Spigelia Marilandica

by | Mar 29, 2018 | Spigelia Marilandica

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Benchmark is a venture capital firm founded in 1995 by Bob Kagle, Bruce Dunlevie, Andy Rachleff, Kevin Harvey, and Val Vaden.[1]

Investments

The firm's most successful investment was a 1997 investment of $6.7 million in eBay for 22.1% of the company.[2] In 2011, it invested $12 million for an 11% stake in Uber, worth $7 billion in 2019 and $9.4 billion in 2023.[3]

Notable companies funded by the firm include 1-800-Flowers, Demandforce, Amplitude,[4]AOL, Art.com/Allposters.com, Asana,[5] Baixing, CTERA Networks, Cerebras Systems,[6] Confluent,[7] Cockroach Labs,[8] CouchSurfing,[9] Cyanogen,[10] Digits,[11] Discord,[12] Duo Security,[13] Domo, Inc.,[14][15] Docker,[16] Dropbox,[17] EBags.com, eBay, Friendster, HackerOne[18] Instagram,[19][20] JAMDAT, Juniper Networks, Marin Software,[21] Metacafe, Minted, Modern Treasury,[22] MySQL, New Relic,[23][24] Nextdoor,[25][26] OpenTable, Optimizely,[27] Palm, Inc., ResearchGate,[28] Seeking Alpha, ServiceSource, Sketch,[29] Snapchat,[30][31][32] Solv,[33] Stitch Fix,[34][35] Twitter,[36] Tellme Networks,[37] Uber,[38][39] Ubiquity6,[40] Vessel,[41] WeWork,[42][43][44][45] WorldWinner,[46] Xapo,[47] Yelp, Inc.,[48] Zendesk,[49] Zillow,[50] Zipcar,[51] and Zuora.[52][53]

Partner structure

Benchmark is noted for creating the first equal ownership and compensation structure for its partners.[54] The "maverick" firm[55] differs from most VC firms, which are named for their founders and are structured hierarchically; Benchmark was described by Fortune as "a lean operation in which its six full-time partners share profits equally."[55] While there are no differentiation between its "junior partners" and "senior partners," there is also no CEO-like position held.[56]

In popular culture

Benchmark Capital was featured in the Apple TV+ original TV series WeCrashed starring Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway. In the show, Anthony Edwards portrays Benchmark co-founder Bruce Dunlevie, who became WeWork's first major investor on the 1st of April in 2012 when Benchmark led WeWork's $17 million Series-A seed funding.[citation needed]

