BA.net - Better Answers

BA.net feedsburner VentureCapital News 08/04/2008

Venture Capital

Venture Capital bloggers have a uniquely targeted audience of entrepreneurs interested in what they have to say. These Venture Capitalists write about technology, entrepreneurship, investing, the computer industry, and their random exploits.

en-usFeedBurner Networks http://www.feedburner.comTue, 08 Apr 2008 00:22:35 -0500442092http://www.feedburner.comThis is the spliced feed for "Venture Capital". Add this to your news reader to receive updates about the network.

Friends from the Ivory Coast [Hansen Report]

read moreTue, 08 Apr 2008 00:22:35 -0500

Tonight I received the following distressed email.

If you think you can help, please be sure to give me a couple hundred thousand dollars since I tipped you off about the money… I am saving up for a hair cut.

From:Mrs.jane Kuku & son Charles.
Abidjan,Cote D`Ivoire.

My Dear Hansen,

I am Mrs. jane Kuku from Cote D`ivoire (Ivory Coast). Iwas married to late Dr. Ibrahim Kuku who was a serving director of the Cocoa exporting board until his death . He was assasinated in september (2003) following a
political uprising here. Before his death, he deposited the sum of $2.5million with one of the Banks here and used my name as his next of kin.However,due to my bad
health situation occasioned by cancer, i wish you to secure this fund as the new commissioned beneficiary so that you will invest it in a good business venture for the benefit and education of my son, Charles, who is now 16 years old and in college here as i can not be able to handle this due to bad health situation.

I wish you to invest in any worthy business which you deem fit and proper and manage same for Charles until he is matured to take over. I wish you to distribute and use the fund as follows: 80% for the business which you
will manage on behalf of my son, 15% for your cordial assistance and inconveniences while the remaining 5% is for any expenses which may be incurred in the course of the transfer.

I look forward to receiving the under-listed information from you so that i will submit them to the bank to enable them commence action on the fund transfer as soon as possible.

Your full name (s ) :………………………
Your contact Phone number:……………….
Your Address:………………………….
Your Age:………………………………
Occupation:…………………………….

I hope to hear from you soonest.

Please note that i would like this transaction to be private and confidential between us alone. I await your quick reply.You call reach me on phone at +22566554877.

Thanks and best regards.

Mrs.jane Kuku.

My Favorite Inbound Emails [The Post Money Value]

read moreRick SegalMon, 07 Apr 2008 20:58:56 -0500

I love getting these:

Hi Rick,

I would like to send you an email in order to close the loop on this one. We have decided to self-fund our company in the next little while. The ad revenue has grown to a point that our cost is covered by our revenue. With other unexpected opportunity on the side such as white labelling our technology, we have sufficient capital to move forward. However, we should keep in touch.as it is quite possible that we will look for external capital again in a few months to fuel our growth.

Local boy doing good. Sweet! Go get em, Allen.

I love getting these: Hi Rick, I would like to send you an email in order to close the loop on this one. We have decided to self-fund our company in the next little while. The ad revenue has grown to a point that our...

This is Officially Disgusting [The Post Money Value]

read moreRick SegalMon, 07 Apr 2008 20:23:10 -0500

Via the consumerist:

Ever toast, spread cream cheese on, and eat a bagel and be like, damn, this is taking too long? Then Kraft's Bagelfuls, a frozen bagel tube with cream cheese already inside, are for you.

Via the consumerist: Ever toast, spread cream cheese on, and eat a bagel and be like, damn, this is taking too long? Then Kraft's Bagelfuls, a frozen bagel tube with cream cheese already inside, are for you.

U.S. VC Deals Get Foreign Strategic Investors [PE HUB]

read moreAllVC DealsJoanna GlasnerMon, 07 Apr 2008 18:02:39 -0500

In a conversation I had a couple of days ago with Susan Mason, a general partner at Onset Ventures, she mentioned that over the last six to nine months, more than half the corporate investors she and Onset have been working with on follow-on funding rounds have been based overseas. She didn’t name the companies seeking funding or the investors (the deals haven’t been announced yet), but said the corporate investors setting out term sheets are coming from emerging markets as well as established ones.

