Venture Capital: Beer, ribs and tales from the Web front lines

By JOHN COOK
P-I REPORTER

Anything can happen when you get Internet entrepreneurs out of the office -- especially if free beers and ribs are involved.

That was the scene Tuesday night as more than 350 people showed up for the "Naked Truth," a panel discussion and party in which five journalists (including me) tried to answer questions about how startup companies should deal with the media. Not since Loudeye's over-the-top IPO party in 2000 had so many geeks gathered in a Seattle parking lot to talk shop.

Hosted by Redfin and Madrona Venture Group, the event produced some interesting tidbits, insights and gossip.

Here's a quick look at what I encountered. (For more on the panel discussion, visit my blog at blog.seattlepi.com/venture.)

WildTangent Chief Executive Alex St. John walked away from the panel inspired to start a blog, especially after TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington noted that he takes entrepreneurs 100 percent more seriously if they have their own blogs.

St. John, who before founding WildTangent in 1998 helped create Microsoft's DirectX technology, already contributes a monthly column to Computer Power User Magazine.

But his possible entry into the blogosphere could be interesting to watch. After all, the Redmond online gaming executive is known as a provocateur who is not afraid to speak his mind -- especially as it relates to his former employer, Microsoft Corp.

Yapta Chief Executive Tom Romary was quick to hand out new business cards. That, in itself, was an achievement for the entrepreneur. After all, his company's Pioneer Square headquarters building caught fire May 21, just a day before the startup was set to launch its Web site. The online travel startup set up temporary offices with an investor, plowing ahead with the Web site roll out on schedule.

But now the startup, which lost almost all of its paperwork, computer equipment and furniture in the blaze, has found a new home in Pioneer Square at 315 First Ave. S. The new office has a deck with a city view. And Romary joked that Voyager Capital, the startup's new venture backer, located a few blocks away, could look directly into their new building with a high-powered telescope to see if they are "goofing off." Now, that would be a new level of venture capital meddling.

Avvo co-founders Mark Britton and Paul Bloom -- whose online attorney rating service has generated plenty of controversy (including a class-action lawsuit) -- really wanted to hear the different perspectives of journalists on the panel. But they were nervous about whether they would actually get into the party. After all, someone deleted their names from the wiki that was serving as the guest list. To make sure they would be admitted, Britton called Redfin Chief Executive Glenn Kelman -- who was hosting the sold-out party with Madrona Venture Group. At the event, Kelman expressed dismay that someone would go to such lengths and considered launching his own investigation.

SecondSpace's Alexander Barnett explained why his venture-backed company, which launched ResortScape.com and LandWatch.com on Monday, was so secretive for so long.

The startup was founded in July 2006 with an investment from Ignition Partners and it started marketing the LandWatch.com service to real estate professionals several months ago. It has already generated more than $1 million in revenue, hardly the profile of a stealth-mode company.

But Barnett, who serves as director of corporate marketing at the Bellevue startup, said they kept things under wraps because they didn't want to attract attention to the products before they were ready.

Then why start marketing to customers?

Barnett said that while LandWatch.com was ready, they wanted to wait until ResortScape -- which allows people to find second homes and condos -- was robust enough to market.

Brad Silverberg, co-founder of Ignition Partners, offered some sage advice to those about to embark on a life journey with a woman.

In a word: "diamonds."

Told that movies such as "Blood Diamond" don't always portray the industry in a positive light, Silverberg countered that there's something about a diamond that just runs in a woman's DNA.

Of course, the former Microsoft senior vice president had other motivations. He's also a board member at Ice.com, an online retailer of diamond rings, bracelets and pendants.

PhoneSherpa's John Manning admitted that his company's product was a bit esoteric. After all, how many people really want to take the time to create customized ring tones for their mobile phones? But then word started leaking out recently that Apple was working on a new custom ring-tone service for the iPhone. All of sudden, Manning -- who serves as chief marketing officer at the company -- said his phone was ringing off the hook with potential partners asking about the custom ring-tone business. I wonder what his ring tone is?

Of course, you can't attend a gathering of Internet entrepreneurs and not find at least one company operating in "stealth mode." That was the case with The Green Couch Conspiracy, which is led by Serials Solutions co-founder Steve McCracken. The Web site at this point is pretty bare, though McCracken's business card tells a little of the story. It calls GCC the "intergalactic leader in local events." That's a bold claim, considering the service has not launched, though David Brewster, founder of Crosscut -- a local news service targeting the Pacific Northwest -- appeared especially interested in the idea.

P-I reporter John Cook can be reached at 206-448-8075 or johncook@seattlepi.com. For more information on Seattle-area startups or venture capital firms, visit seattlepi.com/venture.

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