From: Carey Lening (carey@tstonramp.com)
Date: Wed May 03 2000 - 18:08:17 PDT
Well judging by the site, they got in a group and decided that 40 mil was
about how much it had cost them the old way to develop film?
Or maybe they just liked the breathing fish logo -that much-.
-BB
-----Original Message-----
From: Adam Rifkin -4K <adam@XeNT.ics.uci.edu>
To: FoRK@XeNT.CoM <FoRK@XeNT.CoM>
Cc: philg@photo.net <philg@photo.net>
Date: Wednesday, May 03, 2000 1:14 PM
Subject: Someone please tell me why Snapfish.com is worth $40 million in
funding?
>In November, Snapfish got $7.5 million in cash to build themselves out.
>Today, they secured another $33 million in cash to build themselves out
>some more. From respected names like Mayfield and CMGi, too.
>
>Can anyone give me a plausible explanation why the VC's think this
>company is worth so much? You get bonus points for creativity but lose
>points for cynicism. :)
>
>What kind of brand name is Snapfish anyway?
>
>
http://www.quicken.com/investments/news/story/pr/?story=/news/stories/pr/200
00503/SFW077.htm&symbol=CMGI
>
>> Snapfish.com Secures $33 Million in Series B Funding
>> Wednesday, May 3, 2000 08:08 AM
>>
>> Snapfish.com Raises Largest Amount of Funding Among Online Photo
>> Services to Date Top Venture Capital Firms and Strategic Investors Back
>> Free End-to-End Photo Service
>>
>> SAN FRANCISCO, May 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Snapfish.com Corporation today
>> announced the close of $33 million in its Series B round of financing
>> led by Japanese investor, Trans Cosmos, with new investors Audax
>> Ventures, BellSouth and Compaq, as well as previous investors CMGI
>> @Ventures, the venture capital affiliate of CMGI (Nasdaq: CMGI, news,
>> msgs), and Mayfield Fund.
>>
>> Snapfish.com Corporation's first round of financing of $7.5 million
>> closed in November 1999 and was led by Mayfield Fund and CMGI @Ventures.
>> The second round brings the total amount of funding raised by
>> Snapfish.com to $40.5 million, which is to date the largest amount of
>> secured funding disclosed in the online photo sector. Snapfish.com will
>> use the additional resources to expand the depth and breadth of its
>> Internet service, which launched in April, and for marketing efforts to
>> build the Snapfish.com brand.
>>
>> Snapfish.com is the only photo service that offers developing, printing,
>> digitizing, and online storing and sharing of users' photographs -- all
>> for free. Unlike other offerings, the Snapfish.com service is for
>> everyone, users of traditional 35 mm film cameras as well as those who
>> own digital cameras.
>>
>> One of Japan's leading Internet investors, Trans Cosmos has had
>> tremendous success bringing U.S. technology brands, such as NetRatings,
>> DoubleClick and RealNetworks, into the Japanese market. Its lead
>> investment in Snapfish.com is designed to expedite the company's
>> expansion into Japan, one of the largest and most active photography
>> markets in the world.
>>
>> "We invested in Snapfish.com because it's the only player that combines
>> the three critical ingredients required for success," said Mark Kalow,
>> managing director of Trans Cosmos.
>>
>> Kalow continued, "First, Snapfish.com addresses the vast number of 35 mm
>> film camera users who are interested in sharing their photos online.
>> Second, Snapfish.com's award-winning free business model and its
>> strategic partnerships demonstrate visionary thinking with respect to
>> creating a business that truly leverages the New Economy. The third
>> element is the company's experienced management team. All these factors
>> position Snapfish.com well for leadership in the online photo market."
>> In addition to funds raised from leading venture capital firms,
>> BellSouth and Compaq have joined the Series B round as strategic
>> investors. These strategic relationships support Snapfish.com's national
>> branding efforts and are expected to expand its reach to targeted groups
>> of American consumers.
>>
>> Compaq, the world's largest supplier of computing systems, will develop
>> co-marketing programs with their top-selling personal computer, the
>> Compaq Presario. The strategic relationships with both companies expand
>> Snapfish.com's potential to market its services to the family market.
>> Raj Kapoor, Snapfish.com Corporation's co-founder, president and CEO
>> said, "In today's market, strong financing from top backers will
>> separate the winners from the losers. We are very fortunate to be backed
>> by leaders in the venture capital space as well as by strategic partners
>> whose comprehensive national consumer branding campaigns complement our
>> own."
>>
>> About Snapfish.com:
>>
>> Snapfish.com is positioned to dramatically redefine the consumer
>> photography market by providing the first complete photo service that
>> offers film developing, printing, storing and sharing online, all for
>> free. Snapfish.com will provide both film-based and digital camera users
>> with the ability to seamlessly and effortlessly share, store and order
>> reprints with unsurpassed security.
>>
>> Snapfish.com recently earned the coveted award for Most Innovative
>> Business Model from a Startup in 1999 from Internet World Magazine. The
>> magazine noted that, because Snapfish.com serves customers with 35 mm
>> film, it "has access to the vast majority of picture-takers today, who
>> will also presumably be the digital camera wielders of tomorrow."
>> Snapfish.com has a strategic partnership with District Photo, the
>> nation's largest mail order photo finishing lab, with more than 50 years
>> of experience in the market. District Photo has also taken an equity
>> stake in the company. Snapfish.com uses Kodak paper and materials for
>> all of its processing.
>>
>> With consumer photography representing a $14.9 billion market in the
>> U.S. alone, Snapfish.com is poised to provide consumers with
>> breakthrough benefits in online photography and reinvent an enormous
>> consumer category in the process. The company is based in San Francisco,
>> California. Additional information is available at the company's Web
>> site at http://www.snapfish.com
>>
>> About CMGI, Inc. and CMGI @Ventures:
>>
>> With more than 70 companies, CMGI, Inc. represents the largest, most
>> diverse network of Internet businesses in the world, including both CMGI
>> operating companies and synergistic investments made through its venture
>> capital affiliate, CMGI @Ventures. CMGI leverages the technologies,
>> content and market reach of its extended family of companies to foster
>> rapid growth and industry leadership across its network and the larger
>> Internet Economy. Compaq, Intel, Microsoft, Pacific Century CyberWorks
>> and Sumitomo hold minority positions in CMGI.
>>
>> CMGI's majority-owned operating companies include Engage Technologies,
>> NaviSite, 1ClickBrands, 1stUp.com, Activate.net, AdForce, Adsmart,
>> AltaVista, CMGion, CMGI Solutions, Equilibrium, Flycast, iCAST,
>> MyWay.com, NaviPath, SalesLink, Tribal Voice and yesmail.com. CMGI
>> @Ventures has ownership interests in 57 Internet companies, including
>> Lycos, Inc., Critical Path, Silknet, MotherNature.com, Ventro and
>> Vicinity.
>>
>> CMGI's corporate headquarters is at 100 Brickstone Square, Andover, MA
>> 01810, Tel: 978-684-3600. CMGI @Ventures has offices there, as well as
>> at 3000 Alpine Road, Menlo Park, CA 94028. For additional information
>> and a complete listing of the CMGI and CMGI @Ventures companies, see
>> http://www.cmgi.com and http://www.ventures.com.
>
>----
>Adam@4K-Associates.com
>
>The crash you heard last week was all the doors slamming shut on any
>more financing. Now we choke on our losses or somehow make it to the
>promised land of profitability before the cash runs out.
> -- Jim Cramer, 5/1/2000
>
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