venture capital - Internet Marketing News and Blogs

Facebook has added another huge pile of cash to its bank account, this time in the form of a $100m debt financing from TriplePoint Capital.

The company, which has already raised more than $350m in equity financing from investors such as Microsoft and Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, says that the money will be used "entirely for servers."

Perhaps one of the most challenging questions for an entrepreneur to answer is 'what does my company really do and what is its true role in the marketplace?'

It's a simple question. But it is difficult for many entrepreneurs to answer realistically, because there's a natural tendency on their part to think their companies do more and have more potential than is actually true.

Would you:

1. Put $20m into a company that you're valuing at $75m and has no proven mainstream appeal, scalability problems or business model?
   
2. Invest $25m at a $200m valuation in a company that has already raised $12.5m, has reportedly generated about $1m in revenues since its launch in 2005 and was unable to develop acquisition interest at $250m?
   
3. Give $50m and a $500m valuation to a profitless company that does $10-12m in annual revenues and whose CEO has said, "We’re like a teen in our clock cycle. Now, we have to figure out how do you get a job and work in the real world"?

You have to hand it to Henry Blodget. The infamous securities analyst who arguably promulgated more hype in Bubble 1.0 than anybody else on Wall Street seems to have a knack for bubbles.

His blog, Silicon Alley Insider, or SAI, is an increasingly influential force in the tech blogosphere and has given Blodget the ability to establish a front row seat for Bubble 2.0.

As more Web 2.0 startups fail and the market for VC investment contracts, Om Malik has asked whether it's now an ideal time for somebody to create a vulture fund that acquires startups " with decent technologies that have otherwise failed to get themselves off the ground. "

This week's The Web Week in Review is a hodgepodge of news.

There are fewer exits available to overhyped startups these days, and I don’t think it’s just because of a troubled economy.

Bebo may have found its sucker in AOL, but for other players, finding a company that wants to buy the Brooklyn Bridge is harder than many may have anticipated.

Late last year, Channel 4 Education announced a complete rethink of its TV-heavy commissioning strategy and said it was devoting its entire 2008 budget to cross-platform projects.

But it seems the broadcaster is not just keen to acquire new digital content – it also wants to invest in companies that support it.

According to commissioning editor Matt Locke, it is one of a number of firms that has just ploughed “a six figure sum” into School of Everything, a UK-based start-up that aims to encourage informal learning via the web.

It's that time of the week again and these are the stories that piqued my interest.

Online consumer reviews aggregator Reevoo has announced a second round of funding led by French VC firm Banexi, as well as launching its service across the Channel.

We talked to CEO Richard Anson about the deal: