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Gina Bianchini’s Ning Raises an Additional $15m Funding
Ning, the online service is headed by Female Internet Hero Gina Bianchini has raised $15m in a new venture funding round. With Ning, that is based in Paolo Lato California users can create, customise and share their own social networks, and apparently 1 million accounts have been created with 27 million members from its launch in February 2007.
According to Entrepreneur Country, the investment by Lightspeed Venture Partners is the fifth funding round Ning has conducted and values the company at $750m. Its last round, just over a year ago, raised $60m at a valuation of $500m, and before that 44 million was raised. Its start was funded by Marc Andreessen, co-founder, Gina Bianchini and other angel investors.
Gina Bianchini, co-founder and CEO of social networking platform Ning is a true innovator on the web scene. Gina was among the 20 most influential women in web 2.0 named by Fastcompany, with other women including Rashmi Sinha, CEO and co-founder of Slideshare and Marissa Mayer, Google’s first female engineer and many more.
Gina actually started out in the financial sector, after pursuing a BA in political science and an MBA from Stanford University. She worked at a number of financial firms, including Goldman Sachs, before founding an ad analytics company called Harmonic Communications. After it was bought by ad agency Dentsu, she co-founded Ning with Marc Andreessen, Netscape Founder and Boardmember of eBay.
Blueshots TV: Karin Loeffen on her role as Founder of Bookingstool Startup Libersy
On Dutch Entrepreneur TV, Blueshots, Founder and CEO of Libersy, Karin Loeffen, talks with Simone Brummelhuis of The NextWomen about her role as initiator of the company, thereby designing a strategy which takes care of getting the best team, the best web developer and the best investors. She discusses the challenges of pitching in Sillicon Valley, taking out a mortgage to fund the seed-stage, and deciding on redeveloping the website after the initial phase. Albeit a minority shareholder she has retained founder’s veto voting rights on major issues. She has entered into big contracts with Hyves and BT, and expects an exit in a couple of years.
SHE, (a programme of Blueshots) sponsored by Bizner Bank, features interviews with women entrepreneurs, female internet heroes and also discuss marketing to women cases. It is presented by Marianne van Leeuwen of Sisteract and Simone Brummelhuis of TheNextWomen.
100 Sexy Roles a Woman can Take in Tech: No 6. Nilofer Merchant, CEO of Rubicon
The NextWomen is running a series of stories of women in tech, explaining what inspired them to work in the industry. The baton was passed to Nilofer Merchant, CEO ∙ Chief Strategist ∙ of Rubicon Consulting inc. and author of The New How: Building Business Solutions through Collaborative Strategy, published by O’Reilly.
What inspired you to get into TECH?
Tech is a high-change, high growth market so if you like to thrive, reinvent and grow, tech lends itself to that. Because of this rate of change, they are also one of the least hierarchical types of business because they need to move fast to win. That gave me huge opportunities to raise my hand, take on new challenges and contribute without putting in years and years before my ideas would have merit.
What is the most fun thing in tech?
The quality of ideas matters. And the fast pace of doing business.
How were you educated in TECH?
I did a B.S. in Applied Economics at University of San Fransisco, and then an MBA at Santa Clara University.
How is your experience in the TECH world? Any advice to aspiring (non) techies?
There’s a time in each of our lives when you realize that the next company or invention is not created solo, it’s co-created. That’s when you put down your own arrogance to know everything and start working with really smart good people to invent the future.
Tech is amazingly good at rewarding that behavior and letting the best ideas thrive.
Which Roles do/did you have in Tech?
Right now at Rubicon, we offer strategic marketing services for high-tech software and solutions firms. I am an entrepreneur as well as the leader of Rubicon.
Connect with Nilofer on Twitter.
Mr & Mrs Harrow launch Local Nanny Search Engine: Findababysitter.com
I cannot come at such short notice; I cannot find a babysitter.
Anyone with or without children knows what a nightmare it can be of having to search for a (last minute) babysit or of having a friend who is looking for one. The best companies come from basic personal needs like this.
This week saw the relaunch of the childcare site Findababysitter.com. It promises to leave parents never left in the lurch, because the website has “a Geo-coded nanny finder”. (We of course know better, that it is always the mother who is looking for the babysit…, whether working fulltime or not..)
