Private Equity
It's not unusual to see early executives of a big tech company join the VC ranks. For example, It seems like everyone on the staff of Bellevue, Wash.-based Ignition Partners has ties to Microsoft. But it's hard not to notice that many early Googlers are not just investing in startups as individuals, but are forming early stage firms. My colleague Constance Loizos reported yesterday how Merus Capital (whose founders have roots that go back to Microsoft and Google) are in the midst of trying to raise $125 million for its debut fund. And one half of the management team at Javelin Ventures is a former Google executive. I came across another firm that owes its wealth, and hopeful success, to Google. The firm, called XG Ventures derives its name from the fact that its four partners are ex-Googlers.
2 min read · 24 June 2009
1 min read · 24 June 2009
I've been really annoyed lately at how many hackers are on Twitter lately. Every day, as new followers hop on board my account, I think, "Great! Here are more people who want to strike up conversations with me and make an effort to get along in this social media playground." Nah. It seems like one out of 10 or so are what I call "Porn Tweets," hackers who just want to lure me to their illicit websites so they can into hack into my computer. The POTUS became a victim. So did Britney Spears. Apparently, we're not the only ones targeted. Former Apple Macintosh evangelist Guy Kawasaki was hit Tuesday. The managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, whose followers on Twitter are approaching 150,000 in number, is considered one of the more high-profile users of the micro-blogging site to get hit with the Trojan Horse on Tuesday.
1 min read · 24 June 2009
Are U.S.-based investors finding assets made cheaper by the global recession in Canada? Yesterday, Bridgescale Partners, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based growth equity firm, announced it is expanding its focus and operations to include the Eastern United States and Canada. As part of this expansion, Bridgescale plans to open an office in Toronto this summer, and it is recruiting bodies for that office now. "We view Canada as an area rich in attractive investment opportunities. With the support from the Canadian investment community, we intend to quickly duplicate the success we have had in Silicon Valley,” Robert Chaplinsky, managing director of Bridgescale, said in a prepared release.
2 min read · 17 June 2009
One of my favorite lines this past season on NBC's "30 Rock" came from character Jack Donaghy, played by Alec Baldwin, who was told by nurse Elisa, played by Salma Hayek, that he should go see a doctor. "Thank you for telling me what I already know," he says. "You should work for The Huffington Post." With that one-liner in mind, I'd like to tell you all something that Huffington Post already knows: Eric Hippeau, managing partner of SoftBank Capital and former CEO of Ziff-Davis, will replace current HuffPo CEO Betsy Morgan as the company's new CEO, it was announced today.
2 min read · 16 June 2009
2 min read · 11 June 2009
Venture capitalists worldwide expect their investor base will become more global, according to the 2009 Global Venture Capital Survey released today by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and the National Venture Capital Association. The survey, which was conducted in the first quarter of the year, garnered responses from 725 VCs. Deloitte says the increase in responses over last year shows that the survey hit a nerve. The survey shows that VCs are expecting an increase in globalization, perhaps because they expect U.S.-based LPs will pull back. Also, the survey shows VCs are an optimistic lot. Highlights after the jump...
1 min read · 10 June 2009
Our Reuters.com colleague Deborah L. Cohen interviews NVCA president Mark Heesen: By Deborah L. Cohen Total investments in clean technology - including wind, solar, bio-fuels and a host of related technologies - totaled $4.09 billion through the end of 2008, compared to just $1.44 billion in 2006, according to the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). That's still just a fraction of the overall $28.2 billion in venture capital investments but the area is steadily gaining momentum. In a recent interview with Reuters.com, Mark G. Heesen, president of the NVCA, the leading trade association for venture capitalists in the United States, representing the interests of more than 450 member firms, discussed the growing interest in clean technology and how this fast-growing sector will shape the future of early-stage investing.
9 min read · 04 June 2009
Richard Wolpert knows what it's like to ride business waves as a long-time angel investor and entrepreneur. And as a jet ski enthusiast, Wolpert can tell you a thing or two about ocean waves. In fact, Wolpert, who currently sources deals for Los Angeles-based digital media investor The Mail Room Fund, is out on the waves right now. On June 1, Wolpert took off for a week-long solo WaveRunner adventure in the Bahamas. The trip included an initial 80-mile-long crossing of the Atlantic Ocean from Florida to the Bahamas. And now Wolpert, who turns 47 in August, is jet skiing around the Bahamas before he returns home.
1 min read · 03 June 2009
2 min read · 03 June 2009
