WashingtonVC is a private equity firm that incubates early stage technology companies through active management and the exchange of technologies and services.
Our considerable pro bono work is done mostly with the 501c3 nonprofit Grassroots.org.
Send your press inquiries to WashingtonVC
If you missed Edition 1, you can download it here:
http://www.webstreetjournal.com/web-street-journal-2nd-edition.pdf
WashingtonVC, a private equity firm founded by social entrepreneur and author Mike Mann, announces that its portfolio company, Yield Software of San Mateo, California, has raised $6 million in Series B funding.
http://www.wusa9.com/video/player.aspx?aid=57057&sid=69370&bw=
http://www.wusa9.com/video/player.aspx?aid=59396&sid=71142&bw=hi&cat=77
Getting Links is Still Paramount—And Now It’s Getting Harder
When he’s not drumming, Mike Mann is hearing tech-company pitches.
Get ready to press your luck Saturday, April 19 at Gamble for Good, a casino party sponsored by Domain Roundtable and TrafficZ! Inspired by last year’s $20,000 success, Domain Roundtable is back at it again. So, make friends, make change, make an evening out of it! All proceeds go directly to Grassroots.org, a national nonprofit empowering charities with valuable technologies and resources to increase a charity organization’s efficiency and productivity via a network of socially-focused websites.
It’s that time of year again. Tax time. Not fun, by any means. But thanks to technology, tax prep programs and special Web sites, it does get a little easier each year. If you’re ready to start on your return, I found a Website that offers some great suggestions on finding the right prep package for you.
Branding these days is everything, or just about everything.
Which is why the investors behind Phone.com LLC, a new provider of virtual PBX and voice over Internet services, were willing to pay big bucks for the coveted domain name. The firm is billing itself as The New Phone.Company. Cute.
The ‘Guitar Hero’ video game is bridging the gap between young and old players.
DialAGeek today announced the launch of its new Web site, a gateway to live, one-on-one help for anyone who uses personal computers, printers or digital gadgets, or requires IT support for their business. And it’s available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Mike is Chairman and Founder of WashingtonVC, a private equity group whose portfolio of companies share resources, talent and technologies to deliver innovative digital products and services.
One of the keys to happiness is keeping close relationships with other people. I plugged in dozens of birthdays to get reminders, and now I never forget a birthday. A friend of mine also uses Happybirthday.com to remind himself of happy anniversaries, like the day his daughter said her first word.
Last week I had the opportunity to speak with Ben Katz, CEO of Dial A Geek. This interview isn’t among my typical interviewees but given that Ben Katz is active in the D.C. Technology Community I figured that I’d give him the opportunity to speak about his company and what they do.
What a cool day, Rana June Sobhany of WashingtonVC and the talented and beautiful Zain Verjee of CNN joined me on the Larry King Live set at CNN Washington for a Christmas Seesmic session.
It wasn’t Search.com that became THE search engine but Yahoo at first and Google later. Just as Amazon became the online bookstore and not Bookstore.com. Although a name is extremely important to any company you could say that online companies have historically been looking for the stranger names to build a brand on. Flickr, Del.icio.us, Digg, all names that need to be explained and aren’t very self-explanatory.
If you spend much time surfing the web you have probably noticed logos for Grassroots.org popping up all over the net. Companies operating in all corners of the domain industry are linking to the site and the Grassroots banner is even appearing on some PPC (pay per click) parking pages, ground previously reserved for profit making links only.
Back in 2000, two mobile software companies with perfectly good names, Phone.com and Software.com, merged in a $6.4 billion deal and became Openwave Systems. The new name was bland and meaningless then—as it is now. (Although, don’t get me wrong, the company itself is perfectly fine softwarecom-logo.png—and, in fact, just sold its Musiwave business to Microsoft for $46 million). But Openwave just sat on the Phone.com and Software.com names and URLs for years, doing nothing more with them than redirecting traffic to its corporate Website.
As the Bard wrote: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” And that which we call a phone? Well, a new player is about to emerge on the VoIP phone scene, and it doesn’t go by another name. Its name is, quite literally, “Phone.” Phone.com, to…
It’s called ‘Manhunt 2′ and is rated ‘M’ for mature ages 17 and up. But many parents fear the violent new game will reach younger children as well.
