INTERVIEW-Service seller eLance.com raises $10-15m
NEW DELHI, Sept 22 (Reuters) - ELance.com, an Internet
company which has set up a virtual global marketspace for buyers
and sellers of services, is raising more than $10 million from
venture capital funds, a key investor said on Wednesday.
"We are raising between $10 and $15 million even as we
speak. The money will be from California venture capital funds,"
Ram Shriram, an investor in eLance.com and a director on the
company's board, told Reuters in an interview.
Shriram, formerly a vice-president of business development
at e-commerce pioneer Amazon.com <AMZN.O>, is now an individual
investor with a stake in about 15 technology companies.
Based in California, he was in Delhi a three-day Internet
conference.
ELance.com matches buyers and sellers of services that can
be easily delivered over the Internet, or by mail, fax, phone or
electronic mail. Service buyers can sift through service
advertisements from around the world, Shriram said.
To get a job done, buyers list a description of a project
and service providers submit competitive bids to do it. For
standardised services, buyers can browse lists of service
descriptions posted by providers and make an instant selection.
"We are to services what eBay <EBAY.O> is to products,"
Shriram said.
EBay.com, an online auction site, offers
consumer-to-consumer auctions within a single marketplace, where
individuals contact each other to buy and sell millions of items
in what amounts to the world's largest flea market.
REUTERS
Rtr 11:46 09-22-99 |
