Posts tagged as:

vc

Twitter Now Worth 1 Billion Dollars!

by Brian Solis on September 16, 2009

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Credit: Shutterstock

How much is Twitter worth? Raise pinky to lip…

According to a new report by Michael Arrington at TechCrunch, Twitter is currently worth 1 beeeeellion doll hairs.

The company is rumored to be closing an additional round of funding estimated at $50 million, which will purportedly place Twitter at a $1 billion valuation as a result.

Earlier this year Twitter closed a round of $35 million in a round led by Benchmark Capital and Institutional Venture Partners, which valued the company at $250 million.

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Microsoft and TechSet Celebrate Startups at Beso in Hollywood

by Brian Solis on December 15, 2008

by Brian Solis

Last week, the Microsoft BizSpark team, in partnership with The TechSet (Stephanie Agresta and yours truly), celebrated Southern California startups and the spirit of innovation at Ingnition-LA. Hosted at the beautiful Beso, owned by Eva Longoria, in Hollywood, 300 entrpreneurs converged to demo, network, and forge alliances that will carry them forward for years to come.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this such a tremendously successful event!

San Francisco, you’re next! See you on 12/16 at the beautiful Carnelian Room, 52 floor above the city!

RSVP for the San Francisco event here.

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story…

Shira Lazar and Geri Hirsch

Anand Iyer of BizSpark

Tyler Crowley of Mahalo

Efren Toscano and Linda Sherman

Kedric Van De Carr, Arad Rostampour, Jacob Mullins, Anand Iyer

Streamy.com

Girl Gamer

Matt Ivester of JuicyCampus.com

Dan Portnoy

Shira Lazar keeps people in line

Rock Band

Robert Yang, Lolita Carrico, Jim Lin, Matt Singley

Stephanie Agresta and Nina Bargiel

Kedric Van De Karr, Misty LaChance, Angela Costa Roque Baptista

Raj Chauhan of Rubicon Project

Hayden Black and Michael Pilla

Marc Russell Hustvedt, Jessica (need last name), Taryn O’Neill, Michael Davies

Jessica Wilzig Gottlieb and Erin Kotecki Vest (QueenofSpain)

Dragana Ognenovska & Wm. Marc Salsberry

Todd Sawacki

Frank Sinton of Meefeedia

Stephanie Agresta

Kurt Daradics and Heather Meeker

Linda Sherman and Amanda Coolong

Blackberry Storm

Jason Nazar of Docstoc and Shira Lazar

Jonathan Dingman

For more pictures from Ignition-Los Angeles, visit my album on flickr. Within the set, you’ll also be treated to a few pictures from the after party at Bao, Hollywood, where we also celebrated @queenofspain’s birthday!

Here are a couple of pics to get your started…

If you’ve missed our previous events, you can relive the experiences below:

New York

Austin

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10 Funniest Angel and VC Blog Posts, November 2008

by Marissa Louie on November 24, 2008

by Marissa Louie

ZOMG Our angel and VC friends have done it again. They’d rather roast our insides than roast the turkey. Turn that portfolio company from turkey to turnkey. Joke’s on us, VC billionaires.

Purchaze

-1- Paul Kedrosky: Somali Pirates and TARP

*PAULSON: TARP PIRATE EQUITY IS AN `INVESTMENT,’ WILL PAY OFF.”

-2- Brad Feld: Take Responsibility for your Actions

“I tried calling 1-800-BAIL-OUT to see if I was missing something.  They wouldn’t help me…”

-3- Joi Ito: Loic for a Day

“I thought about selling Loic on eBay, but I realized that would be too selfish.”

-4- Jeff Nolan: I am a Bond

“4 basic types of bonds, Schoolhouse Rock style.”

-5- Fred Wilson: Do You Ever Do Any Real Work?

“Slowly but surely people are wising up to the fact that blogging is work and its a very valuable use of my time.”

-6- James D. Robinson IV: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

“VC’s are too arrogant and the pitching process is too inefficient.”

-7- Daniel Cohen: New TeeVee Live!

“”The best part was his reply to a question on how Fred changed his life: “I get attention from the senior girls in school, which is cool”. Excellent.”

-8- Josh Kopelman: Road Trip

“Chris Fralic, organized a two-day road trip to the four largest advertising agencies in country.  We rented a bus.”

-9- Bing Gordon: Looking for Killer Apps

“Look how smart I am (how dumb I am not!); I got this new (insert hardware model here) and it can do this!!!”

-10- Mark Cuban: Proud to be an American

“I can tell you that no entrepreneur or CEO worth a damn in this country gives up or works less because of a change in tax policy.”

**Honorable mention**

-11- David Cowan: It’s a Smule World After All

When Jeff’s team isn’t cleaning out Bessemer’s kitchen, they’re churning out ass-kicking Chuck-on-iPhone (CHiP) apps.