Considering the dismal state of the greenback, and the fact that the equally dismal exit climate means there are probably a lot of high-quality later stage companies looking for private funding, it seems logical that we’d be seeing a lot more foreign strategic investors in Q2 funding rounds. Plus, a lot of U.S. startups get most of their revenue outside the country anyway.

One of Onset’s portfolio companies, Obopay, for example, recently launched its mobile phone person-to-person payment service in India. The service has already been live in the U.S. for some time, but is seeing most interest from overseas, in places such as India, where a higher proportion of the population don’t have bank accounts.

What do you get when you combine a drooping dollar and a bunch of venture-backed startups that are aggressively trying to enter international markets? Apparently, one side effect is more strategic investors from overseas. In a conversation I had a couple of days ago with Susan Mason, a general partner at Onset Ventures, she mentioned that [...]

http://www.pehub.com/wordpress/?feed=rss2&p=2273

Mom In India And Japan [Feld Thoughts]

read moreArtbrad@feld.comMon, 07 Apr 2008 17:57:27 -0500

My mom just hung a new exhibit of her photographs titled Japan and India: Faces and Places.

The images are spectacular - take a look at the slide show if you have any interest. The show is up at the Mesquite Art Center, 1527 N. Galloway, Mesquite, Texas (972-216-6444) until May 3. Congrats Mom on a beautiful looking show.

In the Vegas Airport [Hansen Report]

read moreMon, 07 Apr 2008 17:34:10 -0500

Its been a crazy couple of weeks.

During which time I have packed up and shipped all my belongs of New York back to Marin.

The shift from one part of the country to the next is sudden and (I hope) sweet.

Back in August of 2001 is when I first set official foot on Manhattan soil. There has been very few occasions since initially moving to NYC that I have not been in the vicinity of the City.

Now things are switching. I am moving out West. The Wild Wild West.

San Francisco and Silicon Valley have so much to offer. In addition to the weather, geography and people, there is an atmosphere to California that permeates the landscape. Its this feeling that you can “do anything” that I really love about the Bay Are.

Initially I plan on feeling out the Bay for a couple of weeks from the vantage point of Marin County before deciding on digs in San Francisco.

Very excited about the move.

Good bye New York (for now). Hello California (for now).

Just landed at SF0. Great to be back in the Yay Area. [Hansen Report]

read moreMon, 07 Apr 2008 17:01:36 -0500

Just landed at SF0. Great to be back in the Yay Area.

daryn: Tarkio - Goodbye Girl A cover of the classic Squeeze... [bijansabet.com]

read moreMon, 07 Apr 2008 16:16:53 -0500

daryn:

Tarkio - Goodbye Girl

A cover of the classic Squeeze song by Tarkio, Colin Meloy’s band before the Decemberists.

I’m loving this version. Nice pick Daryn!

China Chief Pledges Transparency [PE HUB]

read moreAllFirms & FundsDan PrimackMon, 07 Apr 2008 14:07:34 -0500

Sovereign wealth funds from Abu Dhabi and China have become the year’s economic boogeyman. Every time one of them helps bail out a U.S. financial institution, someone is there to warn that their motives aren’t pure (i.e., ROI-only). The official explanation is that these SWFs transparent like longer-term players like Norway, but the real concern is rooted in xenophobic politics.

As if to prove the point, Gao Xiqing agreed to an interview last night on 60 Minutes (watch video after the jump). He is the American-educated head of China Investment Corp., who insisted that investment returns are his driving motivation. He added that CIC will produce an annual report that will rival Norway for transparency. It would have done so sooner, he suggested, except that CIC hasn’t yet celebrated its first anniversary.

Translation: You Americans have nothing to fear.