Some readers take issue with Yield Software’s claim that it can automate much of the manual work associated with search engine optimization. Is Yield blowing smoke? Or are SEO experts who make a living on consulting worried about their business prospects?
Search engine optimization, the art of getting your Web site to rank higher on Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and other search engines, involves constant monitoring and tuning. A new service from startup Yield Software promises to automate that work.
Phone.com launched quietly on Thursday, a Boston-based company among the firms backed by D.C.-based investment group WashingtonVC.
Phone.com is hoping to break into both the Internet-based calling market and new services such as virtual offices.
Some experts like Mike Mann, founder of BuyDomains.com, claim there is no more profit buying new domain names. However, almost every other successful domainer fervently disagrees. Jeff Behrendt, founder of Aviva Directory (www.avivadirectory.com) said, “Good domain names will only increase in value over time. The advertising money spent on domains dramatically increases every year, making domains more valuable.”
Mike Mann is driven. He wants to make money - lots of money. Of course, that doesn’t exactly make him unique. The thing that’s different about Mann, who has already made tens of millions of dollars, is that his primary reason for chasing greenbacks is to give them away. He’s been doing it for years through the well-known Grassroots.org foundation he started and he will step up his efforts with Make Change! Trust through its new website that just launched.
Charitable enterprises are not new to the web, but Grassroots.org may have a unique approach to helping other non-profit organizations live out their missions online.
The organization, founded and chaired by the highly successful Internet entrepreneur Mike Mann, understands the role technological, entrepreneurial, and business expertise can play in the nonprofit marketplace.
Corporate talk of synergy and relationship-building can be found just about everywhere you go, but the Bethesda-based investment firm WashingtonVC’s work moves beyond catch phrases.
A Rockville company is maximizing its return by turning its training site for technology neophytes into a haven for late-night Guitar Heroes.
WashingtonVC deliberately invests in companies that will complement the firms already in its holdings, Mann says. “We provide a variety of services to our small businesses from our in-house resources. Some of our CEOs and IT people might be on the advisory boards of other companies in our portfolio.”
Mike Mann founded BuyDomains, and numerous other companies through his WashingtonVC incubator. He also launched Grassroots.org and the Make Change! trust, and authored the popular ebook Make Millions and Make Change! for entrepreneurs and non-profits. After reading his book I asked him for an interview and he said sure.
If you spend much time surfing the web you have probably noticed logos for Grassroots.org popping up all over the net. Companies operating in all corners of the domain industry are linking to the site and the Grassroots banner is even appearing on some PPC (pay per click) parking pages, ground previously reserved for profit making links only. As you might expect from the .org extension, Grassroots is a charitable organization, but many are wondering exactly what it is they do and how they’ve managed to rally such widespread support.
The pioneers in this business have long preached that one day the corporate world and Wall Street would discover the untapped power in high quality domain names and make their move on this space. That day is here.
I’ve two great successful businessmen who were also very successful domainers in our industry. Mike Mann, who founded BuyDomains back in the days when I started my company, HitDomains and DomainSystems, and Mike sold BuyDomains to Highland Capital and started another organization called GrassRoots.org, which is a non-profit and which is basically dedicated to helping less fortunate folks get up and running on the Web and helping them with infrastructure.
…
…
…
…
…
If you missed Edition 1, you can download it here:http://www.webstreetjournal.com/web-street-journal-2nd-edition.pdf …
WashingtonVC, a private equity firm founded by social entrepreneur and author Mike Mann, announces that its portfolio company, Yield Software of San Mateo, California, has raised $6 million in Series …
…
http://www.wusa9.com/video/player.aspx?aid=57057&sid=69370&bw=
http://www.wusa9.com/video/player.aspx?aid=59396&sid=71142&bw=hi&cat=77
http://video.nbc4.com/player/?id=223176
http://video.nbc4.com/player/?id=97303 …
http://simplygeo.com/2008/04/30/knowledge-is-power/ …
…
…
…
Getting Links is Still Paramount—And Now It’s Getting Harder …
…
When he’s not drumming, Mike Mann is hearing tech-company pitches. …
Get ready to press your luck Saturday, April 19 at Gamble for Good, a casino party sponsored by Domain Roundtable and TrafficZ! Inspired by last year’s $20,000 success, Domain Roundtable is back …
It’s that time of year again. Tax time. Not fun, by any means. But thanks to technology, tax prep programs and special Web sites, it does get a little easier each year. If you’re ready to start on …
Branding these days is everything, or just about everything.
