Tuesday Report - April 3, 2000

The weekly newsletter for everyone interested in barter--the world's most versatile business tool!

April 4, 2000

In this week's report. . .

A venture capital firm with a barter twist
Seven gifts for the year 2000
Here and there. . . . .

"In Kind" VC Fund Created

Several NYC-based corporate barter companies have joined forces to create NetMedia-VC. It's a venture capital firm with a twist...they trade media, overnight delivery, furniture, printing, travel & entertainment, plus office and warehouse space in exchange for equity in internet startups.

Steve Zadrick, CEO and founder, related that "a conventional VC firm has lots of money, but lacks any hands-on branding experience and direction. Having a couple home-runs in their portfolio doesn't make a VC company a banking expert, just a wise investor."

NetMedia partner Richard Roth (IGT Services/RMR Advertising) pointed out, "Our customers are internet companies that have a spending appetite of $3 million or more in the goods and services we offer, especially media, to accomplish branding."

"We've been building and protecting the world's top brands for over 20 years," partner William Steinberg (President of Tradewell) explained. "This level of expertise you can't put a price on!"

As a venture capital fund, NetMedia-VC will become a collection of internet companies and hopes to duplicate the current success of CMGI, Virtual.net, and Internet Capital Group. They expect to team with a Silicon Valley powerhouse and go public, too.

Seven Things You Should Do Now To Ensure That 2000 Will Be A Happy New Year!

The year is already 25% over! Incredibly, the first three months of the new year are behind us...as time seems to be moving faster in these exciting, exhilarating times!

Here are seven gifts, presents for the future that will last well beyond the new year and should make life easier for you and your family. If you haven't taken action in this direction, do so now. And remember, whenever possible use barter to attain these services.

Gift No. 1...Have a will drawn or updated. Approximately 70% of the population doesn't have one. (Contact an attorney in your exchange.)

Gift No. 2...Start a college education fund for your children or grandchildren. (Cash saved through your trading efforts can be methodically set aside.)

Gift No. 3...Take advantage of your retirement plans. (Your exchange will have a professional that can assist you in this area of life.)

Gift No. 4...Get your spouse involved. Your spouse needs to know what you own, why you own it, where the records for all your major assets are kept, as well as the names and phone numbers of your financial adviser, broker, accountant, lawyer, insurance agent, etc.

Gift No. 5...Review your life insurance program. Your insurance needs have probably changed. (In many areas of the country term life insurance is available on trade.)

Gift No. 6...Review your homeowner's, auto, and liability insurance policies. The first rule of financial management is to protect what you already have. The cost of liability is moderate, but the cost of not having it could be financial ruin. (Check with your exchange to see what's available in these areas.)

Gift No. 7...Don't procrastinate. Take action, it's the difference between being in or out of control.

Here And There...

Celebrity auction web site UltimateBid.com has traded equity to super-model Heidi Klum and football legend Joe Montana. Both will promote and host online auctions that reward the highest bidders with celebrity-styled outings with entertainment and sports stars.

UltimateBid.com is a subsidiary of IMG (International Management Group), a company started by Mark McCormick some 30 years ago when he made a handshake agreement with Arnold Palmer to be the golfer's agent.

McCormick has built the company into a worldwide empire, now grossing in excess of $1 billion a year in revenue. McCormick, the author of the best selling book What They Still Don't Teach You At Harvard Business School in 1986, has always been a big proponent of barter.
ShopNow's b2bnow.com has added 40,000 new businesses during it's first eight weeks sincethe site launched on January 18. And, pending completion of ShopNow.com's proposed acquisition of business-to-business barter site Ubarter.com (expected in about four to six weeks), will begin online bartering as well. BarterNews magazine has already lined up an interview with ShopNow, which will take place once the acquisition is completed.
MSC Industrial Direct is a large distributor of metal working supplies (some 400,000 different industrial products from 2,500 suppliers) to more than 200,000 customers. They have made, what they refer to as a "strategic investment" in BarterTrust.com, as they look to leverage their core assets to construct new sources of revenue.

BarterTrust is a new "bricks & clicks" barter company, and this relationship signifies the direction in which the barter industry is moving...toward bigger, more significant clients.
In Issue #51 of BarterNews we reported that Dell Computer's earnings, by playing the market (through the use of puts and calls) exceeded their net income during the past three years. Now Dell reports that their unrealized gains from its one-year-old investment portfolio "now exceeds $2 billion," and there's still another eleven companies in the portfolio that have IPOs pending!
Competitive Media Reporting says internet companies spent most of their 1999 ad dollars on off-line media...$687 million going to magazines and $668 million to network TV.
BigVine.com and BizBuyer.com have formed an alliance to bring each other's services to businesses nationwide. BigVine is an online barter exchange and BizBuyer provides reverse auction services, wherein buyers name a price they're willing to pay for a product or service. BigVine will be featured in BizBuyer's newly launched Vendor Resource Center.

We welcome your comments, questions, and observations.

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