Spring 2008 | Commonwealth Capital Ventures Newsletter
Greetings!
Welcome to the Spring 2008 edition of the Commonwealth Capital Ventures Newsletter. There has been much activity since our previous issue, including three liquidity events, a new investment, and a complete redesign of our website. If you have not done so already, we invite you to visit the site at www.commonwealthvc.com.
For us, the true stars in what we do are the entrepreneurs whose ideas and skills have built the dynamic and growing companies in our portfolio. Since we wrote to you last, these companies have had a variety of interesting updates including product announcements, acquisitions, industry honors, and more. So despite the recent uncertainties in the macroeconomic landscape, we continue to take pride in patiently backing management and companies that will create long-term value for all stakeholders.
All the Best,
The Commonwealth Capital Ventures Team
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Liquidity Events
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 Compete: In March, London-based market research firm Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) purchased Compete for $75M in cash, with a $75M earn out based on performance targets over the next two years. Commonwealth invested in Compete's Series C round in June 2007. The acquisition combines the power of Compete's digital intelligence products and capabilities with the global marketing information strength of TNS. We congratulate CEO Don McLagan and the rest of the Compete team on building a strong platform which is expected to continue to thrive as part of TNS. Click Here for the Press Release |
 e-Dialog: In February, e-Dialog was acquired by GSI Commerce (NASDAQ:GSIC), a leading e-commerce and multi-channel solutions provider, for $157M. The sale represents a win for both Commonwealth and e-Dialog, which will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of GSI Commerce and will maintain and build its presence in Lexington, MA. E-Dialog will be the basis of an interactive e-mail marketing services platform within GSI. Commonwealth initially invested in e-Dialog's Series A round in late 1999 and also contributed to its Series B round in 2000, and to its Series C round in 2001. While the company experienced some difficulties in the technology downturn of 2001-2003, CEO John Rizzi and his team patiently and effectively worked through these challenges and built a strong SaaS business with impressive levels of revenue and profitability. Click Here for the Press Release |
 Nova Technologies: In January, IDEX Corp.(NYSE: IEX), a provider of fluid and metering technologies, purchased Nova Technologies, a division of Nova Analytics, for $158M in cash. Nova and its investors acquired the foundation of this division in late 2005 and built it into the industry leader with approximately $70M in revenue. Commonwealth initially invested in Nova Analytics in 2003 and remains an investor in that company where Jim Barbookles and his team have continued to produce an extraordinary growth and profitability record. Click Here for the Press Release |
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New Investments
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 ByAllAccounts: Commonwealth led a $5M Series A round for the company. Based in Woburn, MA, ByAllAccounts provides reconciliation-ready account information to investment management and advisory firms. Using technology that provides access to financial account data from thousands of custodians, the company enables efficient and timely reconciliation, performance analysis, and consolidated reporting. As part of the investment, Justin Perreault and Jeff Hurst have joined the board. Click Here for the Press Release |
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| Portfolio Company News |
 AccuRev has been positioned in the visionaries quadrant in Gartner Inc.'s recently released report "Magic Quadrant for Software Change and Configuration for Distributed Platforms, 2008." The evaluation was based on AccuRev's completeness of vision and ability to execute. |
 Constant Contact and its CEO, Gail Goodman, were recognized last December with "Mass SaaS Goes Public" 2007 SaaS leadership honors from Hosted Solutions and the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council. Bestowed on SaaS companies that had outstanding IPOs in 2007, the honors recognize company innovators and leaders, and highlights recent, significant contributions to the broader industry. |
 Copanion introduced GruntWorx™, a tax document automation solution that enables tax professionals to automate the capture and classification of tax return data. Announced last November, it is the first web-based application to deliver greater than 90 percent recognition accuracy. On a separate note, Always On Media recently named Copanion a "Top 100 Company" in the Northeastern US region. To learn more, click here. Congratulations to CEO Steve Ladd and his team on this award. |
 Vela Systems was recently named an Always On "Top 100 Company" in the Northeastern US. Congratulations to CEO Tim Curran and his team on this award. To view the Always On press release, or to read more about the selection process for this prestigious award, please click here. |
 Zeemote (formerly Zeetoo) received $6.9M funding from Commonwealth, together with Nauta Capital and Egan Managed Capital. As part of the financing, Zeetoo changed its name to ZeeMote. The company's Zeemote controllers communicate with mobile phones via Bluetooth and enable a truly rich gaming experience from mobile devices that is not possible from keypad-only control. The recent market introduction has received a tremendous market reception. ZeeMote's founder and CEO, Beth Marcus, was also one of ten women honored this February at the Mass High Tech 5th annual Women to Watch Event. The event recognizes outstanding women in technology and life sciences. |
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Partner Viewpoints
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Commonwealth partners, Justin Perreault and Steve McCormack, weighed in on topics of interest to the venture and entrepreneur communities in bylined articles that appeared in Mass High Tech and Venture Capital Journal. We've provided links to the full text of the articles.
