I think fred is right and barry (author) is also right. There is a general bias by VC's to ad supported startups, and they can be overly enthusiastic about the

I think fred is right and barry (author) is also right. There is a general bias by VC's to ad supported startups, and they can be overly enthusiastic about the latest "business model" to emerge. From the startup perspective - both ad based revenue and subscription or direct e-commerce models are hard, but the old adage applies: built something people want.