| peHUB Wire -- Wednesday, November 3 |
Want Some Time with Reid Hoffman? Just Ask Him
By Larry Aragon
Want to cozy up to angel extraordinaire-turned-VC Reid Hoffman?
We suggest learning the board game "Settlers of Catan." Or, better yet, ask him to teach you how to play. Hoffman—co-founder of LinkedIn and a partner at Greylock Partners—is a genuinely nice guy who has a hard time saying no to legitimate requests for help.
As Tom Stein notes in his excellent profile of Hoffman in this month's Venture Capital Journal, German ad exec Cyriac Roeding sent a message to Hoffman six years ago not really expecting him to respond. Hoffman not only responded, but he also invited Roeding to breakfast the next time he was in Palo Alto, Calif.
Roeding took him up on the offer, and the pair met several times a year over the next few years. "I have no idea why Reid ever took that first meeting," Roeding says. "He is so insanely busy, but he always manages to find the time."
Ultimately, Roeding was inspired to launch his own Silicon Valley startup, Shopkick, which makes a mobile application that rewards shoppers for walking into stores. Hoffman led Greylock's $15 million investment in Shopkick and took a board seat, his first since joining the venture firm.
If you're thinking Roeding is an exception, think again. In interview after interview with Hoffman's friends and colleagues, Stein found that Hoffman is altruistic to a fault, making himself available at all hours.
"I recently went to Reid's house on a Sunday, and I had the 2 p.m. slot," says friend and angel investor Jeff Clavier. "There was a team of entrepreneurs walking out the door when I got there. They left and Reid and I had a nice chat for an hour. And right when I was getting ready to leave, his next appointment was coming in. So, from 8 a.m. until 6 or 7 p.m., he was booked solid. And this is a Sunday we're talking about!"
Hoffman will even make time to teach people how to play "Settlers of Catan," a game he says "most approximates entrepreneurship."
In a video clip on peHub, Hoffman says: "I have now gotten—strangely, to me—this reputation of: 'Oh, have Reid teach you Settlers. He teaches Settlers the best!' It's like, OK, that wasn't really the identity I aspired to."
Subscribers to Venture Capital Journal can read Stein's profile of Hoffman and see a massive table of his investments by clicking here.
Larry Aragon is the editor-in-chief of Venture Capital Journal. The opinions expressed are his own.
*** Shameless Plug for Shin-Dig, Texas-style - Time for another peHUB Shin-Dig, the world-famous gatherings of PE shops, dealmakers and assorted hangers-on! You bring the conversation, we supply the cocktails. We'll be at the Uptown Bar & Grill in Dallas, Texas on Wednesday, Nov. 17th. Tickets are just $10 and all of it goes to a charity to be chosen by those who come to the event. Last year's event sold out with more than 200 attendees, so don't get turned away! First come, first served. Click here to register now!
New @peHub
First Read, including Whitman and Fiorna going down in flames, Jason Calacanis threatening to sue to get part of proceeds of TechCrunch sale to AOL, and GM walking away from restructuring with tax break worth $45 billion
Second Opinion, including the question of whether positive people live longer, a grim look at life for the folks who build iPhones, and news of FBI agents arresting a French doctor for tipping off a hedge fund manager
Consumer Internet VCs coming to a deal near you
Solar bubble deflates, but exec sees opportunity in monitoring systems
Angelica eschews dividend for acquisition
|
Just Released! EMPEA AFRICA REPORT
This Special Edition of the EMPEA Insight Series offers the most detailed look yet into Private Equity in Sub-Saharan Africa, including detailed analytics on fundraising, investment and exits as well as profiles of key individual markets. The report features contributions from Africa's leading private equity investors including the members of the EMPEA Africa Council.
