Dan Primack
Visto CEO Brian Bogosian is in Barcelona today, but just called in to discuss his company’s financial situation. He confirms that Visto raised a $35 million up-round at the end of 2006, and says that Visto has “the strongest balance sheet we’ve ever had… The idea that we’re in financial trouble is complete BS.” I […]
(Update here) Mobile email company Visto Corp. is not on the edge of financial collapse, despite such insinuations this morning from ValleyWag. In fact, multiple sources tell me that the Redwood City, Calif.-based company raised an undisclosed $35 million venture round at the end of December, led by new investor Altitude Capital Partners. Negative speculation […]
Each Monday brings with it around a dozen VC funding announcements. And, to be honest, it’s rare that one seems much more important than another. Unless a company raised triple-digits, I’m just trying to get them all typed up for PE Week Wire publication. But some clever PR folks were at work with this morning’s […]
A few years back, I had a small heart scare that turned out to be nothing. But, in order to diagnose its very nothingness, I was given a cardiac-rhythm monitoring device that looked a lot like those buzzers you’re given while waiting at a crowded restaurant. Whenever I felt some discomfort or irregularity, I’d place […]
For those still relying on Expedia or (gasp) flesh-and-blood travel agents, it’s probably time to migrate to the burgeoning world of meta travel search engines. The granddaddy of this genre – which displays deals from a variety of travel search sites and branded airline/hotel sites – is SideStep, which today is announcing that it has […]
*** Last week we reported that Tim Draper was among the angels who invested $1.1 million in sex toy company Jimmy Jane. But Tim wasn’t alone. It turns out that another three or four of DFJ’s eight other managing directors also chipped into what they view as a steady, niche retail opportunity. But before prudish […]
BioBehavioral Diagnostics Co., a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of a diagnostic system for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), today announced that it has raised $8.5 million in Series A funding co-led by Sevin Rosen Funds and Tullis-Dickerson. ADHD is one of the most commonly-misdiagnosed conditions, and to date there are no objective methods of diagnosis. Instead, […]
VC-backed entrepreneurs regularly — and rightly — bitch about liquidation preferences, and how they can belie the notion that “we’re all in this together.” It’s kind of like the Titanic captain and steerage passengers all “being in the same boat.” True for a while, but not necessarily when the going gets tough. But entrepreneurs are […]
The last time I discussed VC industry guidelines was in 2004, when a group proposed standardized portfolio valuation/performance metrics and best practices. It was a well-meaning effort, but ultimately toothless because not even its designers – both GPs and LPs – would commit to adoption. So it was with a healthy dose of skepticism yesterday […]
The latest set of private equity performance data is out, and it looks a lot like the previous set. The only real changes come in one-year returns for both venture and buyouts, with the former dropping from 13.7% to 10.8%, and the latter dropping from 26.2% to 23.6 percent. Also notable is the short-term rebound […]