Founders of the company are Mr & Mrs Tom Harrow (who during daytime is programme Manager at Microsoft), and their recent round of funding helped them to relaunch a site with the UK’s first database of geo-coded childcarers, a list of 20,000+ carers from across Britain and search function with the latest mapping technology. A huge response from users has been the result.
Its a technology based company with a disruptive business model that solves a real problem: It’s a winner! Read more
Serial Entrepreneur Deirdre Bounds Launches Ethical Children Parties website
It was a bedsit to exit story. Deirdre Bounds set up ethical travel company i-to-i.com in the beginning of the nineties, and after it became in 10 years the world’s largest gap year company, she sold the firm to a FTSE 100 company in 2007 for about 20 million pounds. She said then:
I’ve got two young children. I certainly won’t be setting up another business. I’m too tired. Why do I need the stress?”
And yet, Deirdre Bounds just did that in 2009: setting up another company . She recently launched her second online ethical business – www.partiesaroundtheworld.co.uk – a website that offers an ethical alternative for busy parents fed up of the throwaway consumerism perpetuated by children’s birthday parties.
The site is best described as a cross between Just Giving and Oxfam Unwrapped, and allows conscientious parents to make donations towards a charity or cause chosen by the birthday child themselves instead of buying material gifts.
On the site, there are a variety of theme parties, such as Dragon-, Frog- and Football Parties, which are all linked to a charity of that theme. The Football party is for example linked to he Homeless World Cup, an annual, international football tournament which brings together teams of people who are homeless and excluded from all over the world, to take part in a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their country by playing football – and change their lives forever. And if a child may not be immediately convinced of not receiving gifts, there are 5 tips to convince your child that it is a good idea, one of them being: Lead by example.
It took Deirde only 2 years to come up with the new online business. After the sale of her company, Deirdre became speaker on entrepreneurship as well as consultant for startups who needed down to earth advice and getting things done, while performing as a judge on many award Panels, such as the Everywoman National Business Awards 2008.
At the same time, she wrote book on her experiences, called ‘Fulfilled- A Personal Revolution in Seven Steps’ which the main message: “We need to look at ourselves in a new, radical way to discover who we really are, and only when we know this, can we go and get what we truly want.” Deirde considers herself an entrepreneur in the purest sense – no commercial experience, no family history of enterprise, no money, just a great idea, a pile of passion, masses of mistakes, will to make it happen, and a sense of humour. The book became an overnight best seller in the UK and is to launch in the USA in January 2010.
But apparently, the entrepreneurial drive to starting again with all the stress involved in it became too strong to resist and so the new company has launched.
Video: Inspirational Female Internet Heroes.. who Code
Can Women code? Yes, they can! Last week, at “Her Code”, an event by our sister organisation Women 2.0, the common view was that women who code should encourage girls at school to do math, science and technology, so that ultimately the world will be designed and decided by men and women.
A very encouraging video from Inspirational US Women who founded, are leading or are investing in internet companies:
Dine with Yelp – The Third in the Series of Kitchen Dinners
June saw The NextWomen enjoy great success with the third in their series of Kitchen Dinners. Led by UK Manager of Yelp, Laura Nestler, the evening could not have had better weather. With temperatures hitting 33 degrees and the heat in the kitchen too much, tables were moved to our balcony and drinks held in the central Notting Hill garden. As the sun set, guests dug into a light summer menu of gazpacho, basque chicken with wrapped asparagus and Eton Mess.
A fantastic group of women were this time joined by two men – Nick Coleman of Technology Den and Andrew Nutter of Balderton Capital. Admittedly an unplanned scenario, it only added to the evening’s events where a stellar line-up of women included: Azita Qadri of Eat your Cake and member of Management Today’s 2009 List of 35 Women Under 35; Lisa Tse, founder of Lisa Tse Creative Consulting and one of five women invited by Addidi Angels to champion an extraordinary businesswoman in history for the Addidi Inspiration Awards; as well as two Europa (TechCrunch Europe Awards) nominees Sophie Cox of Worldeka and Lexie Mendelson of Webjam.
