Venture Capital Firms

Based in Austin, Texas, Calix announced today that it has just raised $100 million in financing along with the appointment of three new people to its board of directors. $50 million came as equity from Calix’s existing investors, who are Riverwood Capital, Foundation Capital, and Sprout Group and another $50 million came in debt financing, which was established together with Silicon Valley Bank. Proceeds from this round of funding will go to investing in additional resources that will be needed to further expand and to also capitalize the growth opportunities that are provided by a $7.2 billion US Broadband Stimulus Program.

Calix is one of the largest communications equipment suppliers for broadband companies within the United States. As a matter of fact, Calix is doing well in the markets, because Calix equipment is being used by many of the United States broadband companies to deliver a rich wealth of information, entertainment, and communication. Furthermore, the equipment that Calix provides allows the customers of these broadband companies to access this information, communication, and entertainment.

The people that Calix has appointed to its board of directors include Michael Marks of Riverwood Capital, Adam Grosser of Foundation Capital, and Robert Finzi of Sprout Group.

Mr. Marks brings a wealth of experience to the company’s board of directors, which includes operation, manufacturing, and corporate governance. Mr. Marks is also one of the founding partners of Riverwood Capital and is investment experience does not stop there. Mr. Marks was also a partner and senior advisor at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Mr. Marks was also the CEO of Flextronics International, Ltd. which he helped grow from a net worth of $93 million to $25 billion. Calix is not the only company whose board of directors Mr. Marks serves on. Mr. Marks is also on the board of directors of Zappos.com, SanDisk Corporation, and Schlumberger Limited. He also served on some nonprofit organizations such as the V Foundation for Cancer Research and the National Parks Conservation Association.

Mr. Grosser also brings quite a bit of experience in both venture capital success and leadership in innovative companies. Currently, Mr. Grosser’s duties include being a general partner of Foundation Capital and before coming to Foundation Capital, he was president of Excite@Home’s 1400 person subscriber network. Mr. Grosser also worked for and held key positions in such high profile companies as Apple Computer, Lucasfilm, and Sony Electronics. Mr. Grosser also serves on the board of directors of many other companies as well.

Robert Finzi has a wealth of both operational and financial experience which he will be sharing with the board members of Calix’s board of directors. Mr. Finzi currently serves the Sprout Group as the co-managing partner of the vc firm. Mr. Finzi has over 25 years of experience in venture capital and has been working as the co-managing partner of the Sprout Group since 2003, but has been with the Sprout Group for much longer, working with companies in the high tech industry. Before joining the Sprout Group in 1991, Mr. Finzi was with Merril Lynch since 1985. He also worked with Menlo Ventures and other vc firms.

Riverwood Capital is a global private equity firm that mainly invests in high growth companies who are in both the tech and services industries.

Founded in 1995, Foundation Capital is a vc firm that was founded with the sole purpose to build great companies. Foundation’s philosophy is in the belief of the power of an idea. The team at Foundation Capital is experienced in everything that the young entrepreneur should know. Many of Foundation’s partners have served as CEOs, executive managers, and technologists. Some other companies in Foundation’s portfolio include Aktino, Altor Networks, Atheros, Azur Power, BabyCare, Biz360, and others.
Founded in 1969, the Sprout Group is one of the oldest vc firms in the United States and currently boasts of having over $3 billion of committed capital under its management. The primary focus of the Sprout Group’s investments is in emerging companies in a broad spectrum of industries. Some other companies in the Sprout Group’s portfolio include Actel, AMD, CyOptics, Aurora Networks, NetCore, Cisco Systems, and others.

For more information about Calix, click here.

Based in Goffstown, New Hampshire, one of the United States’ leading producer of wood pellets for burning in stoves and grills, WoodPellets.com announced today that it has closed an $11 million round of funding that was led by Monitor Clipper Partners. Other investors include .406 Ventures, who was the leader in the company’s previous round of funding.

Formerly known as PelletSales.com, WoodPellets.com was founded in 2006 and since then the company has revolutionized the way the wood pellets are to be delivered. As the market for new environmentally friendly sources of energy keeps expanding, wood pellets have become noticed to be an environmentally friendly biomass source of heat and energy. The pellets are small and burn easily and hot, producing little or no exhaust. WoodPellets.com has made the distribution of these wood pellets easy to deliver to buyers. WoodPellets.com has become successful because it has a whole group of affiliates and partners that are able to rapidly deliver the pellets to retailers or even directly to the consumer.

