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Posts Tagged ‘Gerbsman Partners’

Google sales beat estimates amid online ad growth

Posted in Board Of Intellectual Capital, Business models, Economy, Gerbsman Partners, google, Intellectual capital, Market research, Microsoft, Strategy, Technology, Venture Capital, tagged , , , , , , on October 14, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Article from SFGate.

“Google reported sales that beat estimates Thursday as businesses spent more on advertising to online consumers.

Third-quarter sales, excluding revenue passed on to partner sites, rose to $7.51 billion, Google said on its website. That topped the $7.23 billion average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Net income climbed 26 percent to $2.73 billion ($8.33 per share) from $2.17 billion ($6.72) a year earlier.

Google, despite concerns about the economy, is benefiting from growing demand for online advertising, including search-based marketing that makes up most of its sales. Search-based advertising should reach $37.7 billion this year globally, up 23 percent, while total Internet ad spending should climb 20 percent, according to media researcher MagnaGlobal.

“Search is good,” said Kerry Rice, an analyst at Needham & Co. in San Francisco who rates the stock a buy and doesn’t own shares. “Paid search is still the biggest component of online advertising, and Google’s obviously going to win the vast majority of that dollar.”

Google rose 1.9 percent to close at $558.99 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares have dropped 5.9 percent this year.

Third-quarter profit, excluding some items, was $9.72 a share, exceeding the $8.76 average of analysts’ estimates.

Even with more competition from Microsoft, Google picked up market share in the United States, according to Efficient Frontier Inc., which helps companies promote products online. Google had 82 percent of spending on search advertising in the third quarter, up from 81 percent in the two previous quarters.

Microsoft, which provides search and ad services for Yahoo’s U.S. websites under a new agreement, had 18 percent, down from 19 percent in the previous two quarters, according to Efficient Frontier.”

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Solyndra CEO Brian Harrison steps down

Posted in Board Of Intellectual Capital, Business models, Distressed IP, Intellectual capital, Investments, Market research, tagged , , , , on October 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Article from SFGate.

“Solyndra CEO Brian Harrison, who refused to answer questions from Congress about his solar startup’s high-profile bankruptcy, has left the company, according to a new court filing.

Harrison stepped down on Friday, Solyndra reported in a bankruptcy court document filed late Tuesday. The company said Harrison left “as scheduled,” but didn’t elaborate. A Solyndra spokesman could not be reached for an explanation.

To replace Harrison, Solyndra wants to hire R. Todd Neilson, who served as bankruptcy trustee for boxer Mike Tyson and rap impresario Marion “Suge” Knight. Neilson has a background in forensic accounting, including a stint with the FBI as a special agent on white-collar crime cases.

If approved by the court, Neilson would serve as Solyndra’s chief restructuring officer, shepherding the company through the Chapter 11 process. Solyndra would also hire Neilson’s company – Berkeley Research Group, based in Emeryville – to help restructure or liquidate the company.

Neilson did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday.

Harrison led Solyndra for little more than a year, joining the Fremont company in July 2010. At that point, Solyndra was struggling.

In 2009, the company won a federal loan guarantee worth up to $535 million to build a factory for its tube-shaped solar modules. But by the time Harrison arrived, replacing founder Chris Gronet, the company had canceled plans for an initial public stock offering. Auditors questioned Solyndra’s chances for long-term survival.

Harrison, a former Intel executive, was unable to stop the company’s slide, as low-priced solar panels pouring into the market from China undercut Solyndra’s sales.

The company finally filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 6 of this year, igniting a political firestorm. FBI agents interviewed Harrison two days later, as part of an investigation into the accuracy of Solyndra’s financial statements.

Harrison and the company’s chief financial officer agreed to appear before a congressional subcommittee investigating Solyndra’s loans. But acting on the advice of their attorneys, both men refused to answer the subcommittee’s questions.

In July, Harrison had told members of the same panel that the company’s finances were on firm footing.

It’s not unusual for a company to switch CEOs during Chapter 11 proceedings, bankruptcy experts say. Often, companies bring in reorganization specialists who understand the bankruptcy process far better than the people they replace.

“It does help to have familiarity with the process,” said John Hansen, a partner in the Nossaman LLP law firm. “I’ve seen a lot of regular business people who’ve been in Chapter 11, and they’ve been very frustrated. It’s very restrictive, and they can’t always do what they want to do, the way they want to do it.”

In addition, involvement in a government investigation can interfere with an executive’s ability to do the job.

“When a CEO gets into a position where the company may be facing criminal prosecution or a criminal investigation, the likelihood of the CEO leaving gets pretty high,” said Eric Talley, co-director of the UC Berkeley Center for Law, Business and the Economy.

Like all corporate bankruptcies, Solyndra’s will be complex. In a separate set of bankruptcy court filings on Wednesday, a German company that designed equipment for Solyndra accused its former client of stealing its intellectual property.

Von Ardenne claims that it supplied Solyndra with machinery to deposit solar-cell materials on glass tubes, only to see the Fremont company build its own versions based on Von Ardenne’s designs.”

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Vente-privee’s Plans For U.S. Domination Exciting Enough For Google TV Execs To Jump Ship

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Article from TechCrunch.

“Vente-privee, the French flash sales juggernaut, announced in May 2011 that it had teamed up with American Express to form a joint-venture for its U.S. operations (dubbed vente-privee USA). Earlier today, the company announced the latest members of its management team, which is headed by vente-privee USA CEO Mike Steib.

