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June 2007
Video search tool Pluggd isn't afraid of YouTube
[Posted on June 28, 2007 - 7:17 PM]
The most promising startup I saw among the four search startups was Pluggd. While mPire has a clearer path to success, I think Pluggd has a chance to build...

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mPire aims to be Kelley Blue Book of the web
[Posted on June 28, 2007 - 6:38 PM]
If mPire can live up to its stated ambition, the reward will be large. The company that is trying to be the Kelley Blue Book of the web pitched...

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Scott Rafer pitches facial image search engine Polar Rose
[Posted on June 28, 2007 - 5:02 PM]
Facial recognition startup Polar Rose pitched at the the Under the Radar conference being held today at Microsoft's Silicon Valley campus today. Panelists consisted of Canaan Partners' John Balen,...

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ChaCha claims its search solution trumps Web 2.0
[Posted on June 28, 2007 - 3:54 PM]
Search engine startup ChaCha pitched at the the Under the Radar conference being held today at Microsoft's Silicon Valley campus today. Panelists consisted of Canaan Partners' John Balen, Lockergnome.com's...

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Closed captioning translation service dotSUB pitches VCs
[Posted on June 28, 2007 - 2:17 PM]
At the Web Video Summit yesterday, dotSUB CEO Michael Smolens pitched VantagePoint Venture Partners' Duncan Davidson, ThinkEquityPartners' Anton Wahlman and Venrock's Eric Copeland. I've summed up Smolens' original pitch...

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Voddler pitches VantagePoint, Venrock and ThinkEquity
[Posted on June 27, 2007 - 8:21 PM]
Online video startups pitched venture capitalists this afternoon at the Web Video Summit being held today and tomorrow in San Jose. Voddler CEO Jim Cantalini pitched VantagePoint Venture Partners'...

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Magnify.net pitches Venrock, Interwest and VantagePoint
[Posted on June 27, 2007 - 7:11 PM]
Online video startups pitched venture capitalists this afternoon at the Web Video Summit being held today and tomorrow in San Jose. Up first was Magnify.net CEO Steven Rosenbaum who...

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What Accel and CRV want to invest in right now
[Posted on June 22, 2007 - 8:13 PM]
Charles River Ventures' Susan Wu and Accel Partners' Kevin Efrusy are both seeking out the same startup. They want to find a company that can dominate the Facebook virtual...

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Facebook isn't perfect after all
[Posted on June 22, 2007 - 7:29 PM]
Facebook's application platform has been getting a lot of attention lately. But, it was the social utility company's virtual goods strategy --or lack thereof-- that took center stage at...

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PixVerse, Conduit and other stealth startups at VG Summit
[Posted on June 22, 2007 - 6:23 PM]
The presence of some major MMOs (massively multiplayer online worlds) generating huge profits isn't deterring more entrepreneurs from entering the segment. Some of them are attending the Virtual Goods...

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Virtual goods worth $1.5 billion; success stories speak
[Posted on June 22, 2007 - 3:35 PM]
It may be one of the least known billion dollar markets. Virtual goods are the items purchased inside of an online community. Some virtual goods are decorative while others...

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Benchmark harvest gains pace with impending Business.com sale
[Posted on June 22, 2007 - 2:28 PM]
For a portfolio bulging with winners, Benchmark Capital has been slow to achieve liquidity events. But, patience is paying off. The firm started slow in 2007 with TellMe's sale...

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Mohr Davidow and CRV lead VC delegation to the Virtual Goods Summit
[Posted on June 22, 2007 - 1:51 PM]
Virtual world executives, entrepreneurs and investors are gathered today at Stanford University to attend the Virtual Goods Summit. Mohr Davidow is the event's main sponsor while Charles River Ventures...

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"It's good to be a venture capitalist" (with a mansion in Atherton)
[Posted on June 21, 2007 - 6:49 PM]
SD Forum's 10th annual Visionary Awards event was held last night in Mobius Venture Capital managing director Heidi Roizen's backyard. Receiving awards were Craig McCaw, Trip Hawkins, Mike Moritz...

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Google departures are good news for venture capitalists
[Posted on June 21, 2007 - 2:49 PM]
One of the most common venture capital complaints is that there is too much money chasing too few good deals. Well, the quality of deals may begin to increase...

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Online video humming along with no business plan in sight
[Posted on June 20, 2007 - 7:28 PM]
Despite the presence of no less than five different video bloggers, podcasters and lifecasters on hand to document the discussion, today's online video panel at the Supernova 2007 conference...

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Reconsidering Chesspark, the worst rated startup at March's SF Beta
[Posted on June 20, 2007 - 3:07 PM]
Meeting the entrepreneur behind a startup you've panned isn't the most enjoyable thing. That happened to me last night when I met Brian Zisk, co-founder of Chesspark. In March,...

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Yahoo doesn't need MySpace
[Posted on June 20, 2007 - 1:57 PM]
When it comes to Yahoo, oftentimes, I feel like a mad man ranting in the dark. And the rumor of Yahoo swapping 25% of its equity in exchange for...

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Semel strengthened Yahoo but couldn't fix ad system
[Posted on June 19, 2007 - 12:12 PM]
The time had come for Terry Semel to step down as Yahoo's CEO. Despite being given enough time to fix its advertising engine-- the key to Yahoo's success-, Semel...

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Kyte.tv, Jivox and 13 other digital convergence startups profiled
[Posted on June 18, 2007 - 7:13 PM]
Fifteen startups targeting opportunities around digital convergence themes are profiled this week in Tech Confidential, The Deal's technology dealmaking brand. Senior Writer Stacey Higginbotham drew up a useful table pictured...

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Bessemer defends LifeLock investment as plot thickens
[Posted on June 18, 2007 - 3:02 PM]
After a week of ribbing about the character of the founder of one of its portfolio companies, Bessemer Venture Partners general partner David Cowan responded by providing a fuller...

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Let the Facebook IPO speculation begin
[Posted on June 15, 2007 - 3:52 PM]
While not the first, Paul Kedrosky's prediction today that Facebook will file for an IPO is certainly the most specific. He suggests the social utility will file by this...

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Virtual world frenzy postponed as Sony-Club Penguin talks end
[Posted on June 15, 2007 - 3:05 PM]