**Your turn**

Suggest funny angel and VC blog posts through Turkey Day (you know these are going to be ridiculous!)

Marissa Louie is the Founder and CEO of AD Village (http://ad-village.com) which helps bloggers monetize and advertisers optimize. If you liked this post, you might also like You Know You’re a Young Female Entrepreneur When…, 10+ Funniest Angel and VC Blog Posts October 2008, and The Future Co-existence of PR and Advertising. She gets esoteric on Twitter, where she announces Entrepreneur 2 Entrepreneur Office Hours and broadcasts her entrepreneurial journey.

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Entrepreneurs Ignite Austin Startup Scene

by Brian Solis on November 22, 2008

by Brian Solis

Microsoft StartupZone, The TechSet and Austin’s Startup District launched “Ignition” on Thursday night at Speakeasy. The event commemorated the launch of Microsoft BizSpark and celebrated the local spirit of entrepreneurialism and innovation.

Austin pulled out the stops with local tech leaders, enthusiasts, and champions packing the Speakeasy with rich and invigorating conversations, networking, product demos, and a refreshing diversion from the day-to-day aspirations of improving the world, one app at a time.  It was simply an incredible event, courtesy of the very people who participated.

SD|2020 kicked off the night with a showcase of the best early-stage startups in Texas.

Presenting companies included:
BizSpark
Piryx
Minggl
Gendai Games
QikCom
Ringlight
OtherInBox
RUWT? Sports
GAMEWAGER
TechRanchAustin

Microsoft BizSpark was recently launched at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco as a new program designed to support those founders and service providers who contribute to the dynamic ecosystem that help startups flourish.

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story…

John Erik Metcalf

Joshua Baer

Tom Serres

Dewey Gaedcke of Minggl

Tan Tran

Christopher St. John, Nikhil Nilakantan, Blake Burris

Hugh Forrest of SXSW and Stephanie Agresta (TechSet, InternetGeekGirl)

Dusty Reagan of FriendorFollow

Kristine Gloria and Erica O’Grady

Cesar Torres

Jacob Mullins, Microsoft BizSpark

Clinton Schaff

Katie King of SXSW

Silona Bonewald, Bill Erickson

Anand Iyer, Microsoft BizSpark

Jacob Mullins, Anand Iyer, Josh Dillworth, Tammy Lynn Gilmore, Brian Solis, Silona Bonewald

Speakeasy

Michelle Greer, Archana Ramachandran, Whurley – William Hurley, Erica OGrady, Sara Dornsife, Tammy Lynn Gilmore, Stephanie Agresta, Anand Iyer, Giovanni Gallucci, Silona Bonewald

RockBand!

Cesar Torres, Dane Hurtubise, Kristine Gloria

Jacob Mullins and Tammy Lynn Gilmore

Next stop:

December 4, 2008 – Silicon Valley

December 10, 2008 – Los Angeles

For more pictures from the Microsoft BizSpark, TechSet, SD|2020 event in Austin, please visit my album on Flickr.

To see pictures from the Ignite New York, please visit my this album on flickr.

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See You Tonight in Austin, TX!

by Brian Solis on November 20, 2008

by Brian Solis

Austin, what are you doing tonight?

Microsoft StartupZone, The TechSet and Austin’s Startup District present “Ignition,” an event to commemorate the launch of Microsoft BizSpark and celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurialism.

Join Stephanie Agresta, Brian Solis, Austin entrepreneurs, the BizSpark team and partners for this can’t miss event from 7-10pm with free drinks and hors d’oeuvres. Plus, you will have the opportunity to meet some of the most influential technologists around.

RSVP here.

SD|2020 is also bringing together the best early-stage startups in Texas – 20 slides, 20 seconds each slide, on the 20th of this month.

Pitching at SD|2020:
BizSpark
Piryx
Minggl
Gendai Games
QikCom
Ringlight
OtherInBox
RUWT? Sports
GAMEWAGER
TechRanchAustin

In attendance:
Rudder
Nectar
DailyMile
Volunteer Spot
Bet Arcade
Moximity
turn2live
SnapPages
FriendOrFollow
Saltlick Labs

BizSpark is a new program launched by Microsoft designed for those founders and service providers who contribute to the dynamic ecosystem that help startups flourish.

Where:

Speakeasy
412D Congress Ave
Austin, TX 78701

If you can’t make it to the Austin event, hopefully you can join us in one of our other cities:

December 4, 2008 – Silicon Valley

December 10, 2008 – Los Angeles

To see pictures from the Ignite New York, please visit my album on flickr.

For more pictures from Ignite New York hosted by Microsoft BizSpark and TechSet, please visit my album on Flickr.

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