Once seated and after a brief introduction from each guest, the starter and main courses were enjoyed over varied conversation. With the final course of Eton Mess in place, the enviably young and impressively successful Laura Nestler took centre stage. Agreeing that with most start-ups many people wear multiple hats, she revealed that her business cards presently have no job description and questioned people’s ability to succeed in a start-up if they do not assume such a role.
The crux of her talk that ensued was that:
‘Keeping community and personality is what will make a website.’
She has recognised that by making personal connections – by picking up the phone or meeting people in person – she has sped up the management ladder, partly by meeting the right people but also by being able to make the process a personal one. This isn’t to say that she doesn’t use Facebook or Twitter. She of course recognises the nation’s love of social networking sites and that to stay connected you must do what everyone else is doing, but she believes you shouldn’t just leave it there.
For the Summer Kitchen Dinner on July 27th BOOK NOW!
Her first lesson in, shall we say, getting what she wants, came when she decided to get a scholarship to study at a Public University in the States. She went to the Rotary Club. Made friends, and hey presto – she found some funding. Her networking skills didn’t end there though, and her CV to date is a sparkling example that person-to-person networking still has a massive place in today’s world of business. Read more
100 Sexy Roles Women can Take in Tech: No. 5, Claire Boonstra from SPRXMobile
The NextWomen is running a series of stories of women in tech, explaining what inspired them to work in the industry. The baton was passed to Claire Boonstra, one of the founders of SPRXMobile, the Dutch company behind the world’s first mobile augmented reality browser Layar. Layar overlays digital information on to what you can view via your mobile phone camera, e.g. whether the house you are looking at is for sale. See the Layar demo on Youtube.
Who inspired you to get into technology?
My father and siblings are all engineers or in other technical jobs. In fact even my mother wanted to study a technical subject but didn’t get the chance.
How were you educated in technology?
I studied civil engineering. I still hope to someday build a “Boonstra bridge”. Unfortunately, the construction industry is very conservative and I could see that I wouldn’t last longer than a couple of years there. But I still really like creating big things.
I went to work for KPN in the i-mode team (i-mode was one of the earliest forms of Internet access on mobile phones pioneered by the Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo) because they had a very good training program. That’s really where I got my education as a junior marketeer and mobile service developer.
What has your experience been in the technology world?
After KPN I worked at Unilever as a European brand manager – nothing to do with technology. I tried to move Unilever towards social media but it was hard to do in that environment. That experience made me realise that the corporate environment is a great for learning but it was not the world I wanted to be part of long-term. The objective within a corporation is to create good general managers and that was not what I wanted to be.
Later I worked in the digital arm of a Dutch TV company (Talpa) who had some very forward-thinking initiatives in areas like social media and mobile, e.g. they wanted to send mobile alerts to people when a something significant happened in their favourite reality TV show. Some time later I started the Mobile Monday Amsterdam event with some colleagues. We realised that we worked very well together and that led to the formation of SPRXMobile.
I love working in the technology world. It’s male-dominated but that also means that it is quite straighforward since men are, in general, straightforward and I find them easy to work with.
It’s fast-paced and you are always doing something new.
Any advice to those considering a career in technology?
My advice is not to worry too much about what you study. Just do what you are interested in. You will be successful when you do something you love. But don’t opt out of science subjects. Math & Science can provide access to almost any type of career, not only directly in technology but in marketing or other areas.
Sisters in Business run E-commerce site Sandinmytoes
With the summer in mind, we thought to highlight one of the dedicated bikini websites, this one called SANDINMYTOES, set up by sisters in business Louise (29) and Sarah Meakes (32). The two year old venture, an online designer beachwear boutique and a service that they offer called ‘Stylist Sessions’ was based on their own experience of buying swimwear: no time, no space in the changing rooms, and the question…does my bum really look big in this?
As they weren’t happy with existing cluttered and hard to use websites, they decided to set up one themselves: a beachwear site which featured the latest top-end beachwear, with a range of designer brands and accessories, all in one place. As the founders were often asked for clothing advice by their friends, they saw this as a key element to the future of their business.
Their USP for the website: They offer a personal and efficient retail experience with fast delivery to a the target market of cash-rich and time-poor consumers.