Startups Win When Picking Funding That Fits the Bill
By Justin Perreault The common business mantra has always been, "the greater the risk, the greater the return." In the VC world, however, bigger risk is not always the wisest course of action. Some recent technology startups are a good case in point - and a cautionary tale on the importance of sizing funding rounds appropriately. Swayed by big VC checks, many of these companies came out of the gate with guns blazing, only to end up languishing without exits. With careful sizing before the fact, they probably would have escaped this fate. Read Article
Beyond Finance: Service Oriented Approaches Build Strong Companies By Steve McCormack VC backing may be an essential factor in making entrepreneurial ideas reality, but VC firms that think of themselves primarily as financier "owners" buying startups as if the startups work for them are unlikely to build a track record of good returns. The fact is, VC investment is not about the VC -- it's about the entrepreneur. And VCs who think and act, first and foremost, as service providers to their entrepreneurs and management teams are more likely to achieve long term and ongoing success across their portfolios. Read Article |
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Events
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Our partners participate as speakers and panelists at numerous industry events throughout the year. Below are some recent events. For a complete list of events, click here.
Tues., April 8 -- FundingPost Early-Stage VC Event: Jeffrey Hurst participated on a panel of leading direct investors that discussed what VCs look for when seeking new early stage investments. Nixon Peabody offices, 100 Summer St., Boston www.fundingpost.com
Weds., April 9 -- AlwaysOn Venture Summit East: Justin Perreault participated on a panel that discussed "The Growing Competition Between Private Equity, Hedge Funds, and VCs." Four Seasons Hotel, Boston, http://alwayson.goingon.com/ |
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New Website
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We worked with Boston-based communications and marketing firm Silverscape (www.silverscape.com) to redesign our website, and we couldn't be happier with the results. The final product can be viewed at www.commonwealthvc.com.
We have added a few new content areas, including an "Approach" section, a "Portfolio Careers" section, and a "Press Room" with media downloads. We have added more entrepreneur friendly navigation, with a new "Submit Plan" feature as well as a "Quick Facts" one page PDF about Commonwealth. Furthermore, we have also incorporated an RSS feed for our news should visitors desire to receive real-time updates about the happenings within the walls of Commonwealth and its portfolio companies. If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to email Pat Noonan at pat@commonwealthvc.com. |
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Contact Information:
Commonwealth Capital Ventures
Bay Colony Corporate Ctr.
950 Winter Street
Suite 4100
Waltham, MA 02451 | | |
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| Commonwealth Capital Ventures is a leading venture capital firm focused on software & services, Internet & digital media, communications & wireless, and instruments & systems investments. Since its inception in 1995, the firm has invested in roughly 140 high-growth companies. Commonwealth currently manages more than $580 million of committed capital across four funds. To learn more about our team, click here. | |
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General Partners
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