Closed Our Series B Round

I have been posting quite a bit about venture capital.  Some of the readers guessed that I must have been close to finishing our process.  We just announced it yesterday and have received some nice press pickup.  For anyone that is interested, there is more detail on the WidgetBucks blog. 

We are very excited to have Draper Fisher Jurveston as our investment partner for our Series B round along with our current partners, Ignition Partners.  When looking for investment partners, the right cultural and business fit is key.  I’ve personally had a bunch of investor partners in the past, and it is so important that you line up around values even before you talk to an investor partner around doing an actual investment.

Clearly, we thought highly of Draper.  I like this interview with Tim Draper on Vator.tv that covers many interesting perspectives including the investment questions that Draper asks themselves before making an investment in a company.

The interview points out the following investment criteria that the firm looks at:

1. Begin with the business plan which does need to cover some basics. Where does the team come from, their education, is this what they were "meant to do", is the market well understood, and competition analyzed?

2. The first question is whether it’s a big enough market – which he stated as the total available market of over $1billion

3. The next cut – what is the approach to this market and how are they going to capture their share

4. Then comes the question about technology and whether it is feasible.

5. Finally, it’s time to meet the team and its all about the people. Are the individuals completely driven to doing what they are doing – deep in their soul?

This criteria is similar to many venture firms.  I personally think that #5 is a huge deal and the more successful investment firms really look for the commitment and passion around the entrepreneurs
that they invest in.