E-books. Again. Amazon and the DOJ vs.

Last week at the 10x Xelerator , Andy Sparks impelled LaunchGram.com into motion and lazy people all over the world rejoiced (or they will…eventually).

From a slow start in the aftermath of the Soviet Union, Russia is now Europe’s biggest internet market with 53 million users (compared to number-two Germany at 51 million), and figures from GP Bullhound and comScore indicate that it is also growing the fastest, at 14 percent (other European countries are at less than six percent it says). On top of that, a growing base of middle class consumers — 15 million today, expected to double to 30 million in the next five years in an e-commerce market that is projected to be worth $40 billion — has translated into a veritable boom in the rise of tech companies

In the dot-com boom I lost $15 million cash. Yes, I am an idiot.

Editor’s note:  Contributor  Ashkan Karbasfrooshan  is the founder and CEO of  WatchMojo , he hosts a show on business and has published books on success (he was also, from 2000-05 one of the most popular relationship columnists, under a pen name, for a well-known lifestyle mag).  Follow him @ashkan . Not a week goes by where I don’t get an email that goes like this: “I wanted to reconnect, as I’ve recently left [the company that bought my startup].

Although its value may not have been apparent to all at the outset, AngelList has proven to be a remarkably effective way for investors to connect with entrepreneurs. The hybrid social network, communication and crowdsourcing platform offers a greater degree of visibility to startups that might not have access to investors, and, on the flip side, has become an important resource for investors looking to boost dealflow and connect with other investors.

Facebook’s Instagram acquisition was all Zuckerberg – The Wall Street Journal reports that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg basically acted independently when pursuing the company’s latest acquisition of photo app Instagram. The board was “told” that the company would be bought.

After writing about Lovestagram, the app that Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger’s girlfriend made for him as a Valentine’s Day present , we didn’t think we could find a cuter story. But we totally did. Smoopa, a mobile commerce app I wrote about yesterday , is also the by-product of a little love story