The Motley Fool Announces $30 Million in Venture Capital Financing; Softbank, AOL Time Warner Ventures, Maveron, and Mayfield Fund Contribute to Fool's Second Round.Business Editors ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 30, 2001 Softbank Finance Group, AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. Time Warner Ventures, Maveron, and Mayfield Fund Mayfield Fund is a venture capital firm located on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California, home to many of Silicon Valley's leading venture capital firms. Mayfield was founded in 1969 by Tommy Davis, one of the first venture capitalists. have invested a total of $30 million in a second round of financing for The Motley Fool, Inc., the Alexandria, VA-based multimedia personal finance company announced today. "We're fortunate to have such Foolish partners as Maveron, Mayfield, AOL Time Warner, and Softbank," said David Gardner David Gardner is one of the three founders of The Motley Fool. He is currently co-chairman of the board. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a Morehead-Cain Scholarship. , who co-founded The Motley Fool with his brother, Tom, in 1994. "Like us, they believe in investing for the long term. The Fool is almost seven years old--an eternity in Internet years--but in so many ways we're just getting started. With the backing of our esteemed partners, we'll be helping people achieve financial independence for decades to come." In 1999, Maveron and Mayfield Fund led a round of venture capital financing To start an own company or to bring a new product to the market, the venture may need to attract financial funding. There are several categories of financing possibilities. If it is a small venture, then perhaps the venture can rely on family funding, loans from friends that totaled $26.5 million for The Motley Fool. The latest round was led by Softbank Finance, which brings to the Fool both global experience and strong financial resources. Softbank is well known as a ground-floor investor in Internet pioneer Yahoo! "The Motley Fool is proud to welcome Softbank as a financial investor and strategic partner," said Pat Garner Pat Garner (born January 8, 1987) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. He was recruited as the number 27 draft pick in the 2004 AFL Draft from the Western Magpies AFC. He is yet to make his debut for the Brisbane Lions. , CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of The Motley Fool. "Our customers tell us that The Motley Fool's service transcends the ordinary and creates a different, better, and special experience in their daily lives. We share a common belief with our investors that there is no value in sameness, and we're committed to leveraging our brand to create value both for the Fool's customers and its business partners." Begun in 1993 as a newsletter serving just 60 readers, The Motley Fool today reaches an estimated 30 million people monthly in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and United Kingdom through its best-selling books, syndicated U.S. radio programs The radio programs listed below are all from the United States. 0-9
prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Media Metrix, were visited by approximately three million individuals in December--an all-time high for the company. "Both online and off, The Motley Fool has built one of the world's truly great brands," said Yoshitaka Kitao, CEO of Softbank Finance. "We are excited to be a part of this special company's growth story, and we look forward to a long and prosperous relationship." AOL Time Warner Ventures also participated in the latest round of financing. For the last six years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time Fool's popular personal finance and investing advice and discussion boards have been available on the America Online See AOL. service via AOL keyword "Fool." "The Motley Fool's community of devotees has grown steadily ever since the Gardner brothers first began offering their unorthodox personal finance content, tools, and services to AOL customers," said Len Leader, President of AOL Time Warner Ventures and a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. "Since their launch in 1994, no one has been able to put together brand integrity and community spirit quite like The Motley Fool. Their continued success is a credit to their unique style." Mike Levinthal of Mayfield Fund also expressed praise for The Motley Fool brand. "The Motley Fool is more than an Internet play," he said. "With its Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster U.S. publishing company. It was founded in 1924 by Richard L. Simon (1899–1960) and M. Lincoln Schuster (1897–1970), whose initial project, the original crossword-puzzle book, was a best-seller. books, nationally syndicated newspaper column, and top-rated talk radio show, this company's reach is truly remarkable. We believe the Fool is steadily building towards brand ubiquity." "Maveron's mission is to invest in the great, relevant consumer brands of the future," said Dan Levitan, Managing Partner at Maveron, the Seattle-based venture capital firm established by Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz  This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling.You can assist by [ editing it] now. . "The Motley Fool is clearly one of those brands. The Fool has always had the passion and vision to win globally, and now it has the partners and resources to back it up." The $30 million investment will help fuel The Motley Fool's ongoing Internet operations in the U.S. and U.K., where its online investing seminars and financial decision centers--based around subjects such as insurance, home, taxes, and retirement--have opened up diversified revenue streams for the company. Building on their new partnership, Softbank and the Fool are also in the final stages of negotiation regarding a venture in Japan. "As a private company, we rely on our investors as advisors," said Tom Gardner Tom Gardner (born April 16, 1968) is one of the three founders of The Motley Fool and the current Motley Fool Fantasy Football champ. He is currently co-chairman of the board of The Motley Fool. , co-founder of The Motley Fool. "The addition of Softbank as a stakeholder and board member is another in a long series of actions we've taken to make The Motley Fool a useful service that is built to last." About The Motley Fool The Motley Fool, Inc. is a multimedia personal finance company that educates, amuses, and enriches more than 30 million people each month. Since 1993, The Motley Fool has been on hand to help people achieve financial independence across a wide variety of online and offline media channels including: its award-winning website at www.fool.com, its best-selling Simon & Schuster and self-published books (over 1.8 million sold); a nationally syndicated weekly newspaper column carried by more than 190 publications; daily "Market Minutes" and weekly "The Motley Fool Radio Show," both joint ventures with Cox Radio Cox Radio NYSE: CXR is a publicly traded company that holds a number of radio stations. Private company Cox Broadcasting, Inc., a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises owns all of the company's super-voting Class B common stock, and thus controls the company. that can be heard on more than 150 stations nationwide; interactive online seminars; Motley Fool Research; and America Online (keyword: Fool). The Motley Fool's name was chosen from Shakespeare by founders David and Tom Gardner to reflect the spirit of truthful fun that the company brings to world of personal finance. In Elizabethan times, only the Fool could speak the truth--and debunk de·bunk tr.v. de·bunked, de·bunk·ing, de·bunks To expose or ridicule the falseness, sham, or exaggerated claims of: debunk a supposed miracle drug. conventional wisdom--without getting his head lopped off. The Motley Fool is a private company based in Alexandria, VA. Investors include AOL Time Warner, Maveron, Mayfield Fund, and Softbank Finance. About Softbank Finance SOFTBANK FINANCE CORPORATION, a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of SOFTBANK CORP. (TSE See Tokyo Stock Exchange. TSE 1. See Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). 2. See Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). : 9984), is developing a comprehensive online financial services marketplace in Japan as well as in other Asian financial centers. SOFTBANK FINANCE subsidiaries include companies such as Morningstar Japan (Nasdaq Japan: 4765), SOFTBANK INVESTMENT, E*TRADE Japan, Cognotec Japan, E-Loan Japan, INSWEB Japan, and Morningstar KOREA. SOFTBANK FINANCE also invests in and provides consultancy services to non-Internet businesses that either are converting or have the potential to convert to online business models. About AOL Time Warner Ventures AOL Time Warner Ventures is a division of the AOL Time Warner Investment Corp. About Maveron Maveron, founded in 1998 by Dan Levitan and Howard Schultz, is a Seattle-based venture capital firm with a fund of over $400 million. Maveron's investment strategy is focused on companies transforming the consumer experience, whether they focus on products, services or supporting technologies. Maveron, whose name was coined from the words "maverick" and "vision," provides diverse and strategic resources to its portfolio companies, thanks to its deep team of experts in business strategy, financial analysis, marketing, and investment banking. About Mayfield Fund Mayfield Fund, a premier venture capital partnership, is creating revolutionary companies for the 21st century in communications and the Internet. Since Mayfield's founding in 1969, the firm has invested in more than 397 companies and has taken approximately 111 companies public. Renowned Mayfield portfolio companies include: Avanex, Assured Access (Alcatel), BroadVision, Citrix Systems, EBC EBC Exhaled Breath Condensate EBC Executive Briefing Center EBC European Brewery Convention EBC Eastern Book Company EBC Early Breast Cancer EBC European Brain Council EBC Electronic Birth Certificate EBC Ella Baker Center for Human Rights (Virata), Newport (Broadcom), Nuance Communications, Packet Engines (Siemens), Qtera, Redback Networks, Tibco, and webMethods. |
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