Mark Evans is moderating Jason Fried of 37signals.com and Rick Segal of J.L. Albright.

JF: They decided not to use venture capital because they didn't want to change the company. They've been around for seven years. They use word of mouth to build their company. They make sure everything they do is profitable.

ME: RIck, you're a traditional VC, how does a traditional VC play within that environment.

RS: They are an anomaly. There are six companies in the room that we are talking with. If you can do it without money do it. He is happy to do ten deals at $600k each and if he can return $20 million then that's great.

ME: The luxury Jason has is that he charges for his products - he is not desperate.

JF: He changes for products. People like to pay for things that are useful. If you can build good tools you can be profitable tomorrow. Businesses don't mind building things. It is important for developers to show that their tools make money.

RS: Free sucks! It is important for companies to generate money fast. Take a look at nuvvo.com which is free but there is a fee schedule for some things... that works.

JF: They have a free version of all of their products - give 'em a hit - if they like it they'll buy it. Most of their paying clients go through free to upgrades.

ME: What's the Web 2.0 investment climate in Canada?

RS: In this room there are nine people. Yes, there is interest. We need to get more success stories. You don't have to go south to succeed.

Audience: We have to create an environment that says, "Create your company here." What can work in Canada? See http://www.innovationcommons.ca

RS: Rick says he has a standard (...read more...)