conferences one can attend, full of energy, interesting people and new discoveries. This TED made it also clear to me how the conference is really developing into a fully-fledged media business.

International expansion is part of almost every business plan of an ambitious start-up but few ever get around to it: strong existing competition in international markets, a lack of understanding of the local culture or not enough international expertise in the management team often keep start-ups in their domestic market. At <a href="http://www.abebooks.com">AbeBooks</a>, we learned very early what huge opportunities international expansion can bring and the company is generating today more than 40% of its revenues outside of North-America. I was therefore very happy to see <a href="http://www.suite101.com">Suite101</a> expand so quickly into Europe with <a href="http://www.techvibes.com/blog/vancouvers-suite101-invades-germany/">the launch of a German site last week</a> - as with the launch of every new site it will take some time to develop this part of the business but it is important that we plant these seeds as early as possible. The Suite101 team has done an incredible job in pulling off the project in a very short period of time and I am sure that the concept of providing a <a href="http://www.suite101.com/freelance_writers/">publishing platform for freelance writers</a> will find the same success over in the Old World as it has here in North-America with over 7 million uniques / month - good luck for the official launch of <a href="http://www.suite101.de">Suite101.de</a> this week and the accompanying press tour in Germany! * On a sidenote: it is nice to see that the tradition of office sharing between portfolio companies continues over in Germany: in the same way that <a href="http://www.techvibes.com">Techvibes</a> bunks up with Suite101.com here in Vancouver, Suite101.de found some desks at <a href="http://www.tripsbytips.de">Tripsbytips</a> over in Berlin.