| December 07, 2004 | Press Release |
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| Jigsaw Data Corp. Debuts with $5.2 Million in Funding and Launches First Marketplace for Buying, Selling and Trading Business Contact Information |
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| Portfolio Company: Jigsaw |
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New Company Backed by El Dorado Ventures and Norwest Venture Partners
San Mateo, CA – December 6, 2004 – The first open marketplace for buying, selling and trading business contact information officially opened for business on the Web today at www.jigsaw.com. Developed and launched by Jigsaw Data Corporation with $5.2 million in venture capital funding from El Dorado Ventures and Norwest Venture Partners, the Jigsaw business contact marketplace offers members access to a database of fresh and accurate corporate contact information, which is kept current and growing through the collaborative efforts of its membership. Built by sales people for sales people, Jigsaw increases sales efficiency by reducing the time required to find corporate contact information.
“Sales people spend at least 33% of their time searching for leads or contacts within target organizations. Jigsaw streamlines this process and provides access to accurate contact information, which is usually time-consuming or expensive to acquire,” said Jim Fowler, co-founder and CEO of Jigsaw and a veteran technology sales executive. “Our members collaborate to maintain the quality of the data, creating a self-correcting system that ensures the accuracy of contacts available through the marketplace.”
The Jigsaw marketplace currently has over 200,000 contacts in it and is growing at an average rate of 2,000 complete new contacts per day. Members buy, sell or trade business contacts they have for contacts they need. Jigsaw Points are the currency of the marketplace and are used by members to acquire contact data. Members earn points when they enter new contacts, update existing ones or refer other members to Jigsaw and may also buy points from other members. Jigsaw gives members a “Pay or Play” option: monthly membership costs $25 but is free to those who add 25 or more contacts per month.
“Jigsaw’s vision of an eBay-like marketplace for contact data transforms ordinary business contacts into a valuable commodity that can be bought and sold,” said Tom Peterson, general partner at El Dorado Ventures. He added, “Jigsaw has what the social and business networking services are struggling to build: A business model that creates immediate success and revenue for both the company and its customers.”
Jigsaw was developed by veteran technology sales executives Jim Fowler and Garth Moulton who know from experience what drives sales people. They devised Jigsaw’s point system specifically to tap into the competitive nature of sales people, enabling them to amass points in proportion to their contributions to the marketplace, and to use their points to acquire more contacts or to sell them to other Jigsaw members.
“We believe Jigsaw’s unique and disruptive business model will change the way organizations source sales leads,” said Jeff Crowe, venture partner at Norwest Venture Partners. “Jigsaw is more time efficient and cost effective than existing sales tools used by sales representatives to find the right contact information. Due to the collaborative nature of Jigsaw's online marketplace, sales people can now quickly find the cleanest set of business contacts in existence, which is critical in today's competitive sales environment.”
Jigsaw will use the $5.2 million in Series B venture capital financing to fund product development, customer support and marketing initiatives. As key investors, Tom Peterson and Jeff Crowe will also serve as Jigsaw board members.
About Jigsaw Data Corporation
Jigsaw is an online marketplace where people buy, sell and trade business contact information. The Jigsaw marketplace offers members access to a database of corporate contact information that increases efficiency by shortening the time required to find necessary business contacts. The data contributions and collaborative oversight continuously made by the Jigsaw community ensures the accuracy and growth of the Jigsaw marketplace. Jigsaw Data Corporation is located in San Mateo, California. The company is funded by El Dorado Ventures and Norwest Venture Partners. For more information, please visit the Jigsaw marketplace at www.jigsaw.com.
About El Dorado Ventures
Founded in 1986, El Dorado Ventures (EDV) is a leading early-stage venture capital firm that invests across the technology sector and focuses primarily on semiconductors and systems, communications, software and services. El Dorado has an 18-year track record of successful early-stage technology investing, including early investments in Cyras Systems, EarthLink, Efficient Networks, Novellus and NuSpeed Internet Systems. Numerous EDV portfolio companies have gone public or been acquired by major technology companies, including Ciena, Cisco Systems, nVidia, Siemens, Texas Instruments and Yahoo/Inktomi. Entrepreneurs see EDV as a trusted investment partner who shares their vision. The firm helps entrepreneurs succeed by providing them with strategic guidance and access to a wealth of industry contacts. For more information, please visit www.eldorado.com.
About Norwest Venture Partners
For more than 40 years, Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) has actively partnered with entrepreneurs to build large businesses. NVP focuses on early stage investments in enterprise software and communications technologies. The firm currently manages more than $1.8 billion in venture capital out of its office in Palo Alto, California.
NVP has funded over 350 companies since inception including such market leaders as Actel Corporation, Brocade Communications, Cerent (acquired by Cisco Systems), Documentum, Extreme Networks, Forte Software (acquired by Sun Microsystems), PeopleSoft and Tivoli Systems (acquired by IBM). Recent NVP transactions include Resonext Communications (acquired by RF Micro Devices), Spinnaker Networks (acquired by Network Appliance) and Winphoria Networks (acquired by Motorola).
As a result of these and other investments, Managing Partner Promod Haque was recently named the #1 venture capitalist on the annual Forbes Midas List for 2004 based on performance over the past 10 years. Additional information on Norwest Venture Partners is available at www.nvp.com
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Contact:
Alice Khounta
Antenna Group Public Relations (for Jigsaw)
415-977-1916
alice@antennagroup.com
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