Those who fund young, growing companies love to tout their industry's role in job creation. Jobs — we could use some of those now, right? But with venture-capital firms like Sequoia Capital insisting on across-the-board layoffs, it's hard to buy that argument; jobs may be created at startups quickly, but they are just…
I confess: I completely missed the Tesla Roadster parked outside when I walked into Joey & Eddie's, the San Francisco watering hole where Valleywag used to hold weekly meetups with readers. But there was no mistaking the guy parked at the bar: It was Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors. He had driven up to surprise me…
Adeo Ressi, founder of TheFunded, an acerbic site where entrepreneurs review venture capitalists, dropped by the office of McDonough Holland & Allen the other day. That law firm represents EDF Ventures, which is the VC firm that's to be avoided unless you're "desperate," according to TheFunded's users. EDF is suing…
Michigan-based venture capital firm EDF Ventures issued TheFunded.com a subpoena, asking the VC-ratings site to ID a commenter who wrote that EDF is "to be avoided unless you are desperate.” VentureBeat has a copy of the subpoena. TheFunded CEO Adeo Ressi told entrpreneurs their bitchiest secrets are safe with him.…
Vancouver-based NowPublic is ostensibly all about citizen journalism. But since Guy Kawasaki sold Truemors to it and signed up as an advisor, it's becoming better known for publishing flattering lists of "influencers," supposedly ranking them according to various social media metrics. The first "Most Public" list…
Adeo Ressi hates venture capitalists. His disdain has always showed on his site, TheFunded.com, where wantrepreneurs slam VCs with anonymous posts. Now Ressi hopes the sides can make amends on TheFunded's new ad-supported matchmaking service. [San Jose Mercury News]
Turned down by Sand Hill Road investors, only to see them woo your cofounder? Careful there, wantrepreneur. Complaining on rate-the-VC site TheFunded.com might get you sued. VentureBeat reports that in recent week, negative posts about VC firms Dolphin Equity, GreenHills, Matrix, Greycroft and Steamboat Ventures…
TheFunded.com, Adeo Ressi's VC database-meets-scandal sheet, is taking steps to avoid being "gamed." Venture capital firms are coaxing entrepreneurs to submit favorable reviews and improve their rankings, much like reporters who browbeat their colleagues to vote for their stories on Digg. [VentureBeat]
That mobile-phone barrier you've built between yourself and telemarketers is about to crumble. The nice chaps over at Intelius, who provide services like name, address, and Social Security number searches, are compiling an online mobile-phone directory they'll sell to anyone willing to pay them a measly $14.95 a…
TheFunded.com, Adeo Ressi's members-only VC ratings site, now lets users submit details on the terms offered by VCs investing in startups. By publicizing terms, Ressi hopes to get investors to standardize the way they invest, making the process less confusing for entrepreneurs, he told VentureBeat. [TheFunded.com]
VC blogger Fred Wilson isn't pleased with his firm's position on VC ratings site TheFunded.com. Specifically, Wilson doesn't think Union Square Ventures should be ranked so high. "I am flattered by it to some degree," Wilson writes on his blog. "But it bothers me." Here's 100-word version of how Wilson would fix…
Wired 15.12 comes in at two pounds, half the weight of a September Vogue. Most of it's the water weight of ads and a shopping guide, and I've summarized the meat of the issue in 1,200 words, so now you don't need to pick it up and risk ergonomic injury.
This week on Valleywag was a first-class tour of Narcissistan. It began when Tinkerbell called in sick and sent us a half million pageviews. Then TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington went Tori Amos nuclear, claiming "I'm watching as the blogging world crucifies me." Finally, TheFunded.com founder Adeo Ressi…
If you're like most people, you have no idea what TheFunded.com is. Nor do you care about the secret identity of Ted, the site's founding member. Why should you? Because an anonymous website has turned the tables on the all-powerful, often misbehaved venture capitalists who fund the cool tech innovations you love. The…
The latest issue of Wired devotes pages and pages to Adeo Ressi, the anonymous "Ted" who runs TheFunded.com. Wired worked with Ressi to coordinate his unveiling with the story's publication at Wired.com on Thursday evening. Ressi's thrilled, right? Wrong. He complained at yesterday's event that Wired still didn't…
Adeo Ressi wants you to know that he's not just the pseudonymous "Ted," founding member of TheFunded.com, the venture-capitalist rating site. The 6'5" Ressi, who resembles a David Cross/Mr. Clean hybrid, sincerely believes that being "Ted" is a feat which which should be celebrated by having his likeness emblazoned…
Why is Adeo Ressi smilling? The serial entrepreneur, now CEO of Game Trust, has pulled one over Sand Hill Road. Through a forwarded Skype phone line, Gmail account, and proxy-registered domain name, he's hidden his secret identity as "Ted," the creator of VC-ratings discussion board TheFunded.com. Now, at a time of…
