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Redeye VC

A view of the startup ecosystem from a coastally challenged VC

Announcing FundingSleuth.comJuly 16

About 10 years ago, I helped create a web service called Company Sleuth.  The basic premise was that as a company conducted its business activities, it would leave a "paper trail" online.  And Company Sleuth tried to find that trail by automatically searching a variety of public databases (such as the US patent database, trademark database, domain registrations, job listings, etc.) for "clues" about all US public companies activities.  Users would tell Company Sleuth the companies they cared about and receive a daily email containing a list of all new "clues" that were found.

The service found some interesting data.  For example, while in beta we saw that the domain name "daimlerchrysler.com" was registered by Skadden Arps (Daimler's law firm) days before the deal was announced.  And we also noticed that MCI Worldcom re

VideoEggJuly 9

First Round Capital portfolio company, VideoEgg, today unveiled several cool new features to make  video and rich-media advertising far more engaging.  Take a firsthand look at some examples in VideoEgg's Ad Labs:

LIVE: Use real-time RSS feeds to continually update the ad experience
LOCAL: Deliver zip code-specific messaging
RICH: Easily deploy and track a rich multi-video ad experience to increase user interactivity
SHOP: Brings the browsing experience to the user, updated real time
SHARE: Viral capabilities help spread the message through virtually any communication or social channel

The Story of Francis BatesJuly 2

I've spent some time the past few weeks researching the life of a little known Silicon Valley entrepreneur named Francis Bates.  Here's his story:

Francis Bates was born in 1847 in Rhode Island.  His mother, Amy Ann, passed away when he was just 11 days old.  During his childhood, young Francis needed to assume many of the household chores -- make his bed, take out the trash, and fetch the mail.  While making his bed and taking out the trash weren't that bad, Francis really hated fetching the mail.  You see, the Bates house was located off the beaten path -- and pretty far from the main road.  And since his Dad wanted to read the mail immediately after it was delivered, Francis was constantly checking to see if there was mail in his mailbox.  In fact, Francis spent most of his mornings walking back and forth to his mailbox.  Most of the time it was empty, but from time to time he would find something in it. 

During the Civil War, Francis joined the Army and was injured.  In pursuit of health, Mr. Bates came to California in 1896 and settled in San Jose.  Like his childhood home in Rhode Island, his house in California was also a great distance from the road.  Francis reall

Welcome Christine and KentJuly 1

While First Round Capital has investments located all over the United States, our portfolio (and dealflow) is heavily concentrated on the west coast.  That’s why we opened a West Coast office two years ago, with the addition of my partner Rob Hayes and later Mazen Araabi to our team.  It’s why I’m going to qualify for Chairman’s Preferred on US Airways after my three trips to California this month.  And it’s also why I’m super-excited to announce the addition of two Principals in our San Francisco office – Christine Herron and Kent Goldman. 

I first met Christine while she was part of the investment team at the Omidyar Network, where we had several overlapping deals.  And this past year, Christine began working with us part time as a Venture Advisor, helping us out with a number of our new investments.  Her prior experience i

The Steve Jobs of Classical MusicJune 26

I've been going to the TED conference for almost 10 years now -- and I've seen hundreds of incredible speakers take the stage.  Last year, Benjamin Zander - the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, gave what I think is one of the best talks of all time.  Zander is the Steve Jobs of classical music. 

An online video of his talk was just released this week.  Ostensibly, his talk was about classical music.  But, in reality, Zander shows how in just twenty minutes one can expose people to new ideas, new possibilities and new passions.  He truly embodies his belief that "one of the characteristics of a leader is that he not doubt for one moment the capacity of the people he's leading to realize whatever he's dreaming".  I especially liked his realization that since the conductor of an orchestra doesn't make a sound, he depends for his power on his ability to make other people powerful.  His job is to awaken p