“You used to have a screenplay but now you have an app,” joked Elizabeth Osder, a leading veteran content developer and strategist , during an interview on startup principles today at ILM West in Los Angeles. “The barriers to entry have gotten so low.” Some of the issues with startups have changed over the years, however.

In the 90s, when Osder was working with sites like The New York Times, the quality of software development was the key. But “the thing that is changing…the price is going down…you can have pretty good software developers.” What’s more important is a focus on marketing. “It is a blocking and tackling problem of direct marketing,” said Osder.

Osder says what she looks for in startups is whether they are in it for a long haul. They also have to be able to pivot. You have to learn faster and change direction,” she said.