Adam Dell Founds Impact Venture Partners, L.P. to Bring West Coast Venture Capital Strategy and Style to the Northeast.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 24, 2000

$30 Million of $100 Million Fund Already Invested

in Internet-Related Companies

Impact Venture Management, LLC and its principal, Adam Dell, announced today the commencement of operations of Impact Venture Partners, L.P., a venture capital fund, which is designed to bring West Coast venture capital entrepreneurial strategy and style to the underserved Northeast.

The fund will invest in and help manage early stage Internet companies. Located in Manhattan, the fund recently raised $100 million from a variety of sources, including Frank Quattrone, Managing Director for the Investment Banking Group of CS First Boston; John Mumford, Founder of Crosspoint Venture Partners, MSD Capital and FLAG Ventures; as well as Mr. Dell himself.

Impact Venture Partners has already invested $30 million of the $100 million in emerging Internet and business-to-business e-commerce companies. To date, the new fund has invested in: The National Transportation Exchange (NTE), a B2B e-commerce marketplace for buyers and sellers of ground transportation; iMark.com, a B2B Internet marketplace for the exchange of industrial goods and services worldwide; Centerbeam, which provides hardware, software and networking solutions to small businesses; Opus360/FreeAgent.com, a Web-based marketplace connecting people and projects; CarsDirect.com, which enables consumers to research, price, customize, order and finance a new vehicle; Buzzsaw.com, which provides the $627 billion building design and construction industry with online information, tools and procurement solutions; and OpenTable.com, an online restaurant reservation system.

The Impact Venture Partners' fund is managed by Mr. Dell, a former partner with Crosspoint Venture Partners of California, one of Silicon Valley's leading venture capital firms. Mr. Dell, who has considerable crossover venture capital and investment banking relationships, plans to invest the fund in early stage business-to-business e-commerce companies, application service providers and content infrastructure opportunities in the growing northeastern market.

Commenting on the founding of Impact Venture Partners, Adam Dell said: &uot;Relative to Silicon Valley, the Northeast corridor is vastly underserved by the venture capital community, notwithstanding the fact that it has enjoyed tremendous growth in startup infrastructure and deal flow.

&uot;The East Coast offers a wealth of investment opportunities in 'old line' vertical businesses, such as transportation, textiles and energy. These businesses will be reinvented on the Web. Impact Venture Partners intends to assist early stage companies in these markets by investing capital, creating partnerships, building teams and providing strategic direction.&uot;

Impact Venture Partners has established an advisory board comprised of entrepreneurs, technologists, industry luminaries and seasoned executives. The Board includes John Mumford of Crosspoint; Roger McNamee of Integral Capital; Carl Bass, Chief Executive Officer of Buzzsaw.com and former Chief Technology Officer of Autodesk; Jeff Blackburn, Vice President of Business Development for Amazon.com; Joe Firmage, Founder of USWeb/CKS; Glen Fuhrman, Managing Partner of MSD Capital; Ari Horowitz, CEO of Opus360/FreeAgent.com; and Trevor Traina, Founder of CompareNet.com.

Mr. Dell said, &uot;The build-out of the IP network, coupled with the broad acceptance of the Internet as a platform for the delivery of enterprise software and business and consumer commerce, presents a unique investment opportunity. By leveraging our deep-seated West Coast and industry relationships and the expertise of our distinguished advisory board, Impact Venture Partners intends to accomplish just what its name signifies - make an impact on the future of the new economy by working with emerging companies to establish Internet-enabled solutions that will transform traditional industries.&uot;

About Impact Venture Partners

Impact Venture Partners, L.P. is a $100 million venture capital fund that invests in early stage companies offering Internet-related products and services. The Fund's mission is to achieve superior returns by identifying innovative companies addressing the needs of large emerging markets, investing across the life cycles of these ventures and working closely with entrepreneurs to build successful enterprises. Additional investment partners in Impact Venture Partners include Accel Partners, AT& Ventures, Austin Ventures, Benchmark Capital, Bessemer Ventures, Tech. Crossover Ventures, Crosspoint Ventures, Hummer Winblad, Idealab!, Internet Capital Group, Kleiner Perkins, MSD Capital, Platinum Venture Partners, SOFTBANK Ventures, TL Ventures and 21st Century Internet Partners.

The Fund's founder, Adam Dell, is an experienced venture capitalist exclusively focused on the Internet. Formerly a partner with Crosspoint Venture Partners in Northern California, he has acted in all aspects of the venture process, including deal sourcing, due diligence, negotiation and portfolio management.

Prior to Crosspoint, Mr. Dell was a senior associate with Enterprise Partners where he focused on business-to-business e-commerce, enterprise software and networking and communication infrastructure. He is a contributing columnist to the Internet industry trade magazine, Business 2.0 and The Industry Standard, and an adjunct professor at Columbia University's Business School. He has a Doctorate of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy from Tulane University.

This release and prior releases are available on the KCSA Public Relations Worldwide website at www.kcsa.com.