Coffee with Julie Meyer
As I make my way down Cannon Street, I feel like death warmed up. I’ve had a bad cold for three or four days, and I’ve used the magical power of cigarettes to develop a simultaneous cough of room-shaking proportions. I’m off to see Julie Meyer at Ariadne Capital. Julie is perhaps best-known as the co-founder of First Tuesday, the entrepreneur’s network which claimed half-a-million members across 100 cities at the height of the dotcom boom. Now, she’s CEO at Ariadne, an investment and advisory firm focusing on web startups.
“Don’t forget to take a dictaphone,” said one of my colleagues. “She speaks really quickly.” Scoffing at the youngster’s lack of power-note-taking skills, I have simply brought my notebook and pen. Like an idiot. He was right. She speaks very quickly and very intensely. Here are some scraps of what I was able to salvage between my coughs. (Apologies, Julie. I hope you didn’t catch anything!)
What is the impact of Web 2.0 on established businesses, I ask.
“So, what we’re finding is an unusual dynamic between large business and startups. You know how they say that M&A is the new R&D, right? Well, that can bring benefits on both sides. Startups need to develop good habits and practices, no matter what stage they’re at. They need to be on track to be bought. At the same time, large businesses need to be radically open to the dynamic change being offered by new companies with new ideas. And large businesses don’t often attract innovators. They’re too slow moving and don’t want to change, you know? Change more often comes from outside companies rather than within them. So there’s a lot to be gained on both sides by new companies working hand-in-hand with established ones.