Here’s the video:

http://www.pehub.com/wordpress/?feed=rss2&p=2271

Announcing our investment in Covestor [bijansabet.com]

read moreMon, 07 Apr 2008 13:47:00 -0500

We have been obsessed about bring the power of social networks, community and data to the world of financial markets and personal finance.

And that is what Covestor is all about. I’m thrilled to announce that we recently invested in Series A of Covestor along with Union Square Ventures and Amadeus Capital as well as Howard Lindzon and John Borthwick.

With Covestor you can securely and easily link your Covestor profile to your brokerage account and have a public track record of your investments. And you can track others on the site as well and see how they are performing. Fred has a great post on Covestor today.

Right now there are several benefits for sharing your track record in a secure way. It’s fun, competitive and educational. And soon there will be even more reasons to do this.

So check out Covestor if you are an active public stock investor or just an aspiring one!

Person John BorthwickRight click for SmartMenu shortcuts

Private Equity Balling [PE HUB]

read moreAllDan PrimackMon, 07 Apr 2008 13:41:13 -0500

A couple of basketball-related notes: First is our March Madness Extravaganza, which comes to close tonight when either Kansas or Memphis wins the national championship. If Kansas prevails, our winner will be Canadian university student Adam Vaughan, who says he wants to get into finance post-graduation. If Memphis ends up on top, the various prizes will go to Matt Coyne, who already has a job with Pathway Capital Management.

Also, I wanted to give some pub to a charity event taking place on April 17th in New York. It’s the 11th Annual NetGain Tournament, which kicks off with a game between big-name hedge fund and private equity managers, while the actual round-robin competition includes team entries from such places as AlpInvest Partners, Clayton Dubilier & Rice and JP Morgan Securities. Plus, celebrity coaches include ex-NY Knicks like Walt Clyde Frazier and Allan Houston.

All proceeds go to benefit Youth Inc., which helps improve nonprofits serving children. Go here for more info on the event.

http://www.pehub.com/wordpress/?feed=rss2&p=2270

John Adams is blogging and tumbling from the dead [bijansabet.com]

read moreMon, 07 Apr 2008 12:42:57 -0500

I just mentioned John Adams in my post earlier today and now I find out that John Adams is using Tumblr from the grave and it’s quite funny. The blog is about John Adams’s view on current events (and no, it’s not me).

Silicon Alley Insider links to the late Presidents observation on the Microsoft/Yahoo news of the day.

I thought this post from John Adams was really funny. It’s call from John Adams to the actor Paul Giamatti playing John Adams on HBO.

Do You Like Email and Want Work at a Great Company? [Feld Thoughts]

read moreJobsbrad@feld.comMon, 07 Apr 2008 12:06:05 -0500

Return Path has 50 open positions in Colorado, New York, and Europe. The specific job page has detailed descriptions - all applications / resumes go to jobs@returnpath.net. Who said email is dead?

5 Questions for Dave McKenna [PE HUB]

read moreFirms & FundsHuman ResourcesDan PrimackMon, 07 Apr 2008 11:16:45 -0500

Advent International today announced that it has closed its sixth global buyout fund with $10.4 billion. So I’ve got 5 Question for Dave McKenna, an Advent managing partner:

1. You just raised $10.4 billion for what is termed a “middle-market” fund. Isn’t that a contradiction?

McKenna: No, there’s no contradiction at all. We’re pursuing the same strategy we’ve had for previous funds. The size is designed to let us maintain our middle-market focus, but do more in terms of number of deals.

In the past two years our typical deal profile has been a €550 million enterprise value. If you run the math by assuming one-third equity and two-thirds debt, you get to the size we have. We’ve really just solidified the strategy we already had, with a heavily-resourced team that will continue investing the way it has been over the past several years.

2. Advent also has smaller funds dedicated to regions like Latin America and Eastern/Central Europe. How do they interact with the new global fund?

Subscribe with an RSS reader Older News Archive Add news to your web site