Free for EMPEA members but also available for general purchase. For more details, visit www.empea.net | | |
Private equity shop Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. saw its profits fall 61% to $317.3 million in the third quarter of 2010, compared with the same period last year, the company said Wednesday. The company's assets under management, however, grew to $55.5 billion. More here…
Private equity firm Wellspring Capital Management has raised $1.2 billion for its fifth fund, Wellspring Capital Partners V LP. The new fund, which is the firm's largest to date, will focus on middle market investments and buyout deals ranging in size from $50 million to $2 billion. Wellspring Capital is based in New York and has more than $3 billion under management. More here…
Venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, formed by Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen and entrepreneur Ben Horowitz, has raised $650 million for its second fund, Reuters reported. At a time when many VCs struggle to raise money, Andreessen Horowitz said it took only three weeks to close the fund, which is more than twice the size of its original fund. Formed in 2009, Andreessen Horowitz has invested in companies including social-gaming company Zynga, location services company Foursquare and VoIP service Skype. More here…
|
UnitedHealthcare®
An improperly managed health benefits plan can cost you 12% more. That's according to a 2009 Towers Perrin Survey that found a significant benefit for companies actively and effectively managing the performance of their health benefits. More than ever, your portfolio companies could benefit from UnitedHealthcare — a proven leader when it comes to finding ways to help you save on your health care costs, to help you properly manage your health benefits plan.
For additional information, please visit www.uhctogether.com/PEWeekWire | | |
San Francisco-based Nexant has closed a $50 million financing round after adding an investment from Symphony Technology Group chairman Romesh Wadhwani. Nexant develops software for electricity grid operations and energy markets. In September, the company announced that it had raised a total of $43 million for the round, from investors Oak Investment Partners, Intel Capital, TeleSoft and Beacon. More here…
Austin Ventures has led an $11.5 million seed investment in Silverback Acquisitions, and has committed up to $50 million to the new venture, the firm said. Silverback aims to acquire and consolidate struggling enterprise software companies. Like Austin Ventures, Silverback is based in Austin, Texas. More here…
LiveU Inc. said Tuesday that it's raised $11 million in third round financing led by Pitango Venture Capital. Carmel Ventures and Canaan Partners, existing investors, also participated. LiveU, based in Paramus, N.J. and Kfar Saba, Israel, develops technology to transmit live video from the field directly to the Intenet and TV. Pitango is a VC firm in Israel. More here…
PathCentral said Tuesday that it has raised $10 million in Series B financing. Okapi Venture Capital, Arboretum Ventures and Baird Venture Partners co-led the round. Irvine, Calif.-based PathCentral is an anatomic pathology services company. Okapi Venture Capital is a seed and early stage life sciences and information technology investor. Arboretum Ventures, of Ann Arbor, Mich., is an early stage VC firm that focuses on healthcare services. Baird Venture Partners is the VC fund of Baird Private Equity. More here…
Urban Airship, a Portland, Ore.-based startup whose technology powers mobile applications, is announcing it has raised a $5.4 million Series B round, which brings its total funding to $6.5 million. Boulder, Colo.-based Foundry Group led the financing, joined by True Ventures of San Francisco and Seattle-based Founders Co-op, led by serial entrepreneurs Andy Sack and Chris DeVore. More here…
Anatole, a provider of software designed to help companies manage telecommunication expenses, has raised 2 million Euro ($2.8 million) from private investment firm A Plus Finance. Anatole will use the money to expand its staff across Europe, and to continue research and development. Paris-based A Plus Finance has 275 million Euro under management. More here…
Cloud Sherpas, a two-year-old startup based in Atlanta, has closed a $1.6 million Series A-1 round of financing, seven months after raising its first, $1 million. The company, backed by Syncarpha Capital, Vento Security Holdings, and Hallett Capital, the investment arm of its CEO, Jon Hallett, reached profitable "several months ago," the company told peHUB in an interview earlier today. The money will be used largely to hire and to broaden the company's geographic footprint in the U.S. More here…