Benchmark was also featured in the Showtime original Super Pumped starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. In the series, Kyle Chandler plays Benchmark General Partner Bill Gurley, portraying his involvement in leading Ubers' $11 million round of fundraising in February 2011.[57]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Bill Gurley is stepping away from an active role at Benchmark, 21 years after joining the firm". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  2. ^ "Loans to EBay Provide a Big Payoff for Venture-Capital Firm". The Washington Post. April 9, 1999.
  3. ^ Muoio, Danielle. "The early Uber investor suing Travis Kalanick turned its $12 million investment into $7 billion stake". Business Insider. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  4. ^ "Amplitude raises another $30M for its product-focused analytics tools". TechCrunch. August 10, 2017.
  5. ^ "Peter Thiel-backed workplace app Asana files for direct listing on NYSE". Reuters. August 24, 2020.
  6. ^ "Company".
  7. ^ Lawler, Ryan (November 6, 2014). "Benchmark Backs Real-Time Data Processing Startup Confluent". TechCrunch.
  8. ^ Novet, Jordan (June 4, 2015). "Peter Fenton's latest investment is a database startup called Cockroach". VentureBeat.
  9. ^ "CouchSurfing Raises $7.6 Million in Series A From Benchmark Capital and Omidyar Network to Expand Services and Fuel Growth in Cultural Exchange Network" (Press release). PR Newswire. August 25, 2011.
  10. ^ Culter, Kim-Mai (September 18, 2013). "Cyanogen Mod Raises $7M To Find A Direct-To-Consumer Route For Android Firmware". TechCrunch.
  11. ^ Perez, Sarah (November 6, 2019). "Stealth fintech startup Digits raises $10.5 million Series A from Benchmark and others". TechCrunch.
  12. ^ Takahashi (February 10, 2015). "Fates Forever mobile game maker Hammer & Chisel raises funding from Benchmark and Tencent". Venture Beat.
  13. ^ Lawler, Ryan (September 22, 2014). "Two-Factor Authentication Startup Duo Security Raises $12 Million From Benchmark". TechCrunch.
  14. ^ Konrad, Alex. "Domo Reveals Its Business Software, Raises $200 Million At $2 Billion Valuation". Forbes.
  15. ^ Lacy, Sarah (July 13, 2011). "Series A Whopper: Benchmark Invests $33M in New BI Company Domo". TechCrunch.
  16. ^ Alex, Williams (January 21, 2014). "Docker Raises $15M For Its Open-Source Platform That Helps Developers Build Apps In The Cloud". TechCrunch.
  17. ^ Konrad, Alex. "The Benchmark Way: Five Partners Who Make Other VC Firms Look Outgunned And Overstaffed". Forbes.
  18. ^ Gage, Deborah (May 28, 2014). "HackerOne Emerges With $9 Million to Root Out Software Bugs". The Wall Street Journal.
  19. ^ Indvik, Lauren (February 2, 2011). "Instagram Raises $7 Million, Hits 1.75M Members". Mashable.
  20. ^ Gannes, Liz. "Instagram Raises $7M Led by Benchmark". All Things Digital.
  21. ^ "Benchmark leads series B for marin software". The New York Times. April 7, 2008.
  22. ^ Roof, Katie (December 19, 2019). "Venture Firm Benchmark Invests in Payments Startup as Sector Heats Up". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  23. ^ Cromwell, Schuberth (December 15, 2014). "Big winners on New Relic, Hortonworks IPOs are mostly Benchmark, Peter Fenton". American City Business Journals.
  24. ^ Rao, Leena (November 16, 2011). "Cloud App Management Platform New Relic Raises $15M From DAG, Benchmark". TechCrunch.
  25. ^ Chapman, Lizette (March 4, 2015). "Valued at $1.1 Billion, Nextdoor's Pivot Appears to Be Paying Off". The Wall Street Journal.
  26. ^ Isaac, Mike (July 24, 2012). "Nextdoor Raises $18.6M From Benchmark, Greylock in First Major Funding Round".
  27. ^ Ha, Andrew (April 10, 2013). "Website Testing Service Optimizely Raises $28M Round Led By Benchmark, Plans Global Expansion". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  28. ^ "ResearchGate brings in strong funding round for 'scientific Facebook'". The Guardian. September 8, 2010.
  29. ^ Loizos, Connie (March 13, 2019). "Sketch, maker of popular design tools, just landed $20 million in Series A funding from Benchmark in its first outside round". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on March 14, 2019.
  30. ^ Wortham, Jenna (February 8, 2013). "A Growing App Lets You See It, Then You Don't". The New York Times.
  31. ^ Primack, Dan (June 26, 2013). "Snapchat's liquidity trap – The Term Sheet: Fortune's deals blogTerm Sheet". Fortune.
  32. ^ Winkler, Rolfe (February 3, 2017). "Snap IPO Will Mint Fortunes for Founders, Two Big Investors". The Wall Street Journal.
  33. ^ "This Startup Wants to Be the OpenTable for Urgent Care". Fortune. April 19, 2017.
  34. ^ Gannes, Liz (June 9, 2014). "Happy Stitch Fix Investors Pump Another Round Into Personal Shopping Startup". Re/code.
  35. ^ Kucera, Danielle (October 17, 2013). "Stitch Fix Nabs $12 Million From Benchmark to Customize Commerce".
  36. ^ Chapman, Lizette (October 4, 2013). "Twitter Investor Benchmark Capital Gets Smaller Taste In Potbelly IPO". The Wall Street Journal.
  37. ^ Festa, Paul (January 2, 2002). "Start-up Tellme grabs $47 million in financing". CNET.
  38. ^ Helft, Miguel (June 6, 2014). "These are the venture firms celebrating Uber's massive $18B valuation". Fortune.
  39. ^ Arrington, Michael (February 14, 2011). "Huge Vote Of Confidence: Uber Raises $11 Million From Benchmark Capital". TechCrunch.
  40. ^ "AR startup Ubiquity6 lands $27M Series B to build a more user-friendly augmented reality". TechCrunch. August 14, 2018.
  41. ^ Kafka, Peter (June 24, 2014). "Jason Kilar's New Startup Has a Name, and a Whole Lot of Money". Recode.
  42. ^ Winkler, Rolfe (September 24, 2019). "For WeWork Investor Benchmark, a Struggle to Balance Board Duties with Founder Support". The Wall Street Journal.
  43. ^ "WeWork U-turn reignites SoftBank and Benchmark battle". Financial Times. April 14, 2020.
  44. ^ Alex, Konrad. "Inside The Phenomenal Rise Of WeWork". Forbes.
  45. ^ Kosoff, Maya (June 24, 2015). "WeWork, a startup that rents out office space to other startups, may soon be valued at $10 billion". Business Insider.
  46. ^ "WorldWinner scores $9.2 million". CNET. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
  47. ^ Rusli, Evelyn (March 13, 2014). "Latest Bitcoin Craze? Actual Bank Vaults". The Wall Street Journal.
  48. ^ Empson, Rip (June 10, 2012). "Twitter, Yelp Board Member Peter Fenton On How Enterprise Is Learning From The Consumer Web". TechCrunch.
  49. ^ Connie, Loizos (July 7, 2015). "Benchmark's Newest Partner, Eric Vishria, On His First Year at the Powerhouse Firm". TechCrunch.
  50. ^ Jackson, Eric. "Interview With Bill Gurley: The Guy Who Backed OpenTable, Yelp, GrubHub, Twitter, Zillow And Uber". Forbes.
  51. ^ Chapman, Lizette (January 2, 2013). "For Venture Firms, Zipcar Purchase a Profitable but Disappointing Exit". The Wall Street Journal.
  52. ^ Schonfeld, Erick (March 13, 2008). "Benchmark and Benioff Put $6.5 Million Into Zuora to Create a Salesforce for Online Billing". TechCrunch.
  53. ^ "Benchmark, Marissa Mayer Put $5.5M In Stationery Design And Retail Site Minted". TechCrunch. November 15, 2011.
  54. ^ Stross, Randall (December 29, 2009). eBoys: The First Inside Account of Venture Capitalists at Work. Ballantine Books (May 29, 2001). p. 89. ISBN 978-0-345-42889-9.
  55. ^ a b Hempel, Jessi (February 11, 2013). "Bill Gurley: The sage of Silicon Valley". Fortune.
  56. ^ Konrad, Alex (March 25, 2015). "The Benchmark Way: Five Partners Who Make Other VC Firms Look Outgunned And Overstaffed". Forbes.
  57. ^ Clarendon, Dan (February 26, 2022). "The Uber-Complex Battle Behind Showtime's 'Super Pumped'". TV Insider. Retrieved May 1, 2023.

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