In talking about his venture firm's investment in SignalDemand Inc., InterWest Partners' Bruce Cleveland (pictured) commented on the exigencies of the overall economic environment and the need to capitalize companies with plenty of room to get through the current slump. SignalDemand's $20 million funding
deal is a little safer than most because it was a late-stage investment in a company with a recurring revenue model that is operating at close to positive cash flow. Yet Cleveland says InterWest is making sure that all its portfolio companies are funded through a slowdown that is expected to continue.
"We want to make sure companies make it through what we expect to be a tumultuous financial period," Cleveland says. "I haven't seen much postponement of spending so far, but we expect it by the end of the year, so with all of our portfolio companies we want to make sure they have enough fuel in the tank to get through the next 18 months."
And while InterWest is still backing rounds for long-term technology plays including storage enhancement developer
Gear6 Inc. and video software maker
Pivot3 Inc. , Cleveland says his focus in new investments is entirely on software-as-a-service companies with "sticky" products that can deliver immediate revenue growth with low churn rate with customers. -
- Clifford CarlsenSee April 16 story from Tech ConfidentialSee March 26 item from Tech ConfidentialSee Jan. 28 story from Tech Confidential
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