TA Associates, Inc.    http://www.ta.com/

Brought 12 companies to successful IPO in the 1997 - 99 time frame.

They invest in profitable private companies, usually as minority investors, but are also eager to purchase entire companies. With $2.5 billion in committed or invested equity capital, their investments range in size from $10 million to $100 million in transactions valued from $20 million to $1 billion.

Look for: Talented management teams. Apparently prefers later stage companies. Companies must have an operating income run-rate of at least $2 million.

Business services, Consumer products and services, Financial services, Healthcare, Information Technology services, Media, Software, Technology.

Boston: TA Associates, High Street Tower, Suite 2500, 125 High Street, Boston, MA 02110 Tel: (617) 574-6700 Fax: (617) 574-6728 Email: info@ta.com

Menlo Park: TA Associates, 70 Willow Road, Suite 100, Menlo Park, CA 94025 Tel: (650) 328-1210 Fax: (650) 326-4933

Pittsburgh: TA Associates, One Oxford Center, Suite 4260, Pittsburgh, PA 15219-1407 Tel: (412) 441-4949 Fax: (412) 441-5784

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Technology Crossover Ventures    http://www.tcv.com/

15 porfolio companies brought to successful IPO in 1999.

TCV's portfolio companies range from early stage enterprises to expansion stage entities to late stage firms and into the public market. Their goal is to find great companies, regardless of their stage of development, in areas that they know well and work with them for a long time.

Focus: Exclusively information technology: Technology services, EBusiness Applications, Internet Services, Business-to-Consumer, Business-to-Business, Communications, Internet infrastructure.

California: TCV-Headquarters, 575 High Street, Suite 400, Palo Alto, California 94301 Tel: (650) 614-8200 Fax: (650) 614-8222

New York: TCV, 160 West 86th Street, Suite 12B, New York, New York 10024 Tel: (212) 277-3900 Fax: (212) 277-3901

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U. S. Venture Partners    http://www.usvp.com/

Brought 12 companies to successful IPO during the 1997 - 99 time frame.

USVP is active in all aspects of a young company's development including: strategy, recruiting, partnerships, financing, and operational advice. The firm's partners also bring significant operating experience in: Communications, Ecommerce, Software, Semiconductors, EDA tools, healthcare technology devices.

USVP is typically the lead investor in the first round of institutional financing for a company. They almost always take an active role on the Board of Directors and are committed to making substantial contributions to the success of each and every investment.

In terms of dollars invested, they are comfortable making an initial $500,000 seed investment to a $10,000,000 later stage investment but on average invest $4-5 million. They reserve a significant amount of financing in every fund to enable them to continue to support their portfolio companies in future rounds of financing and in situations where capital requirements are higher than initially expected.

Because of the nature of their involvement they tend to focus on opportunities that are geographically close to their offices in Menlo Park, CA though they have made occasional investments outside of the area.

USVP targets opportunities that can return many multiples of the initial investment over a reasonable investment horizon (usually within 5 years). They look to comparable companies in related sectors to get a sense of what the potential value could be of a successful new company. While there are no hard rules in terms of ownership interest, because of the stage they get involved and the high level of commitment and resources from their entire firm, they seek to own a significant but minority equity stake in the companies they choose to back.

U.S. Venture Partners 2180 Sand Hill Road, Suite 300, Menlo Park, CA 94025 Tel: (650) 854-9080 Fax: (650) 854-3018