Joanna Glasner

The dearth of small-cap IPOs has long been a popular topic to gripe about in venture circles. Usually the complaints focus on a short list of perceived causes: onerous regulations, too-big-to-care investment banks, nonexistent research coverage, and lackluster investor demand. David Weild, however, is on a mission to move one more item to the top […]

Magma Venture Partners, an Israeli early stage technology investor, is looking to raise $100 million for a planned third fund, according to a securities filing. The Tel Aviv-based firm, formerly known as Magnum Venture Partners, raised its last fund, also for $100 million, in 2006, according to Thomson Reuters.  Portfolio companies include Nipendo, developer of […]

General Catalyst Partners has raised $500 million for a sixth venture capital fund, according to a securities filing. The Cambridge, Mass.-based firm, which makes venture and growth equity investments principally in digital media, software, and cleantech companies, raised $715 million for its last vehicle, a Fund V plus a supplemental fund, in 2007. Prior to […]

When a hot startup goes public, VCs should hold on to their shares to demonstrate confidence in the company’s long-term prospects. That’s what I figured was the common wisdom surrounding insider share sales in initial public offerings. But to check that hypothesis, we ran a survey last week asking readers which amount of shares (none, […]

Chicago’s venture scene is getting a new entrant. Hyde Park Venture Partners, a firm founded by angel investors based in the Windy City, has raised $13.55 million toward a planned $25 million fund, according to a filing with the SEC. The fund will invest in early stage technology companies in the Midwest, with particular focus […]

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world’s leading questionnaire tool. In the venture business, it’s usually a misnomer to refer to an IPO as an exit. It typically takes several quarters, often years, after a portfolio company goes public for VCs to part with their shares. Ideally, early backers want confidence that public […]

You can get a pretty good deal on a used cruise ship these days. That probably wasn’t the core motivating factor behind Blueseed, a very early-stage startup that’s looking to set up a sort of giant live-work ship facility in international waters off the coast of Silicon Valley.  Its founders, committed seasteaders, envision creating a […]

For anyone conjuring up a likely list of early stage energy investors, Monsanto, Novozymes and Bunge Limited probably wouldn’t be top of mind. The companies, best known for genetically engineered seeds, custom enzymes and food processing, aren’t exactly heavy hitters in the industry. For the past year or so, however, the three companies have been […]

Usually, when I look at venture return data, it’s with a skeptical eye. Sure, portfolio valuations may go up in hot sectors where VCs are chasing deals. But how much of that will actually come back to limited partners in the form of actual cash? Lately, it doesn’t look bad. VCs and private equity investors […]

With presidential primary season heating up, it seemed like a timely point to check up on donation records, and who the most popular pick is among VCs who like to make campaign contributions. There were no big surprises. Nearly all I looked up donated to either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney, with the plurality of […]