TechCrunch April 15, 2008: "Mowser Founder Says Mobile Web Is Dead"
Mobile web is NOT dead and continues to grow but unfortunately as a small startup, it is very difficult to generate a profit and stay in business. One of the previous commenters listed a number of startups “doing well” but we have to be reminded that none of them are actually making any significant money from mobile. Most of them are able to sustain themselves and fight to stay relevant from the investment they raised.
I am convinced that for the time being, there only 2 kinds of companies that’ll succeed in the mobile web space:
1. A big desktop web company who can cover the losses with rev from the desktop or
2. A startup that raises lots of money to cover their burn for the next 3 to 5 years.
There’s a lot of activity in this space but I do not believe that mobile web, in its current form, is in a state that can support lots of startups; especially those that depend on traffic. Therefore, I believe that it is the big companies that will first see some success from monetizing the mobile web. They will either find that the mobile web will prove to be a business on its own or at least help their desktop business.
Only then will startups have a chance to thrive which is why they need to raise lots of money now. If their current business plan calls for generating enough traffic in the next 2 years to stay in business, might as well close shop early because I do not believe this will happen.
