Friday, June 9, 2006Interview with Marc Averitt and Sharon Stevenson, Okapi Venture CapitalMy interview this morning is with Marc Averitt and Sharon Stevenson of Okapi Venture Capital, a new venture capital fund headquartered in Orange County. Okapi just announced the close of its first fund, Okapi Ventures I, LP, at $30M. I caught up with Marc and Sharon to understand where the fund is looking at investing in.
Ben Kuo: Congrats on the new fund. Tell me a bit about the fund and what your investment objectives are?
Marc Averitt: Okapi will focus on seed and early stage investment (More info...)
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Revver Adds Media ExpertLos Angeles-based video distribution and tagging web site Revver has hooked into the media industry with the hire of a new head of media partnerships. Revver has hired David Tenzer, an executive from the Creative Artists Agency, as head of media partnerships. The firm said that Tenzer will develop strategic relationships with companies throughout the entertainment industry for Revver. Tenzer has worked on packaging telvision projects, in the areas of network, cable, first-run syndication, market (More info...)
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Optevi Launches Search EngineLos Angeles-based Optevi, a new startup in the web search space, rolled out its services this week. Optevi said that its search engine uses existing search engines but allows customers to create their own "search bundles" based on their favorite web sites and ranking preferences. The web site allows users to rank the web sites they would most like to see results from, so that when they search those sites appear first in the search results. The privately held firm has been so far bootstrapped by (More info...)
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Family Web Provider Adds AdvisorIrvine-based The Family Post has added a new advisor. The startup announced this week that Darin Brannan, a founding partner of Verio, has joined the company's advisory board. Brannan was a founding partner of Verio and founder and SVP Business Development of Website Pros. The Family Post is an online family destination web site that allows familes to share content and connect with friends and family. The firm is headed by former Interchange COO Mike Sawtell.
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Leap Wireless Expands In TexasSan Diego-based Leap Wireless, a provider of wireless communications services, is expanding in Texas. The firm, which provides CDMA service, said this week that it will offer its Cricket mobile services in a number of cities in Texas, including Houston. The firm offers both unlimited and prepaid wireless services in select cities. Leap Wireless was a spinout of Qualcomm.
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