Silicon Valley's TriplePoint Capital Raises $1 Billion For Venture Debt Fund

TriplePoint Capital CEO Jim Labe

Bambi Francisco Roizen reported in vator.tv that TriplePoint Capital and its CEO Jim Labe have raised one billion dollars to invest in a venture debt fund. The money comes mainly from private and institutional investors, and is seen as a sign of a slowdown in VC fund raising. For startups and second-tier firms, those are very unwelcome storm clouds, and implies a sense of financial caution in the world of so-called "smart money."

Maybe that is so. However, venture debt is far from a form of investor's despair. From an investment perspective, there are some advantages to debt over equity. Some investors prefer debt issues, as they provide an income stream. Significantly, the debt is not simply a vanilla bond-style investment; some debt holders obtain warrants as well. The warrants can dramatically add to the value of the investors' stakes.

Part of the game here is the opportunity for investors to get into what Roizen's article characterized as "top-tier" investment opportunities. That's something of an insider's game, with the belief that there's gold at the end of the VC investment rainbow.

There's gold at the beginning and middle, too.

Steve Jobs Passing and Impact on Twitter, Google Search Traffic Flow, Info Management

It's no secret that the Internet was awash with activity in the minutes, hours, and days after the announcement of Steve Jobs' passing. The interesting firm searchengineland.com has provided a useful, interesting summary of that online action, and their summaries of Twitter and Google Search traffic are worth reading. (Thanks to Bambi Francisco Roizen's vator.tv for linking the information to its membership.)

A few takeaways from searchengineland.com's posts will whet your appetite for further exploration:
1. Twitter: Jobs' passing did result in a traffic spike (no surprise). More amazing are the other, mostly celebrity and sports related announcements that drew more tweets per second than Jobs' RIP announcement.
2. Google Search: how Google (and Yahoo) handled the trending is very fascinating, as it reveals both firms' ability to "manage" information awareness. It also highlights search's dark side as a means for the unscrupulous to distribute spam and malware.

In essence, Danny Sullivan and the searchengineland.com gang offer an unusual look behind the tech curtain. The links to the stories I noted go to searchengineland.com's free site; the company also offers a "premium" site restricted to paid subscribers. (Full disclosure: I don't work for the firm, I have no business relationship with them, and I'm not a subscriber to their paid service.)

Search for Women-Run Venture Capital Firms In the US Nets A Grand Total of One

Venture capital is a realm where typically those with big ideas in technology roam. In many ways, VC is America's leading incubator for putting remarkable ideas into practice. When they hit big, VC investors make a fortune. However, at its highest reaches, venture capital is a man's world, something the with-it tech crowd doesn't really like to publicize. (The movie The Social Network hints at tech's rampant, aggressive sexism.) For every Meg Whitman, there are hundreds of "cool" guys blessed with ideas, ego, and drive (both professional and sexual).

Therefore, I was intrigued when a story in today's San Jose Mercury News focused on what is most likely the only female-run VC firm in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. The article, by the interesting journalist Peter Delevett, interviewed the firm's two managing partners. Their business acumen convinced them to invest in Pandora, which turned out to be a winner. The two women -- Cynthia Ringo (photo) and Nancy Pfund -- also believe in taking environmental and social issues into account in their business decisions.

Vator.tv includes a thumbnail biography of Ringo. The website was founded by Bambi Francisco Roizen, a Silicon Valley journalist who knows just about everyone involved in the area's tech and VC communities. She still runs Vator and retains a strong interest in emerging enterprises.

It's refreshing and important that women such as Roizen, Ringo, and Pfund (sounds like a law firm) are marking their territory in tech's boy's club. However, they only have a toehold in the merciless commercial and entrepreneurial jungle known as Silicon Valley. More women are needed in impact positions in VC and innovation. Men don't have a monopoly on brains; in fact, they let the wrong head do their thinking. It's time for greater gender balance, for everyone's benefit.