Have you heard of the startup named Color? Yes, the name is color and they have raised $41 million to make apps that will enable people share photos, easily.
Color is a fun way to create a public photo album with your friends using multiple iPhones. Everything is instantly shared among everyone taking photos and videos using the Color app. Color’s app allowing people to share photos without logging-in, raised $41 million. Some analysts saw those figures as a warning sign. In March, Color unveiled its photo-sharing cellphone application — and revealed that it had raised $41 million from investors before the app had a single user. Despite the company’s riches, the app landed with a thud, attracting few users and many complaints from those who did try it.
As the CEO of Color proudly stated, the purpose of Color is to “collect massive amounts of data about what people are doing and where they’re doing it” – that is thrilling news for advertisers and corporations! Imagine happy Color app users snapping and sharing all their personal picture moments with not only nearby strangers but with the titans of business. Speaking of strangers, all you lecherous anti-social creepers need to run down to your local swimming pool, beach, playground, or shopping mall – the free Color app is the perfect 21st century electronic voyeur but do be cautious as the app will certainly put a gleam in the eye of law enforcement, lawyers, spooks, and tabloids.
But a New York Times piece cautioned:
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Since then, Color has become a warning sign for investors, entrepreneurs and analysts who fear there is a bubble in start-up investing. They say it shows that venture capitalists, desperate to invest in the next Facebook or LinkedIn, are blindly throwing money at start-ups that have not shown they can build something useful, much less a business that can provide decent returns on investment.
According to the National Venture Capital Association, venture capitalists invested $5.9 billion in the first three months of the year, up 14 percent from the period a year earlier, but they invested in 51 fewer companies, indicating they were funneling more money into fewer start-ups.
This is a roll call of the signs of the bubble – some will make it, while some will crash. But the prices are insane.
- Color raised $41
- The Melt plans to sell grilled-cheese sandwiches and soup that people can order from their mobile phones. Raised $15 million from Sequoia Capital, which also invested in Color.
- Airbnb, which helps people rent rooms in their homes, is raising venture capital that would value it at a billion dollars
- Scoopon, a kind of Groupon for Australians, raised $80 million
- Juice in the City, a Groupon for mothers, raised $6 million
- Scvngr, which started a Groupon for gamers, raised $15 million.