Will Money Follow?

Imagine how bizarre it felt when I paged to last week's annual special report about the new TV fall season only to have our favorite former VAR success story, Mark Cuban, pouting at me like some sort of Mark Wahlberg wanna-be wearing a shirt with the slogan "I am the American dream."

In case you were in a cave this summer, you've doubtless heard that Cuban has decided to spend some of his extra millions on a reality show called "The Benefactor" (managing to spark a turf war with The Donald in the process). Anyone who's had any kind of brush with the venture capital world will appreciate Cuban's concept: On the show, he'll give away a million bucks to one of 16 entrepreneurs who need some seed money for their small business. The contestants include one bartender/nanny (consider that career combo for a moment), a histologist (don't worry, I had to look it up, too--it means an expert in bodily tissues) and, yes, a computer programmer.

Which leads me to ask: Mark, why no IT solutions entrepreneurs? Were they just too busy to apply?

Historically speaking, of course, the legitimate venture capital community hasn't paid that much attention to solution providers. There are probably two really good reasons for this. First, most solution providers have tended to grow up from the technical world organically and haven't had all that much management depth, and second, most investors historically haven't understood the value that the channel provides.

I believe that's about to change. For one, there is a heightened focus across the solution provider community on better management, including more attention to margins (which, by the way, continue to grow as more players emphasize solutions rather than pure product sales). More important, perhaps, there is a perception among the most forward-thinking vendors in the industry that the channel will be vitally important for the next phase of IT growth. And that means the venture capital community can't help but sit up and take notice. Why not you, Mark?

My favorite reality show is life, what's yours? HEATHER CLANCY, Editor at CRN, appreciates your comments at [email protected].