VC Directory "B" - The ABC's of Small Business

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The Venture Capital Directory - B

BancBoston Capital/BancBoston Ventures

Top tier VC with 10 IPOs 1997 - 99. BancBoston Ventures provides early stage venture capital to emerging growth companies in the healthcare and information technology sectors.

Network: *Over 50 portfolio companies, *30 venture capital fund affiliations globally, *Robertson Stephens investment banking and research, *FleetBoston Financial commercial banking services.

Target Markets: Internet: *Commerce: B2B, B2C, *Enabling technologies, *Content/Communities; *Web-enabled enterprise software, *IT services; *Healthcare: *Healthcare information systems, *Internet Medical devices, *Life sciences, *Diagnostic technologies, *Specialized service providers.

Seeks investment opportunities in early-stage through expansion-phase emerging medical technologies. Our typical investment range is between $2 million and $5 million, and we take an active role as lead investor and director.

Investment Criteria: *Highly motivated management team with domain expertise, *Articulate business models focused on large markets, *Sustainable advantages such as proprietary technologies or first mover advantages, *Equity investment range: $1-$10 million

Boston: 175 Federal Street, 10th Floor, Boston, MA 02110, Tel: (617) 434-2509 Fax: (617) 434-1153.

Palo Alto: 435 Tasso Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301, Tel: 650-470-4140 Fax: 650-853-1425.

Barksdale Group http://www.barksdalegroup.com/

While this VC hasn’t yet produced big IPOs, you have got to give a lot of credence to anything that Jim Barksdale (a big part of Netscape’s success) is involved in. Their portfolio companies look great and they bring a high level of experience, vision and great contacts to their firm. With combined experience in Mergers & Acquisitions as well as Joint Venture Formation and Equity Investments at Netscape, McCaw Cellular, Federal Express and Morgan Stanley, The Barksdale Group provides real depth of experience in Corporate Development execution.

Focus: Internet Services.

Barksdale Group, 2730 Sand Hill Road, Suite 100, Menlo Park, CA 94025, Tel: (650) 234 5200, Fax: (650) 234 5201.

Benchmark Capital http://www.benchmark.com/

Top Notch VC firm with 15 successful IPOs in the 1997 - 99 time frame.

Focus: Early-stage investing and take a labor-intensive, service-oriented approach in markets where we have direct experience. These markets include: *Application services, *Consumer devices, *Data service providers, *E-Commerce (business-to-business, business-to-consumer, consumer-to-consumer), *Networking equipment, *Semiconductor, *Software.

Investment Range: Actively limits the number of companies that portfolio companies get the attention that they deserve. Investments range in size from as little as $100,000 to as much as $10 or $15 million. Typically, we invest $3 to $5 million initially and expect to invest $5 to $10 million over the life of a company. We invest for the long haul, not 'quick flips,' and look for entrepreneurs with a similar perspective.

Offers Entrepreneurs-In-Residence program, - time to incubate ideas and think about their next move. Since partners at Benchmark created the EIR concept, over 20 entrepreneurs have been hosted, leading to 14 liquidity events and the creation of over $15.0 billion in market value.

Benchmark partner Bill Gurley regularly writes a column entitled “Above The Crowd.” Well worth checking out and you can subscribe to it on his profile page at http://www.benchmark.com/about/bill.html.

Benchmark Capital, 2480 Sand Hill Road, Suite 200, Menlo Park, California 94025, Tel: (650) 854-8180 Fax: (650) 854-8183.

Bessemer Venture Partners http://www.bessemervp.com/

Top tier venture fund with 14 IPOs brought to market 1997 - 99. Founded in 1911, Bessemer Venture Partners invests approximately $100 million each year, with investing offices in Menlo Park, California and Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts and an administrative office on Long Island, New York.

Investment Strategy: As of August 1999, we have backed a total of 44 e-commerce startups, 16 of which have gone public or have recently filed to go public. We began by identifying the product segments best suited to e-commerce (light non-perishable goods, information-intensive, fragmented supply, low brand name awareness, and large gross margins, possibly over repeat purchases). We then identified and funded the best management teams pursuing each of these segments.

The proliferation of business-to-business exchanges in which companies create a compelling marketplace by aggregating buyers and sellers. It is our expectation that these exchanges will transform every step of industrial supply chains now served by agents or brokers. Just as ERP drives efficiencies in inventory and distribution for an enterprise, b-to-b exchanges that implement IRP (Industry Resource Planning) drive efficiencies for entire industries. we are actively seeking new investments in b-to-b e-commerce.

Focus: BVP carries on strategic investment practices in communications, e-commerce, optics and health care.

California: 535 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, Tel: (650) 853-7000, Fax: (650) 853-7001.

Massachusetts: 83 Walnut Street, Wellesley Hills, MA 02481, Tel: (781) 237-6050 Fax: (781) 237-7576.

New York: 1400 Old Country Road, Suite 407, Westbury, NY 11590, Tel: (516) 997-2300 Fax: (516) 997-2371.

Brentwood Ventures Capital http://www.brentwood.com/

Backed 14 companies to successful IPO in 1997 - 99.

The following is information for Brentwood Associates because Brentwood Ventures was not available online as this report was made. Check http://www.brentwoodvc.com/ for their information.

Brentwood strives to create superior returns over a long-term investment period, typically five to seven years. The firm accomplishes this by forming or acquiring businesses in attractive industries, and partnering with superior management able to expand operations aggressively through internal investment and subsequent acquisitions. Brentwood has active board members and does not over-leverage companies or quickly exit investments to preserve returns.

Requires information on: * Proven management, *Growing market, *Fragmented industry providing opportunity for growth through acquisition, *Barriers to entry, *Stable earnings, Temporary capital shortage due to lack of lender or investor interest or unavailability of debt due to small size of individual business.

Brentwood Ventures Capital, 11150 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 1200, Los Angeles, CA 90025, Tel: (310) 477-6611 Fax: (310) 477-1011.