Early Tumblr Investor Saw ‘Raw Talent,’ Capital Efficiency
Wall Street Journal, May 21, 2013
One of Tumblr’s biggest fans is a venture capitalist who helped steer the blogging service from its earliest days to a deal to be acquired by Yahoo for $1.1 billion in cash.
Bijan Sabet, a general partner at Spark Capital who is best known for leading the Boston firm’s investment in Twitter, said he first started using Tumblr when it was just one of several Web applications that founder and Chief Executive David Karp had developed while running a Web More Yahoo to Buy Tumblr for $1.1 Billion New York Times, May 20, 2013 The board of Yahoo, the faded Web pioneer, agreed on Sunday to buy the popular blogging service Tumblr for about $1.1 billion in cash, the companies announced Monday, a signal of how the company plans to reposition itself as the technology industry makes a headlong rush into social media. More Biz Stone’s New Startup Jelly Raises Series A From Spark Capital, SV Angel, Square CEO Jack Dorsey, Reid Hoffman, Al Gore, Bono & Others TechCrunch, May 18, 2013 Twitter co-founder Biz Stone’s new and mysterious startup called Jelly still isn’t saying what it’s up to, but it has announced funding. According to details posted to the official company blog this morning, the team has raised a Series A from a notable lineup of investors in a round led by Spark Capital, with additional investment from SV Angel, and a group of angels that includes Square CEO Jack Dorsey; Reid Hoffman; Bono (what!), Evan Williams and Jason Goldman via Obvious; Al Gore; Emmy-winning director Greg Yaitanes; and Afghan entrepreneur Roya Mahboob. More Hands-on with Runkeeper for Pebble: what the Pebble smartwatch should have been all along CNET, May 7, 2013 The popular fitness app RunKeeper now works for Pebble. This is exactly what the Pebble smartwatch needed in the first place: purpose. More Put away your wallet, startup. Spark decides to cover its own legal fees. Pando Daily, April 24, 2013 As startups have become more capital efficient and seed funds have proliferated, the battle for the best early stage deals has intensified. That’s led to an arms race among early stage VCs to prove how entrepreneur-friendly they can be. Some have hired armies of recruiters and PR professionals to help startups out for free, others promise quick closes with advantageous terms. Y Combinator has even standardized protections around handshake deals.
In this competition to be pro-entrepreneur, Spark Capital is about to score big points today. The firm is announcing that it’s going to pay the first $25,000 of its own legal fees when it’s closing deals with new companies. More
Bijan Sabet, a general partner at Spark Capital who is best known for leading the Boston firm’s investment in Twitter, said he first started using Tumblr when it was just one of several Web applications that founder and Chief Executive David Karp had developed while running a Web More Yahoo to Buy Tumblr for $1.1 Billion New York Times, May 20, 2013 The board of Yahoo, the faded Web pioneer, agreed on Sunday to buy the popular blogging service Tumblr for about $1.1 billion in cash, the companies announced Monday, a signal of how the company plans to reposition itself as the technology industry makes a headlong rush into social media. More Biz Stone’s New Startup Jelly Raises Series A From Spark Capital, SV Angel, Square CEO Jack Dorsey, Reid Hoffman, Al Gore, Bono & Others TechCrunch, May 18, 2013 Twitter co-founder Biz Stone’s new and mysterious startup called Jelly still isn’t saying what it’s up to, but it has announced funding. According to details posted to the official company blog this morning, the team has raised a Series A from a notable lineup of investors in a round led by Spark Capital, with additional investment from SV Angel, and a group of angels that includes Square CEO Jack Dorsey; Reid Hoffman; Bono (what!), Evan Williams and Jason Goldman via Obvious; Al Gore; Emmy-winning director Greg Yaitanes; and Afghan entrepreneur Roya Mahboob. More Hands-on with Runkeeper for Pebble: what the Pebble smartwatch should have been all along CNET, May 7, 2013 The popular fitness app RunKeeper now works for Pebble. This is exactly what the Pebble smartwatch needed in the first place: purpose. More Put away your wallet, startup. Spark decides to cover its own legal fees. Pando Daily, April 24, 2013 As startups have become more capital efficient and seed funds have proliferated, the battle for the best early stage deals has intensified. That’s led to an arms race among early stage VCs to prove how entrepreneur-friendly they can be. Some have hired armies of recruiters and PR professionals to help startups out for free, others promise quick closes with advantageous terms. Y Combinator has even standardized protections around handshake deals.
In this competition to be pro-entrepreneur, Spark Capital is about to score big points today. The firm is announcing that it’s going to pay the first $25,000 of its own legal fees when it’s closing deals with new companies. More
Gidsy Acquired by Berlin Rival
Wall Street Journal, April 24, 2013
peerTransfer Shows Strong Growth – Surpasses 300 Schools
SF Gate, April 24, 2013
Wayfair posts sales increase of 40 percent for quarter
Boston Globe, April 17, 2013
3 Mass. venture firms stand out in fund-raising
The Boston Globe, April 9, 2013
Exfm: 3 Years Old And Still A Cool Tool To Discover Music On The Open Web
Forbes, April 5, 2013
Kitchensurfing Wants to Make Dinner at Your House, With Help From Union Square Ventures
All Things Digital, April 4, 2013
This Old House Debuts Ecommerce Shop on Wayfair.Com
Folio, April 4, 2013
Close.io Raises Funding From SV Angel, Spark Capital To Improve Communication For Salespeople
Tech Crunch, April 4, 2013
E-Commerce Companies Bypass the Middlemen
The New York Times, April 1, 2013
Tumblr crosses 100 million blogs, with 44.6 billion posts inside
The Next Web, March 29, 2013