Which is why the investors behind Phone.com LLC, a new provider of virtual PBX and voice over Internet services, were willing to pay big bucks …
The ‘Guitar Hero’ video game is bridging the gap between young and old players. …
DialAGeek today announced the launch of its new Web site, a gateway to live, one-on-one help for anyone who uses personal computers, printers or digital gadgets, or requires IT support for their business. …
Download Part 1 (mp3) | Download Part 2 (mp3) …
Mike is Chairman and Founder of WashingtonVC, a private equity group whose portfolio of companies share resources, talent and technologies to deliver innovative digital products and services. …
One of the keys to happiness is keeping close relationships with other people. I plugged in dozens of birthdays to get reminders, and now I never forget a birthday. A friend of mine also uses Happybirthday.com …
Last week I had the opportunity to speak with Ben Katz, CEO of Dial A Geek. This interview isn’t among my typical interviewees but given that Ben Katz is active in the D.C. Technology Community I figured …
What a cool day, Rana June Sobhany of WashingtonVC and the talented and beautiful Zain Verjee of CNN joined me on the Larry King Live set at CNN Washington for a Christmas Seesmic session. …
It wasn’t Search.com that became THE search engine but Yahoo at first and Google later. Just as Amazon became the online bookstore and not Bookstore.com. Although a name is extremely important to any …
…
…
If you spend much time surfing the web you have probably noticed logos for Grassroots.org popping up all over the net. Companies operating in all corners of the domain industry are linking to the site …
Back in 2000, two mobile software companies with perfectly good names, Phone.com and Software.com, merged in a $6.4 billion deal and became Openwave Systems. The new name was bland and meaningless then—as …
As the Bard wrote: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” And that which we call a phone? Well, a new player is about to emerge on the …
It’s called ‘Manhunt 2′ and is rated ‘M’ for mature ages 17 and up. But many parents fear the violent new game will reach younger children as well. …
…
Some readers take issue with Yield Software’s claim that it can automate much of the manual work associated with search engine optimization. Is Yield blowing smoke? Or are SEO experts who make a …
Search engine optimization, the art of getting your Web site to rank higher on Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and other search engines, involves constant monitoring and tuning. A new service from startup Yield Software …
Phone.com launched quietly on Thursday, a Boston-based company among the firms backed by D.C.-based investment group WashingtonVC.
Phone.com is hoping to break into both the Internet-based calling market …
Some experts like Mike Mann, founder of BuyDomains.com, claim there is no more profit buying new domain names. However, almost every other successful domainer fervently disagrees. Jeff Behrendt, founder …
Mike Mann is driven. He wants to make money - lots of money. Of course, that doesn’t exactly make him unique. The thing that’s different about Mann, who has already made tens of millions of …
Charitable enterprises are not new to the web, but Grassroots.org may have a unique approach to helping other non-profit organizations live out their missions online.
The organization, founded and chaired …
Corporate talk of synergy and relationship-building can be found just about everywhere you go, but the Bethesda-based investment firm WashingtonVC’s work moves beyond catch phrases. …
A Rockville company is maximizing its return by turning its training site for technology neophytes into a haven for late-night Guitar Heroes. …
WashingtonVC deliberately invests in companies that will complement the firms already in its holdings, Mann says. “We provide a variety of services to our small businesses from our in-house resources. …
Mike Mann founded BuyDomains, and numerous other companies through his WashingtonVC incubator. He also launched Grassroots.org and the Make Change! trust, and authored the popular ebook Make Millions …
If you spend much time surfing the web you have probably noticed logos for Grassroots.org popping up all over the net. Companies operating in all corners of the domain industry are linking to the site …
The pioneers in this business have long preached that one day the corporate world and Wall Street would discover the untapped power in high quality domain names and make their move on this space. That …
I’ve two great successful businessmen who were also very successful domainers in our industry. Mike Mann, who founded BuyDomains back in the days when I started my company, HitDomains and DomainSystems, …