Lots of people write prediction pieces heading into a new year. As a general fan of consumer internet / tech, aside from working at one such company, I can’t wait to observe a number of potential events in 2014. Rather than postulate about their outcome, I think it’ll be quite riveting for us observers regardless of how they sort out. Here’s what to watch for over the next 12 months (N.B. I didn’t include anything regarding Wanelo, and this list is biased towards my personal interests):

Google: What do they do next to push the envelope? Can Google Glass become more than just a punchline? When does it crack $400B market cap? Does it hit $500B?

Amazon: How does it get closer to owning local commerce? Can eBay make a larger dent in their business? When does it crack $250B market cap? Does it hit $300B?

Facebook: Can it come up with a game-changing feature / product for the first time in...

It’s been said numerous times in numerous places that companies are people. This notion is especially true in startup business development. Understanding that companies have personalities just like some of your closest friends is important to figuring out which partners to target, how to pitch a potential partner, and how to position a deal or relationship.

Here are 5 types of friends that will help you understand your future business development partners.

The Experimenter: We all know this person. He was the one who had to be the first to try anything, the risk-taker. If he wasn’t first, then he didn’t want any part of it. The same personality exists in the form of a company. However, I’ve noticed that it tends to come in one of two flavors. First, the company that has nothing to lose. They’re more than happy to be your guinea pig. The upside of working with them isn’t incredibly...

During an interview with Kara Swisher in April, Troy Carter, Lady Gaga’s manager and a prolific seed investor, said something that struck such a significant chord with me that I Tweeted about it then, and I’m still thinking about it nearly 5 months later. His statement was as self-evident as it was powerful: “You always start off with 50 fans.”

Love this quote from @seetroytweet in his interview with @karaswisher: “You always start with 50 fans…even the biggest artists.”

— Adam Besvinick (@Besvinick) April 26, 2013

Troy, of course, is discussing the importance of knowing your earliest fans and subsequently empowering them in various ways because they are the ones who evangelize the artist. But why can’t this very notion be applied to startups, especially those of the consumer internet variety whose relevance oftentimes has the same lifespan as a one-hit wonder artist? In this vein...