Electrolytic Ozone, a company that develops compact ozone generators for health, food safety and medical uses, has inked an undisclosed amount in Series A financing. The Boston-based Electrolytic Ozone, which recently spun out of supermaterials supplier Elements Six Ltd., is backed by that company's corporate venture fund, E6 Ventures. No details of the funding were released. More here…
|
PHOENIX GROUP INTERNATIONAL
Professionalism in a Changing Marketplace
Recruiting for the PE Industry for 25 Years
Private Equity Analyst — Mid Atlantic
V.P. - Private Equity (New Growth Equity Fund) — Midwest
Private Equity Associate (lending background) — Southeast
Private Equity Associate — Rocky Mountains
Controller - Holdings — PE Firm - Southwest
IB Analysts & Consultants for Private Equity - Summer 2011 — Midwest
E-mail - Candidates@phxgrpintl.com
Complete list of openings at www.phxgrpintl.com
For PGI's Training & Development Consulting Practice contact Joanne Flynn - jflynn@phxgrpintl.com - 480-575-9613
888-208-8714 - www.phxgrpintl.com
| | |
AXA Private Equity has acquired an 11% stake in Arismore, a French IT company that specializes in the transformation and security of information systems. Financial terms were not disclosed. AXA Private Equity is a unit of AXA Investment Managers. More here…
H.I.G. Capital said Tuesday that it has acquired Dent Wizard International Corp. from Manheim, a unit of Cox Enterprises. St. Louis-based Dent Wizard provides cosmetic reconditioning services and products to the automotive industry. H.I.G. Capital is a Miami PE firm. More here…
NewStar Financial has acquired CORE Business Credit, the asset-based lending business of CORE Financial Holdings, for about $25 million cash or roughly $22 net of acquired cash. CORE Financial is a portfolio company of American Capital Strategies, a publicly traded PE firm based in Bethesda, MD. NewStar is a Boston commercial finance company. More here…
RoundTable Healthcare Partners said Tuesday that it has bought a majority stake in Salter Labs. Financial terms weren't disclosed. Salter, of Arvin, Calif., makes disposable respiratory and sleep diagnostic products used in the home medical and acute care markets. Lake Forest, Ill.-based RoundTable is a PE firm focused on the healthcare industry. More here…
Dell will acquire cloud computing services company Boomi for an undisclosed amount, Reuters reported. Boomi, which helps businesses integrate cloud-based applications with other programs, raised $4 million in a 2008 funding round led by FirstMark Capital. The 10-year-old Boomi is based in Berwyn, Penn. More here…
Green Bank has finished buying the Dallas branch of the former La Jolla Bank, which is now OneWest Bank. Financial terms were not announced. Houston-based Green Bank is a unit of Green Bancorp., which is backed by Friedman Fleischer & Lowe LLC, Harvest Partners LP and Pine Brook Road Partners LLC. La Jolla Bank, of California, was closed by the Office of Thrift Supervision in February. More here…
Charlesbank Capital Partners has sold Blacksmith Brands Holdings to Prestige Brands for $190 million. The deal includes an additional working capital adjustment of $13.4 million. Charlesbank is a middle market PE firm. Prestige, of Irvington, N.Y., markets and sells consumer brands like Chloraseptic sore throat treatments, Clear Eyes eye care products and Compound wart removers. Blacksmith's brands include Efferdent denture cleanser, Effergrip denture adhesive and Luden's throat drops. More here…
Canadian ski resort operator Whistler Blackcomb Holdings priced its IPO at $12 Canadian ($12), Reuters reported. Whistler Blackcomb is owned by Intrawest, a company owned by private equity firm Fortress Investment Group. The closing of the IPO is set for Nov. 9. Fortress will retain a roughly 34% ownership of Whistler Blackcomb after the IPO, Reuters reported. More here…
Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors has closed its latest fund, Kayne Anderson Mezzanine Partners, with $600 million in commitments. The New York City-based firm said it will focus the fund on middle market investments across a broad range of industries. Kayne Anderson has already made six investments with the fund, totaling $90 million. More here…
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, has named James Kester to the post of chief investment officer for private equities, Reuters reported. Kester was previously the head of private equity for Zurich Alternative Asset Management. More here…
News items compiled by Clancy Nolan and written by Nolan and the rest of the peHub Wire editorial staff.
Need to do some research? Get a subscription to the peHUB search archive | 