Just during the past year, WoodPellets.com has accomplished a myriad of milestones. First, in 2008, WoodPellets.com experienced some massive organizational growth and expansion by growing revenue over a fivefold that was mainly driven by referrals from satisfied customers and a large network of affiliated wood pellet stove retailers. By having an extended partner and affiliate program, the company was able to build a reliable network of affiliated fuel suppliers and heating system retailers, selling its products to a large market throughout the United States. Furthermore, WoodPellets.com has over 25 production facilities in both the United States and Canada. WoodPellet.com’s wood pellets are also sold in over 150 different stove retailers. WoodPellets.com also successfully engaged in strategic rebranding, changing its name from PelletSales.com to the current name and launching a new toll free number, 1-800-PELLETS.

According to Adam Doctoroff, partner with Monitor Capital Partners; WoodPellets.com has an innovative method of selling wood pellets for heating fuel. Mr. Doctoroff further stated that selling a specific product to a specific market, especially to a specified market that is growing rapidly presents an opportunity for Monitor Capital Partners to place an investment.

According to Liam Donohue, cofounder and partner at .406 Ventures, when the team at .406 met WoodPellets.com, they saw that this company has great potential to do well in the marketplace, and the team at .406 has been very pleased with the progress the company has been making so far. Furthermore, WoodPellets.com has made an innovative way of selling wood pellets online by its network of affiliates and partners.

Founded in 1998, Monitor Capital Partners is a vc firm that has over $2 billion in committed capital under its management, and mainly makes its investments in middle and growth stage companies and buyouts. Some other companies in Monitor’s portfolio include Accellos, Access Communications, Earth Fair, Metro, and others.

For more information about WoodPellets.com, click here.

Based in Boise, Idaho, Balihoo, which is one of the premier local advertising automation services provider, announced today that it has received additional funding in a funding round led by OpenView Venture Partners. OpenView Venture Partners joined in with Balihoo’s existing investors in this round of funding, who include Highway 12 Ventures and Lacuna Gap Capital. Balihoo is a different type of marketing company in that it offers national brand names the necessary local marketing needs through local and regional automated advertising that caters to those brands and local franchises and their local advertising and marketing needs.

According to the Senior Managing Director and Managing Partner of OpenView Venture Partners, Scott Maxwell, Balihoo offers a unique local advertising platform to national name brands and franchises, which enhances the brand’s image nationally and at the same time increasing the demand for that particular brand in that local area. Furthermore, Balihoo’s growing customer base is a testament to the uniqueness and effectiveness of Balihoo’s service. This being mentioned along with the top caliber of Balihoo’s management team, the company is poised for success, making Balihoo fit all the criteria to receive an investment from OpenView Venture Partners.

Balihoo’s CEO, Pete Gombert further stated that OpenView Venture Partners stood out from other investors that the company was looking for to finance its ventures. Mr. Gombert further stated that the company has already experienced four quarter periods with double digit compound revenue growth and OpenView Ventures has an impressive track record in helping software companies to quickly meet the growing demand for their products. Mr. Gombert also stated that after Balihoo launched its new LMA platform, the company has experienced huge demand for this platform and as brands are trying hard to get their products marketed to local markets, they have discovered that Balihoo’s new LMA platform seems to be getting the job done, whereas the conventional marketing techniques are not as effective anymore.

OpenView Venture Partners is an expansion stage vc firm which has over $100 million under its management from leading institutional and private investors throughout the world. OpenView Venture Partners primarily seeks high growth companies in the software, internet, and tech industries. OpenView’s team has the entrepreneurial experience to help entrepreneurs expand their business and meet the growing demand of their products. Some other companies in OpenView’s portfolio include Central Desktop, Open-e, ExactTarget, eEye Digital Security, Aelita Software, and others.

