Web2.0 startups earn assets, but not ...

Single handed startup stories like PlentyofFish and HotorNot inspired me the most to develop webapps. Only after launch that I realized its not easy to become overnight millionaires.

Creating an Amateur Web 2.0 startup has become a hobby or a pass-time activity for many techies (software developers). They are cheap to build, relatively easy to market, and just requires a person or two to manage it. Should you take this path? YES and NO!

For people who make webapps with the only intention of earning money, the chance of making it BIG is too feeble, and may not be worthy of the hardwork. Check out the article 'Warning: Software Startups are Not as Easy as Everyone Says'

On the other hand, there are people like me who make webapps in spare time NOT for the money… but to express our passion & pride in owning a startup, and gain experience in the process. There is sure only a 2% chance to become a super-hit, but its worth exploring.

Yes... Web 2.0 is a great way to startup a venture if the purpose is to have fun, or express the passion to build something new, or prove creative & technical abilities. As a result, we can get a taste of entrepreneurship, and is a good first step for an amateur. Now, lets talk about funded startups...

Observing many Web 2.0 funded startups, I really wonder what their business strategy is. Most of them offer services for free, and just rely on an unstable advertising model. The only exit strategy is being bought by a Bigshot company. Can anyone guess or assert what their Plan-B is? Each startup only aims to earn assets in the form of userbase, traffic, etc... But, how will it recover the invested $$ and make a decent profit on the venture?

Free Give Away : Fancy About-Me Icons

Here are a few campaign buttons that I created last weekend. Its just an easy way to tell the world whats your kind. Feel free to use them in your Blogs, Websites, MySpace, Forums or any place where you would like to mark your presence. There is no obligation to link back, but I would appreciate it.

Here is the first set...

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The second set of images can be viewed in the RSS feed. Subscribe here!

Here is the second set...

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Note: You are NOT permitted to re-distribute these images. Right click on the image, and save the image to your PC.

Online Tipping is now fun & useful

Here is an impressive alternate to those unattractive donate buttons on the web. ScratchBack is a new online tipping widget that allows a blogger or web-publisher to accept tips (fixed-donation) and publish links/images in return. This makes the tipping system both fun and useful. Check out the Techcrunch review.

To give it a try, I tipped ScratchBack today morning. As a tipper, I'm happy becoz my website gets listed on its Topspots widget as an acknowledgment of my contribution. The process is simple and easy as they use PayPal for transactions. I also signed up for the service, and placed a widget on one of my websites - SanskritVoice. Lets see how good the response is.

This is a simple concept that is well executed. Its timing could not get any better as it was launched just when bloggers are searching for an alternate to the Text-Link-Ads framework. By the way, Google will not penalize us for using the ScratchBack widget since all links are nofollow and javascript-generated.

I like the additional uses of this widget. It can be used as a Text-link advertising widget, paid shout-out box, or a fancy tip-jar. Well done Jim Kukral, and kudos to the ScratchBack team!