Bullpen Capital Launches First Venture Fund Focused on Second Round Financing in Super Angel Seeded Deals

MENLO PARK, Calif., Jan. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Bullpen Capital today announced its new venture capital fund focused on second round financings.  Bullpen makes follow-on investments in capital-efficient technology companies that have been initially funded by super-angel funds. 

"There is a big hole in the emerging capital efficient, or lean investing, ecosystem," said Paul Martino, founder and managing partner of Bullpen.  "For every Zynga that flies immediately out of the gate, there are several companies like Chegg that require a small amount of additional money to make it to their homerun potential.  It was in my early discussions with Mike Maples, founder of Floodgate Capital and early investor in Chegg, that I realized the size of the hole." Mike Maples recently told the story in detail at Founder's Showcase.  The video can be found at http://vimeo.com/16098382.

Bullpen last week announced its first lead investment, a San Francisco-based company called Assistly, which provides a cloud-based customer service offering that is leading a new wave of social CRM innovation. "As the CEO of a young company with great potential, I wanted to make sure we had the right type of investor who could help us in terms of overall strategy and tactical execution.  The Bullpen team has years of entrepreneurial experience and is well positioned to help us scale our business," said Alex Bard, CEO of Assistly.

Phil Black, managing partner of True Ventures, and the lead series A investor in Assistly, said, "I introduced Assistly to Bullpen, as I knew it was right in the wheelhouse of the kind of deals that they wanted to see. My co-founder of True, Jon Callaghan, coined the phrase 'Rational B,' and we are very pleased that there is now a firm in the ecosystem focused on making such investments."   Coverage of the Assistly funding announcement can be found at http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/04/assistly-scores-3-million-more-for-fast-growing-saas-customer-service-product/.

"Extending the capital efficient model beyond the seed stage is in the best interest of both company founders and seed stage investors. Some early stage deals will become homeruns, some will lead to small M&A, and some will require a pivot before either outcome," said Duncan Davidson, co-founder and managing partner of Bullpen. "The current venture model is less than optimal, as the founding team and investors must decide too early if they are collectively playing small ball or homerun ball. By extending capital efficiency into the second round, the company preserves exit options. This is why we believe Bullpen is such a critical piece of the venture ecosystem for both founders and seed stage investors."

"Lean investing is becoming mainstream for Internet service deals, not only for the now familiar consumer markets, but increasingly, as in the case of Assistly, for the enterprise as well.  Such deals more often than not will need additional 'lean' capital to prove their business models and establish early customer traction, before reaching out to the conventional venture community. Bullpen gives them time to develop their potential," said Richard Melmon, founding managing partner of Bullpen.

Bullpen is targeting a $50 million dollar first fund that is being closed in two phases. The initial capital is being provided by Internet investing all-stars such as Brian O'Kelley, CEO of AppNexus and early investor in Invite Media. "When I heard the Bullpen story, I immediately knew that I had to be involved. The hole in the market that they are addressing is huge, and I have seen it personally many times with investments that I have seeded. Paul has formed a great team to go after this opportunity big time," said O'Kelley.

"Second round investing can be difficult, but very rewarding. A firm focused on investing in companies during their adolescent stage is certainly needed in the ecosystem," said Fred Wilson, managing partner of Union Square Ventures.  Paul Martino was a first round investor alongside Union Square in Zynga. More on Wilson's view of investing at this stage can be found at http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2010/12/invest-in-the-mess.html.

About Bullpen Capital

Bullpen Capital leads second round investments in technology companies seeded by Super Angel investors. Founded by technology industry veterans Paul Martino, Duncan Davidson, and Richard Melmon, the fund is purpose-built to address a structural hole in the capital efficient or lean investing ecosystem.

For more information, please visit www.bullpencap.com.

SOURCE Bullpen Capital