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To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (26343)	11/20/2005 10:09:02 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 57684

Google at $400: Is It on Merit Or Just a Mania? jeffmatthewsisnotmakingthisup.blogspot.com

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (26343)	11/21/2005 4:29:05 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 57684

Zillow Aims for Realty Riches __________________________________________________ Real estate startup gets funding from Benchmark, Technology Crossover Ventures. redherring.com October 26, 2005 Two top VC firms are betting the team that made Expedia an online travel giant will have another big hit on their hands, this time with Zillow.com in the crowded field of online real estate services. Founded by Rich Barton, the former CEO of Expedia.com, Zillow, announced last week it would take sign-ups to preview its beta service. Just when the year-old company will launch, and what its service will ultimately offer, remain tightly guarded secrets. So does the origin of its name. Benchmark Capital and Technology Crossover Ventures won’t even say how much they’ve invested in the company’s first round, which was announced earlier this week. Zillow previously raised $6 million from its employees and angel investors. The company has been on a hiring tear, adding 40 employees over the past year and outgrowing its original headquarters. If the company’s job postings are any kind of signal, the company still has an enormous appetite for programmers, plus a 2-to-3 month contract opening for a user interface designer. The latter strongly suggests the company will be prepared for a soft launch early next year. Mr. Barton is perhaps best known for his earlier success as founder and CEO of Expedia.com. Other Expedia alumni include Zillow’s president, Lloyd Frink, a former senior VP at Expedia. Erik Blachford, another former Expedia CEO, sits on Zillow’s board. The Right Moment? Assuming Zillow.com does unveil its service within the next quarter or so, it will arrive in a marketplace characterized by significant competition from above and below, as well as a more general controversy about what it means to be in realty during the Internet age. Besides traditional brokerages, including giants like RE/Max and Cendant, Zillow will also compete with mom-and-pop real estate agents. It will also face competitors online, including HouseValues.com, based in Kirkland, Washington, and IAC/InterActiveCorp subsidiary RealEstate.com. Then there’s the fate of the Multiple Listing Service, a database of real estate listings submitted and shared by real estate agents. To use the service, one has to be a registered realtor. Critics say that helps real estate brokers preserve their livelihoods, but harms the consumer. The U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors during September, alleging the association obstructs competition, threatens to lock in outmoded business models, and inflates real estate prices. NAR responded to the suit by modifying its policies to allow realtors to opt out of having their listings be available to the Internet. The DOJ this month amended its complaint to again charge that the NAR has not gone far enough to have the lawsuit withdrawn. Benchmark Capital general partner Bill Gurley, who sits on Zillow’s board, said the antitrust lawsuit would likely be viewed as an opportunity by companies like Zillow.com. “As with any industry, when the Internet comes along, there’s a lot of people interested in protecting their processes and expectations, rather than have them be as they have been in the past,” Mr. Gurley said. “In this case, there’s a lot of technology and agents—and I don’t mean real estate agents—in the market that would like to drive it toward something better.” The Dream Team If Zillow.com has an aura, it’s attributable to the “dream team” factor. The company appeals to VCs because of Mr. Barton’s reputation and his penchant for serial entrepreneurship, Mr. Gurley said. “It’s not that unusual for a VC to get excited about a repeat entrepreneur. The essence of this team created a $10-billion business in the travel space,” Mr. Gurley said. “Being a VC is a lot about pattern recognition, so you see these kinds of great teams get together, who’ve done this before, and have an unfair advantage in a situation like that.” Mr. Gurley said the company has not had a difficult time attracting talent. “You’ve got this uber-team,” he said. “And with that you’ve got probably the most sought-after place to go to work in the Seattle area.”

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (26343)	11/21/2005 2:18:13 PM
From: Bill Harmond	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 57684

GOOG Google: Hearing GOOG tgt raised to $500 at UBS (405.90 +5.79) -Update-

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (26343)	11/21/2005 2:32:53 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 57684

Technology Crossover Ventures Announces $1.4 Billion Venture Fund / Palo Alto, CA. – November 21, 2005 - Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), a leading provider of growth capital to technology companies, announced today the closing of TCV VI, a $1.4 billion venture capital fund. TCV VI is the largest technology focused venture capital fund closed this year and brings TCV’s total capital under management to $4.7 billion. TCV VI will continue to execute against TCV’s core strategy of expansion and later-stage investment in premier technology companies. The funds will be invested by TCV’s team of 23 investment professionals, which includes ten partners, and is one of the largest technology focused teams in the venture capital industry. “We are very pleased to have received such a strong response to TCV VI from existing and new limited partners,” said Jay Hoag, a founding partner of TCV. “We believe this response was a direct reflection of the great companies and entrepreneurs we have backed throughout our ten year history.” “We appreciate the overwhelming support of our limited partners and look forward to continuing to work with great management teams to help them achieve their full potential,” said Rick Kimball, a founding partner of TCV. The investors in TCV VI include public and private pension funds from North America and Europe, university endowments, financial institutions, family offices and technology entrepreneurs. Founded in 1995, TCV has invested in more than 150 companies, which to date have completed 37 IPOs and 29 strategic sales or mergers. About TCV Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), founded in 1995, is a leading provider of growth capital to technology companies, providing funds to expansion, later-stage private, and public companies. TCV employs a crossover investment model, which combines venture capital with public market investing and enables TCV to continue to invest in its portfolio companies at the IPO and beyond. TCV has made investments in leading companies including Actuate, Alteon Websystems, Altiris, CNET, eHarmony, Expedia, InPhonic, Liquidnet, Netflix, RealNetworks, Redback Networks, Solect Technology, Webroot and Xylan. TCV has ten partners and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. For more information about TCV, visit tcv.com.