Floodgate related stories
All articles and analysis
Kwedit Founder Danny Shader on Why His Highly Hyped Company Isn't What You ThinkIf there’s one point that Kwedit founder Danny Shader would like to communicate above all else, it is that his one year-old company -- which already has been excoriated by Stephen Colbert http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/265469/march-02-2010/the-word---kid-owe and favorably reviewed in the NYT http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/business/07digi.html -- is a serious operation with two potentially lucrative ways to change how we pay for things. Shader's message may be hard to stick. Kwedit, which went live on February 3, has received attention mostly for one aspect of its business: Kwedit Promises. The feature allows anyone over age 13 to pay for digital goods online by extending them small amounts of credit. Later, using the company's Kwedit Direct system, he or she can pay back what was borrowed using Mom or Dad's credit card; by sending in cash through a Kwedit-supplied envelope; or by printing up a barcode that can be scanned at a nearby 7-Eleven, which accepts cash payments, then alerts Kwedit that a particular “promise” has been kept.
- In Search of Thunder Lizards
Godzilla isn’t the inspiration most angel investors point to when explaining their investment philosophy. But Mike Maples – whose portfolio of early stage investments includes such well-known names as Twitter and Digg – may be on to something. The Silicon Valley-based angel investor this week rolled out a newly named investment fund called Floodgate, which will make investments of $150,000 to $1 million, principally in Internet and technology companies. In building up the portfolio, Maples, says, Floodgate will focus on finding and funding a class of ultra-promising startup teams that he calls thunder lizards. “I thought it was a good metaphor for the disruptive startup,” says Maples, who defines a thunder lizard as one of the tiny minority of venture-funded companies each year that grows up to be worth north of $700 million.
- peHUB Wire: Friday, March 5, 2010
Does Permira's Hugo Boss Math Add Up?
- peHUB Wire: Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Random Ramblings
- peHUB Wire: Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Random Ramblings
- Week in deals, Oct. 15, 2007
Funding details and additional notes about the companies that secured financing in North America this past week
Single and loving itSingle-GP funds are gaining in popularity, with four launched in the past 18 months and another on the fund-raising circuit.