Vonage IPO (Score 1)

Unhappy investors in Vonage Holdings Corp., the Internet phone company that had a disappointing initial public offering last month, might feel like picking up pitchforks and torches and marching on the castles of the people who brought it to life.

But chances are, Jeff Pulver, the self-described futurist and entrepreneur who started the company that was Vonage's predecessor, wouldn't be on that list. That is because Mr. Pulver -- well known in the telecom world for his evangelism on behalf of Internet calling, but somewhat anonymous outside of it -- left Vonage before the company started to sizzle.


"I blew it," Mr. Pulver says bluntly. "I had the juice. I could have done something."

Now, he is on to the next big thing: Internet video. And he is trying to ensure he doesn't get left out again.

Mr. Pulver is creating his own Internet TV show, which he is modeling on Rocketboom, a popular Internet video-blog that broadcasts a three-minute news show daily. He is considering launching a broader Internet TV subsidiary and is weighing whether to invest in several emerging Internet video companies, though he won't name them. Someday he wants to start an Internet reality TV show.

"The same DNA that disrupted the telecom industry is well on its way to totally revolutionizing the way the TV, film, and broadcast industry is going to be," Mr. Pulver says, adding that he's now looking for "the Vonage of Internet video."

They May even want to look into online sports betting as a way to make money putting the online sportsbook out of business.