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Geoff Entress

Seattle super angel Geoff Entress told me a few months ago that HootSuite, the B.C.-based maker of social media analysis tools, may turn into one of his best investments of all time.

Now, it certainly appears that the company is on the path after announcing today that it raised a whopping $165 million in venture capital financing from VC powerhouses Insight Venture Partners and Accel Partners, the latter being an early investor in Facebook.

The valuation wasn’t disclosed, but some of HootSuite’s rivals have been knocked out in recent months via big M&A deals, including Salesforce.com’s buy last summer of Buddy Media for $689 million. We reached out to Entress via email about his participation in HootSuite’s early investment rounds, and we’ll update this post if we hear more.

Suffice it to say, his early-stage stake is likely a lot higher today. The $165 million round marks one of the biggest investments in a technology company so far this year. (The top deal during the second quarter was a $150 million venture round in New York-based e-commerce site Fab.com, according to the MoneyTree report).

“HootSuite’s goal is to empower people and brands to reach global markets using social media – to help them connect, inform, and succeed like never before,” said Ryan Holmes, CEO of HootSuite, in a blog post. “This capital gives us additional resources to expand quickly and strategically into new markets, innovate rapidly, and deliver on our vision around the world.”

Entress is tight with HootSuite’s Holmes, and the two partnered earlier this year on a deal to set up a new startup incubator in Vancouver, B.C. called Invoke Labs.

Meanwhile, HootSuite, which employs more than 300 people and provides social media tools to companies and organizations such as PepsiCo, Virgin, Orange, Sony Music, Telus and HBO,, continues to gain momentum. Here’s more from its recent quarterly update:

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