The hires that I thought were most notable were those of John Saroff and Jill Szuchmacher, who both previously served in leadership roles to grow the Google TV business.

Saroff has joined vente-privee USA as VP of Digital Factory and Sales Production – he will lead the creative development and production of each sale event including photo shoots, music, trailers and online boutiques for each partner. At Google, Saroff headed TV Ads and Strategic Partnerships.

Jill Szuchmacher will be leading business development for vente-privee USA as Vice President. She previously served as Director of Business Development at Google, most recently heading up commercialization for Google TV, leading engagements with partners such as Sony, Vizio, Netflix, Twitter, and Amazon.

According to their LinkedIn profiles, they left Google around the same time, which speaks volumes about Google TV, which has seen very slow uptake since its introduction earlier this year.

Other hires include Robin Domeniconi, who joins as VP of Marketing after servering as SVP and Chief Brand Officer at Elle Group, and Nicolas Genest, a former Microsoft engineer who is making the jump from vente-privee to vente-privee USA to serve as VP of Technology.

Other new members of the company’s leadership team are Laure de Metz (formerly VP of Licensing for Marc Jacobs International) and Tim Quinn (formerly VP Investments, Integration and Measurement at American Express).

No word about the launch date of vente-privee’s dedicated US site.”

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What bear market? Groupon pressing on with IPO plans

Posted in Board Of Intellectual Capital, Business models, Economy, internet, Investments, IPO news, Marketing, tagged , , , , , , on October 9, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Article from GigaOM.

“Reports of the death of Groupon’s IPOplans have apparently been greatly exaggerated. The online daily deals pioneer filed an updated version of its S-1 document with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, as part of its preparation for a planned initial public offering of its stock.

Since the company first filed its S-1 in June, Groupon has been roundly criticized for its seemingly shady accounting practices and that its early founders and investors have already cashed out billions of dollars worth of the company’s stock. CEO Andrew Mason was so irked by the negative press that he sent a long email to Groupon’s employees filled with talking points they could use to defend the company. Ironically, when that email was inevitably leaked to the press, it only attracted more criticism; the missive was seen as a violation of the SEC’s quiet period rules.

These issues coupled with the larger environment of economic unrest have fueled rumors that Groupon had put its stock market plans on ice. But Friday’s S-1 update — the third revision since June — shows that the company is still keen to go public. Despite Groupon’s swaggering reputation and Mason’s grumbling about haters, the company’s management is showing that underneath it all, it’s actually willing to make changes and respond to criticism. Specifically, the latest filing has a few notable tweaks: Groupon said it plans to scale back its marketing budget, reported that its revenue bookings were slightly higher in the second quarter of the year, and reprinted the full text of Mason’s leaked email.

More than anything, though, updating the S-1 shows that Groupon is still serious about making its stock market debut at some point soon. But ultimately, that will only happen if investors show that they have an appetite for the company’s shares.”

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1st investments for ex-Facebook exec’s venture fund

Posted in Board Of Intellectual Capital, Business models, Community, Economy, FaceBook, Intellectual capital, Investments, Market research, Social Networks, Strategy, Venture Capital, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Article from SF Gate.

“Chamath Palihapitiya, a former executive at Facebook Inc., made the first two investments for his new venture fund, buying stakes in business-software maker Yammer Inc. and private-stock exchange SecondMarket Inc.

Palihapitiya’s fund, called the Social+Capital Partnership, led a $17 million investment in Yammer, a San Francisco company that makes social-networking programs for businesses.

The fund, which announced both deals separately Tuesday, bought its SecondMarket stake from existing investors. SecondMarket lets investors trade shares of closely held companies before they hold an initial public offering.

After a four-year career at Facebook, where he worked on mobile products and expanded the company internationally, Palihapitiya left this year to form Social+Capital.

The Palo Alto fund is raising about $300 million, with an eye to investing in Internet technology, health care, education and financial services. Before joining Facebook, Palihapitiya spent a year at venture-capital firm Mayfield Fund.

“The things I like tend to have very disruptive elements to an existing established infrastructure,” Palihapitiya, 35, said.

“SecondMarket disrupts the IPO process by giving you completely different alternatives. Yammer is highly disruptive to established enterprise software companies.”

With Tuesday’s investment, Yammer has now raised $57 million. The company, started by PayPal Inc. co-founder David Sacks, provides software to more than 100,000 businesses in 160 countries, serving clients such as Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Ford Motor Co. Existing investors include Charles River Ventures, Emergence Capital and U.S. Venture Partners.

“Social networking is destined to have as significant an impact on the enterprise as it has already had in our personal lives,” Palihapitiya said in a statement.

The SecondMarket deal, meanwhile, involving buying stock from employees and early investors, Chief Executive Officer Barry Silbert said in a blog posting.

Shareholders of the New York company sold about $13 million of stock at a valuation of about $160 million, in what the company expects to be an “annual liquidity event,” Silbert said.

SecondMarket helps investors in privately held companies buy and sell their stock. The company has handled transactions totaling almost $1 billion, Silbert said Tuesday. Shareholders of Facebook, Twitter Inc. and LinkedIn Corp. have sold stock on the exchange.

Palihapitiya was joined by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner and actor Ashton Kutcher in buying the SecondMarket shares.”

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