Jeff Bussgang: I saw first-hand how quickly money can fly out the door in a VC-backed consumer play and I’m worried that it’s happening again.  There’s some emerging data to support the “consumer bubble” theory.  VentureOne recently reported that in 2003, there were 183 consumer deals and $1.2 billion invested.  In 2004, it jumped to 246 deals and $2.1 billion invested.  I would be surprised if 2005 didn’t continue the trend.  Most worrying, this month’s featured event at Harvard Business School Club of Boston is, you guessed it, “Emerging Trends in Consumer Technologies”.  Uh oh.  Anytime HBS jumps on a bandwagon, you know it’s the top of the curve. 

I could not agree more – Vonage, and other such examples I have often highlighted have kept me in the minority of one club for too long. Thank god, Jeff is thinking along the same lines. via Infectious Greed