Money: More Start-ups, More IPOs in 2010
LAVA start-up CEOs and VCs discuss improving economy at event on January 12th, 2010
by Robin Rowe
Greycroft Partners VC Dana Settle, anticipating more IPOs in 2010
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Gosh!TV) 1/11/2010 – “With a large number of companies in the IPO pipeline, if the market remains somewhat stable or improves there will probably be more IPOs than we’ve seen in quite a while,” says Dana Settle, the partner who oversees West Coast investments at early stage venture capital firm Greycroft Partners with its $75 million fund. Settle, along with Redpoint Ventures general partner Greg Martin, are moderating a breakfast panel of start-up CEOs at an event hosted by LAVA, the Los Angeles Venture Association.
“Capital will continue to be scarce in 2010 with a large number of venture funds raising their own funds,” says Settle. “But as always, there will be capital available to great new companies. Keeping focused with an eye toward profitability gives a CEO the greatest number of options.” For their investments, Greycroft looks toward ad technologies, online marketing, next generation e-commerce infrastructure and to a lesser extent cloud computing and wireless applications. One of Settle’s profitable start-ups with Greycroft investment is United Sample based in Encino.
“2009 was a strong year of growth for us,” says United Sample CEO Matthew Dusig, who’ll be speaking at LAVA. Dusig says his company has experienced strong growth, despite the economy, with triple digit growth year after year. United Sample provides relevant panelists to research firms like J.D. Powers that conduct consumer marketing surveys.“I no longer have the worries of meeting payroll, or sales, or getting traffic to the website.” However, success doesn’t mean Dusig can relax. His next target: “How do you take a business and double the revenue while keeping the quality?”
“In the tech sector where we focus, we’re seeing a ramp up of spending in the online advertising space in the last quarter or two and for the types of companies that we invest in,” says Redpoint Ventures partner Greg Martin. Redpoint invests in information technology, digital media, next generation advertising and clean tech investments. “We have a government and social will pushing us to greener alternatives. Where green lowers costs you’ll see it do quite well, such as in lower cost building materials.” Red Point invests in companies expected to have hundreds of millions of dollars in market capitalization in a five to seven year period.
In addition to Dusig, the other LAVA panelists are: Go BIG Network CEO Wil Schroter, LeadPoint CEO Marc Diana, and Break.com CEO Keith Richman.
Go BIG Network (goBIGnetwork.com), an on-line portal connecting tens of thousands of startup companies to investors, job seekers, advisors and service providers. In addition to founding Go BIG Network, Schroter is the CEO of GotCast.com, a Web-based television casting service. He’s the author of the book Go BIG or Go HOME! and a nationally syndicated columnist.
LeadPoint trades hundreds of thousands of voice and data leads monthly to over 2,000 customers across North America and Europe in the first online lead marketplace. Before launching LeadPoint, Marc Diana worked in business development at LowerMyBills.com was a vice president of the early stage investment company Innovent Group.
Break.com, based in Beverly Hills and funded by Lionsgate Entertainment, is an online entertainment destination with more than 13 million unique visitors and 600 million page impressions per month. Prior to co-founding Break.com, Keith was the Director of Business Development for Billpoint Inc. He was director of corporate planning at the Walt Disney Company.
“For 25 years, LAVA’s monthly breakfast meetings, annual conferences, and co-produced events have created an unprecedented platform for innovation and financing in Southern California,” says Los Angeles Venture Association executive director Leonard Lanzi. He says the hot L.A. start-ups today are in clean technology and energy, digital media, software, and online.
The Internet, software as a service, online advertising and next gen advertising are investment areas where Red Point partner Greg Martin sees opportunities. “That’s extending to mobile that ‘s becoming everyone’s personal computer, driven initially by the iPhone and now Android and others.” Martin serves on the board of LAVA and is an advisory board member of the Tech Coast Angels and the San Diego Venture Group.
Martin says the LAVA panel of start-up CEOs will share what it’s like to navigate in an environment of massive changes and uncertainty. “We have a great panel of four experienced entrepreneurs who are doing great things with their companies,” says Martin. “It’s rare that you can get such high quality together in the room given their schedules.”
- LAVA Breakfast Meeting
- CEOs Talk Start-ups
- Tue Jan 12, 2010
- 7:00am – 9:00am
- Skirball Cultural Center
- 2701 N Sepulveda Blvd
- Los Angeles
- $85
On Thursday, January 21, 2010, LAVA holds its 7th Annual Venture Awards Dinner at the Skirball Cultural Center.