Kevin O'Connor of FindTheBest #234

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On This Week in Startups, an old friend of Jason's from the Silicon Alley Reporter days joined us in the studio--Kevin O'Connor, the founder of DoubleClick. Kevin's new venture is FindTheBest, a recommendation engine powered by a combination of algorithm and human curation. Kevin is passionate about search and web 2.0 learning, so check out an interview with someone who knows exactly what he's up against (Google), and how to win.

0:00-3:00 Welcome everyone, we’re here today with Kevin O’Connor of FindTheBest.
3:00-6:00 Thank you to LiquidWeb for supporting independent media! Everyone thank them @LiquidWeb!
6:00-8:15 Where was DoubleClick founded? What was the original name?
8:15-9:00 What was it like going to advertisers in those days?
9:00-11:00 And you grew very rapidly, yes?
11:00-13:30 You had a pretty meteoric rise, and then raised a huge IPO, yes?
13:30-15:00 And you handed over the reins to Kevin Ryan at some point? What did you do during that time?
15:00-16:00 Why do great entrepreneurs never make great venture capitalists?
16:00-16:45 Insight from Tyler: “It’s like being the lifeguard at the pool.”
16:45-18:30 How many hours a week do you think those VC work?
18:30-20:00 Do you remember Boo.com?
20:00-20:45 Jason explains the poker game guts.
20:45-22:00 What do you think that’s out right now that’s really impressive?
22:00-24:30 Jason and Kevin look at FindTheBest.com.
24:30-26:30 Is Google a content company at this point, in your mind?
26:30-29:15 Thank you to GoToMeeting for sponsoring the program! Everyone thank @GoToMeeting and thank them for their support!
29:15-31:00 How do you get the results? Is it human and algorithm powered?
31:00-33:30 How do you then take those results and organize them?
33:30-34:45 How do you make money? Are you taking a commission?
34:45-37:00 How do you build a brand like this when Google is infringing on your space?
37:00-40:45 Is it Google’s right to put their rankings above everyone else’s?
40:45-44:15 Do you think Google is doing human search and they don’t want to let on how many people they have doing it?
44:15-46:00 How is the company funded? How many people do you have?
46:00-47:30 Mobile: what’s your focus there?
47:30-51:00 What is the score based on in any given category?
51:00-53:45 Megan Dickey of LAUNCH joins us to play Guess the Fake Startup game.
53:45- Kevin, as a consumer and investor, which of these would you use and which would you put money into?
59:30-1:00:15 The real company is Spread!
1:00:15-1:00:30 Thank you so much for joining us, Kevin. Everyone check out FindTheBest.com and follow Kevin @kjpoconnor. 

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Keep up with the latest from our sister company, LAUNCH:

• 10 International Startup Scholarships
• DOUBLE Boom! LAUNCH Hits $369k in Prizes Thanks to MailChimp's $100k!
• Boom! LAUNCH Hits $269k in Prizes Thanks to Charles River Ventures
• Whoa, LAUNCH Prize Money Hits $169k
• We Need to Empower Hollywood--Not Kill Hollywood

FOLLOW ON TWITTER
Jason: @jason
Tyler: @steepdecline
Kevin: @kjpoconnor
LiquidWeb: @liquidweb
GoToMeeting: @gotomeeting

Special thanks to the members of the TWiST Backchannel Program!

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