Here’s what the VCs and founders will make in Tableau’s blockbuster IPO

Christian Chabot (l) and Pat Hanrahan of Tableau Software

Tableau Software is expected to go public tonight on the New York Stock Exchange, a significant milestone for the 10-year-old maker of data visualization products. Demand appears to be very strong, with Tableau on Wednesday boosting the expected pricing range to $28 to $30 per share. Of course, that could mean a windfall for early… Read More…

Turtles and Flywheels: How to build a startup community

turtles

(Editor’s note: Chris DeVore gave the keynote speech at Thursday night’s GeekWire Awards. These are his prepared remarks, with full video of the talk above). I want to talk to you tonight about two things: Turtles And flywheels Some of you may have heard the story about the Hindu wise man who explained to a… Read More…

Former Microsoft CFO John Connors named to Midas List for top investors

John Connors

John Connors, a venture capitalist at Bellevue-based Ignition Partners who previously served as CFO of Microsoft, was named to Forbes’ 2013 Midas List that honors tech’s top investors. Connors has made a number of good investments in companies like Splunk, which went public last April, Heroku, XenSource and Parse, which was just acquired by Facebook. Connors, who… Read More…

Google Ventures, Maveron and others bankroll crowdfunding platform CircleUp

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Maveron, the Seattle venture capital firm led by Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz and former investment banker Dan Levitan, has joined with Union Square Ventures, Google Ventures and Clayton Christensen’s Rose Park Advisors to bankroll crowdfunding startup CircleUp. The San Francisco company is bringing in $7.5 million in series A funding, described as the largest fundraising for an… Read More…

Proof of concept: Majority of angel investments made in revenue producing startups

Photo via Bigstock

Angel investors historically have placed bets at the earliest stages of a company’s formation, oftentimes when the business is nothing more than an idea on the back of a napkin. But as the venture capital marketplace shifts, so is angel investing. According to a new report out today from The Angel Resource Institute, Silicon Valley Bank and CB Insights,… Read More…

Yes, it really is harder to land that series A round from VCs

Photo via Images of Money

A lot has been made about the so-called “series A crunch” — the idea that it is increasingly challenging for early-stage companies to continue to raise financing as they move beyond the idea stage. That’s always been the case in the startup arena with more carnage in the earliest of stages of development. But a… Read More…

Kleiner Perkins says VC fund performance is weak, and they’re going to fix it

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Here’s a sign of the changing winds in the venture capital business. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, one of Silicon Valley’s top venture capital firms, recently told a group of its limited partners that fund performance has not met expectations. Citing people familiar with the discussions, Reuters reports that partners at the firm recently told… Read More…

B.C. super angel Boris Wertz keeps on trucking, raises another $4M for Version One

Boris Wertz

It’s a tough time for many in the venture business, with many firms struggling to raise new funds. But don’t tell that to Boris Wertz, the Vancouver, B.C.-based super angel and former COO of AbeBooks. After successfully raising an oversubscribed $15 million venture fund last summer, Wertz has attracted more cash from Business Development Bank of… Read More…

Super angel Boris Wertz launches $15M VC fund Version One Ventures

Boris Wertz

We’ve heard the complaints loud and clear that the Pacific Northwest simply needs more money flowing into early-stage startups. Well, Boris Wertz wants to do something about it. The Vancouver, B.C. angel investor and former COO of AbeBooks (sold to Amazon.com in 2008) has been investing his own money for some time, bankrolling more than… Read More…

Lighter Capital ignites with three new investments

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Seattle’s Lighter Capital, which offers an alternative to venture capital and traditional bank loans, today announced three new investments in startups based in Dallas, Minneapolis and the Seattle area. It is backing Dallas’ BinaryWave, developing products and services for the support of Microsoft SharePoint; Bellevue’s HarborCloud, creating virtual desktops for QuickBooks, PeachTree and other services;… Read More…