Highway 12 Ventures is a vc firm that seeks high growth potential startup companies within the US intermountain geographic region. Currently the vc firm has over $100 million under its management and invests in all industries. Some other companies in Highway 12 Ventures’ portfolio include @Last Software, Alliance Health, CareFX, CradlePoint, and others.

Lacuna Gap Capital is an early stage vc firm that searches to provide that “missing part” to fill the gap in a company’s early life. The vc firm’s landing page shows a diagram of the entrepreneur’s brain and pinpoints all the things that an entrepreneur would be likely to think about.

For more information about Balihoo, click here.

Based in Menlo Park, California, Shasta Ventures is a vc firm that primarily invests in early stage companies. Today Shasta Ventures announced the appointment of Michael Buhr as the vc firm’s new resident entrepreneur. Mr. Buhr is a former executive of both eBay and StumbleUpon. Some of the duties that Mr. Buhr will have at his new job with Shasta Ventures are evaluating prospective investments in both the mobile and discovery industries. At StumbleUpon, Mr. Buhr was the general manager of the company. StumbleUpon is a leading online content destination. Before working for StumbleUpon, Mr. Buhr worked for eBay, where he was the senior director of corporate strategy.

According to the managing director of Shasta Ventures, Robert Conybeer, Mr. Buhr has a keen understanding of evaluating new emerging market opportunities. Furthermore, he has sharp insights into user experience and knows how to transform that experience into a successful business. Mr. Buhr and his skills will be instrumental for the vc firm to continue its investments in the consumer internet industry. Moreover, the people at Shasta Ventures believe that the future growth potential is in the smart phone, social media, and location based capabilities. If one is just to look at the consumer data and the markets, one can see that there is a ferocious appetite for these products and services.

Mr. Buhr’s business experience also goes beyond eBay and StumbleUpon. Mr. Buhr also held some key executive positions for Palm and was also one of the cofounders of Lipstream Networks, which is a VoIP service provider. Mr. Buhr also worked in various software companies, which include Apple, Adobe, and 3DO, where he was in charge of product marketing.

For more information about Shasta Ventures, click here.

One of the leading providers of 3D digital and orthodontic solutions in the United States, Candent, announced today that it has closed a new funding round that was led by Fortissimo Capital, a new investor for the company. Candent’s existing investors also participated in this funding round. The money from this round of funding is intended to go to Candent to expand its operations into European markets and further expand its market operations in North America. Currently, Candent’s flagship product is the iTero Digital Impression System, which has already been introduced in the United States for a while, is to be launched in Europe.

According to Candent’s CEO, Terrence J. Gunning, the fact that Candent’s proprietary technology has been the market leader of digital impression solutions for the medical industry is validated by this round of funding. Furthermore, this funding rounding will go to help the company in this new growth stage and bring its powerful technology to dentists worldwide. Mr. Gunning further stated that currently over 3000 dental practices use the iTero Digital Impression System and this number is projected to grow.

According to Candent’s COO, Timothy Mack, since Candent launched the iTero imaging system in 2006, the number of dental practices wanting to use his technology has exceeded all the company’s expectations. The iTero technology is so powerful, because it can allow dentists and orthodontists to create all kinds of dental and orthodontic reparations, such as verniers, crowns, bridges, inlays, and other dental reparation procedures. The company currently is processing over 2000 cases per week, and this number is growing in Candent’s current markets within North America and Europe.

According to Fortissimo’s Yochai Hacohen, Fortissimo Capital decided to invest in Candent, because the company’s revolutionary technology is being used by a growing number of dental practices and is clearly disrupting the marketplace. Furthermore, the fact that the iTero technology is being noticed and used by more dental practices, the team at Fortissimo Capital is pleased to help Candent realize its new growth stage and sees a good opportunity in the company.

According to Amos Goren, executive chairman of Candent and board representative for Apax Partners, three years ago, after Candent launched its iTero Digital Impression System, the company has experienced amazing growth and the team at Candent welcomes Fortissimo Capital aboard.

Fortissimo Capital is a private equity firm that seeks companies that are in growth stage and have revolutionary solutions that are disrupting the market. Fortissimo Capital invests for the long term. Fortissimo seeks a positive partnership with the management teams of its portfolio companies. Some other companies in Fortissimo Capital’s portfolio include AOD Software, Crow Technologies, Emblaze, RadView Software, and others.

