Like many in the online classifieds space, I watched the recent auction of Edgeio with great curiosity. The bidding ended today with Looksmart acquiring “most” of the assets for only $280,000. There were just two serious bidders in the process.
I’m not sure this is a good sign for others in the same category. If a site that was all-things-classifieds has such a low value in the mind of the market, what about one that’s just jobs? Many will argue that Edgeio was unique, but I’m not sure I buy it.
And if perception is reality, similar verticals will be looked at in a similar light. Considering the company raised about $5 million, the final sales price is pretty embarrassing. And don’t forget this company was attached to Techcrunch’s Michael Arrington. I’m not sure the pricetag bodes well for a lot of other startups and Web 2.0s either, many already struggling to stay afloat.
2008 could get ugly. Happy Holidays!
Popularity: 3% [?]
December 23rd, 2007 at 10:26 pm
Im not just going to sit here and have you insult the US dollar (along with everyone else) by calling $280K meager !
Remember that Steve Martin bit: How I turned a million dollars of real estate into 50 bucks cash” ?
On another topic- CATS is OK as it goes, but you get what you pay for.