From Deseret News archives:
$14.5 million worth more than the money to Omniture
Better yet, why accept $14.5 million in VC dollars if on top of continued growth and profitability you've got sufficient money in the bank to keep the company going forward?
Why? Because you can more importantly because the $14.5 million was smart money.
That's the quick answer as to why Orem-based Omniture closed on a $14.5 million B round of VC funding last week, led by Hummer Winblad Venture Partners (with support from individual investors who had previously invested in Omniture).
If you don't know the Hummer Winblad name, San Francisco-based HWVP has more than $1 billion under management, and it was the first VC to decide to focus its investment efforts specifically on software companies.
To date, Hummer Winblad has had more than 60 "liquidity events" with its portfolio of companies, either through public offerings or mergers/acquisitions.
And although HWVP has been very quiet on the investing front for close to two years as the DotCom implosion sorted itself out, it now appears that Hummer Winblad is "back in the game" once again.
With the investment, Mark Gorenberg, an HWVP partner, will be added to the Omniture board of directors.
With Gorenberg and the Hummer Winblad cachet, Omniture now gets access to the HWVP Rolodex of contacts, along with the expertise of nearly 15 years of investing acumen. That's why one agrees to accept $14.5 million in funding even if you really don't need the money.
What's interesting is that VCs have been pursuing Omniture for more than a year now, looking to invest in the Web analytics firm.
It appears, however, that things came to a head after the company brought John Mellor on board as the company's new vice president of marketing.
Not necessarily a "stop the presses" type of hire, although I've known Mellor for a long time and he knows his stuff when it comes to tech marketing.
No, what was apparently important from a funding standpoint is that Mellor already knew Gorenberg, having worked previously at Viewpoint DataLabs, a company Hummer Winblad had invested in before Computer Associates purchased Viewpoint.
So although I had to push Mellor to get him to admit it, it appears the HWVP connection with Omniture was not made until after the Mellor hire.
Comments
- Snow may fly with warmer weekend 8:07 p.m.
- Man accused in mugging 7:41 p.m.
- Four Jazzmen out for tonight 7:40 p.m.
- Defense witness goes on offensive 7:21 p.m.
- Pitta doesn't win award 7:20 p.m.
- Disappearance called 'sususpicious' 7:00 p.m.
- Depleted uranium OK'd for storage 6:51 p.m.
- ATK to cut 800 jobs 6:11 p.m.
- Cops: Artist's son swipes paintings 5:57 p.m.
- Incentives to create new jobs 5:51 p.m.
- Nude bathers cited for lewdness
- Few details on missing W.V. mom
- Jazz fall apart late at L.A.
- Crash landing next to I-15
- Defense witness goes on offensive
- BCS = power conference monopoly
- Palin signs books, chats with fans
- I-15 expansion barreling south
- 5 officers lose their certification
- Y.'s Emery bruised, but rarely beaten
- Letters: Global warming a lie
255 - TCU to play Boise in Fiesta Bowl
206 - BYU football: Bronco weighs in on Hall
193 - Palin signs books, chats with fans
159 - Cougars going back to Vegas
150 - Utah/BYU rivalry can be more civil
149 - Andersen apologizes for Jordan hoax
142 - Max Hall wants to look ahead
124 - Nude bathers cited for lewdness
117 - Jazz fall apart late at L.A.
109
If you want to learn what it's like to be an astronaut on the...
I haven't yet played "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2," and honestly I...
Well, I did it. I gave in to the seductions of the ridiculously sexy...
This is not going to end well ...
Harvey is not an NFL running back. He is not quick enough to get around the...
what a double standard state!!
She could see Russia from Salt Lake as well, even through the inversion...
really difficult for a BYU player to receive national recognition. We are...
My parnter and I lose thousands of dollars each year due to the unequal tax...
Hardly. Obama's stimulus plan saved our country from another great...
That's so BCS, oops, I mean, That's so LAME!
you right wing nuts cases don't have half a brain between you.
Max Hall supporters whine about a double standard when Ute fans call for a...



You can be the first to comment on this story.