The new "First Round"?

Matt Marshall has an article about Zvents raising $7M in their "first round funding" although interestingly the company was "seed funded" by two other firms.  A new definition of "first round"?  Not for me!  What has changed is the risk tolerance of some investors - many now shy away from the true start up - a couple of people and a business plan - in favor of something further along.

The reasons behind this are many and include larger fund sizes, investors with limited time availability because of existing commitments or even a lower risk/reward tolerance.  Happily this has created an opportunity for new venture firms like Ridgelift to come in, roll up our sleeves and help - not just with money but business advice, strategy development etc.

On Zvents, like Matt, I'm surprised.  A quick set of visits to Alexaholic and Compete show some interesting comparisons between Zvents and Eventful...

This from Alexaholic...

and this from Compete...

 

Sorry for the grainy quality... you can see the full resolution versions by clicking on the links above.

As Matt says, this level of investment in Zvents certainly sets expectations for the outcome!

Comments

[Chris Radcliff]

I can't help but notice how important comparative Web statistics have become. (I know I look at them whenever available.) Unfortunately, Alexa numbers have historically been really inaccurate, mostly because their population sample is self-selected. Only a subset of Web users install the Alexa toolbar, and Alexa has no restrictions on who does so.

The Compete service looks interesting, and their methods sound more rigorous than Alexa's approach. Thanks for introducing me to them.

Disclaimer: I work for Eventful, so it might just be a reaction to our numbers being better than Zvents. ;)