The website gives users style advice so they can pick designer swimwear from 12 international designers based on their true shape, style, size and colour. As to the shape, the website offers rather graffic illustrations of the different available apple, pear and other shapes. Currently, they also offer a personal albeit non scaleable service: Stylist Sessions where they visit their customers’ own homes with a collection of beachwear tailored to a personal brief.
Sisters in Business
All business decisions are made together, but Sarah Meakes, a right brainer with topmarks in English and a BSc in Social Psychology, is the creative force behind the brand who came up with the vision and design concept for the website, as well as the name. She is responsible for the products and the customer service, which means she still replies to all customers personally in order to build trusted relationships. Louise Meakes, a left brainer with top marks in Math, followed by a Law degree and a diploma in marketing, is strongly business orientated and developed the business, financial, sales and marketing plans for the business and she is the driving force behind its operation, development and progress.
The sisters share a house, which makes them being 24/7 together: On her relationship with Sarah, Louise says: “Sisters always argue, but I’m sure most business partners do, the difference is we’re never going to fall out completely – our parents would have something to say about that!
On their blog their relationship as sisters in business is a constant topic. It will be interesting to see how these partners in business will do in the coming years, also considering competition from big websites as Figleaves, headed by Julia Reynolds and other niche bikini sites such as Habinki of Chloe Holding around.
A children line has just launched, while swimwear for men, as well a their own label are on their wish list.
Seedcamp 2009 Applications open for the Next Wave of European Web-Tech Talent
Reshma Sohoni, CEO Seedcamp
If you’re running a start-up and looking for great advice and funding in exchange for some equity, you can apply to the Seedcamp program 2009, the program initiated and developed by CEO Reshma Sohoni (seen here during a NextWomen Kitchen Dinner) and investor Saul Klein, one of the 10 men to know when starting a business in the UK. The Seedcamp Week program for the next wave of European web-tech talent runs this year from 21st to 25th September.
A huge pool of advisers
Seedcamp connects 20 early stage web tech startups with over 400 highly experienced and sought after entrepreneurs, investors, marketers, product and developer experts. A new feature is that the chosen teams will also have access to Seedcamp’s recently appointed board members who have been selected for their broad range of entrepreneurial experience and international background in order to help Seedcamp deliver its mission to build a world-class, sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem. from the Middle East, Africa, and…, Europe. Among the board members: Fred Destin, partner at Atlas Ventures, Alex Hoye, co-founder of GoIndustry plc, Dave McClure, Founders Fund and Richard Moross, Founder and CEO, Moo.com.
In the Advisory Board indeed a couple women are involved, such as Sherry Coutu ; Cambridge and Bindi Karia, Microsoft Angels, NESTA, but the Selection Panel sees Irena Goldenberg of Highland Capital Partners as the only woman.
Is there another reason to go apart from all the advice? Yes, there is. At the end of the workshop week Seedcamp will invest up to 50K Pounds for a 5-10 percent stake in each of final five teams and provide ongoing mentorship and support for three months in preparation for the companies’ formal rounds of financing.
What do the winners get?
The 20 teams do compete for seed funding, but most importantly, garner world-class connections in the European entrepreneurial ecosystem. At the end of the week Seedcamp will invest up to €50K each in 5 teams for a small equity stake (5%-10%). The winning teams then have 3 months in London. This is where we really roll up our sleeves and begin to build a kick-ass product and company with the teams. The startups will have an opportunity to take advantage of the same ecosystem of experts that participated in the Seedcamp event through weekly dinners, topical lunches, conferences, and continued mentorship, culminating in further Demo and Investor Days. And on top of that, the teams are talen to the Valley to meet with companies and additional mentors who’ll be important partners and customers.
What are they looking for?
Seedcamp is looking for strong, quality startups that have the talent, drive and capacity to fully embrace the opportunities that participating in the Seedcamp Week programme brings. Which is receiving quality advice from top industry leaders and start building those key relationships to help drive your business. Relationships that normally take years to build, you’ll have access to in one day. Seedcamp is not an event or conference and should not be treated as a one-off. Seedcamp Week is a programme that provides an entrepreneurial ecosystem of support to strengthen and catapult your ideas into a viable business.
To apply click here.
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