For more information about Candent, click here.

Based in Dallas, Texas, Syndiant, the maker of the world’s smallest projector, announced today that it has received $10.7 million in series B funding from private investors and the Texas Emerging Technology Fund. Proceeds from this funding round is to go to ramp up the company’s product development on a massive scale.

Syndiant manufactures small projectors that can project a crisp and clear image using pico technology. These projectors are basically a small light emitting chip that can be installed into practically any electronic gadget ranging from cellphones to small pen-size projectors. Syndiant’s proprietary technology can provide a big screen display from a tiny projector to create killer presentations from anywhere by projecting an image from a micro projector installed in a cellphone or iPhone. The possibilities are endless. With Syndiant’s technology, users can project an increadibly sharp image all the way across from a room.

According to Syndiant’s CEO, Mark Harward; for Syndiant to be able to secure such a large funding round in today’s difficult economy is quite an accomplishment. This funding round from the company’s investors shows that Syndiant’s superior technology and astute business strategy can give out enormous potential. Mr. Howard further added that a strong balance sheet allows for the company to be able to ramp up volume sales at the same time extend its technology to the pico projector markets.

Mr. Harward further stated that the Texas Emerging Technology Fund played a crucial role in this funding round. Mr. Harward is very proud of his company having met such a major milestone to meet the criteria for an investment from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund.

One of the reasons that the Texas Emerging Technology Fund is interested in investing in Syndiant is because it has a mission to expedite the development and marketing of innovative technologies for Texas institutions of higher education.

The Texas Emerging Technology Fund or TETF is a fund that is dedicated to fund new revolutionary technologies that could be of benefit to Texas institutions. According to the TETF official website, the fund believes that good innovative hi-tech companies do not appear over night. In order to develop innovative technologies takes quite a bit of research and experimentation. Some other companies that have received commercialization awards from the TETF include Enthuze, Advitech, BiO2 Medical, Animal Innovations, Nanomedical Systems, Faradox Energy Storage, and others.

For more information about Syndiant, click here.

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, 29 Luxury Goods, Inc. announced today that it had closed a $1.4 million round of funding with Williams Venture Partners, LLC leading the funding. Other investors who participated in this funding round are not disclosed to the public.

29 Luxury Goods is a company who is devoted to the sale and marketing of products in the cosmetics, beauty, luxury, and spa industries. Some of the merchandise that 29 Luxury Goods markets include a whole line of women’s cosmetic products that includes lipstick, eye shadow, and other face makeup. 29 Luxury Goods also markets anti-aging products, such as cremes, lotions, and moisturizers. 29 Luxury Goods advertises its goods to be ecologically friendly and do not contain any paraben or other chemical byproducts.

The CEO of 29 Luxury Goods, Lydia Mondavi, stated that since the company was launched, 29 Luxury Goods has experienced amazing sales growth and even in these difficult economic times, this growth does not seem to be slowing down. Ms. Mondavi further stated that since the company has closed this round of funding, it has been able to execute new opportunities and expand 29 Luxury Goods into new markets both domestically and internationally. Ms. Mondavi also stated that proceeds from this funding will allow the crew at 29 Luxury Goods to maximize brand presence and to develop new business strategies to expand the company’s marketing efforts.

According to the Managing General Partner of Williams Venture Partners, John A. Williams, Jr.; 29 Luxury Goods is showing the proof of concept and market penetration that Williams Venture Partners is looking for when investing in a company. Mr. Williams further stated that the current economic climate is filled with great opportunities. When fewer investors want to take a risk, companies that fit the criteria of Williams Venture Partners can yield good profits for both the company and its investors.

Williams Venture Partners is a vc firm that is opportunistic and will invest in those companies that have an innovative product that has the potential to generate great returns. Furthermore, the vc firm insures the success in its investors by actively participating in its portfolio companies. Williams Venture Partners’ investment strategy is to seek and identify companies that have low risk indications and strategic growth opportunities, providing high opportunities for the firm. Some other companies in Williams Venture Partners’ portfolio include Cocobonbons, Mythic Paints, Rent Bureau, and others.

For more information about 29 Luxury Goods, click here.