Felicis Ventures Relational Map.  Notes: (1) Investment ties to Web 2.0 companies Dogster, BuzzLogic, RapLeaf, & Feedster; (2) Co-Investor Ties to Web 2.0 Top Angels Gil Penchina, Ron Conway, & Jeff Clavier.  The above map references the last map on our CapitalBLOG post combining Top Web 2.0 Angels w/ VC Firms.

Aruba Networks to test appetite for risky bets (Reuters)

Relational Map of Aruba Networks.  Notes: (1) Public company ties to Sequoia and Matrix (Apple & SanDisk); (2) Public company tie to Daniel Warmenhoven (Network Appliance CEO).  Reference CapitalBLOG post (2/7/07) comparing Aruba to BigBand and GluMobile (recent IPOs).

Commentary: I remain bullish on Aruba upon their IPO (realize that I am no expert on stock speculation).  Given the initial high value of IPOs for BigBand and GluMobile (despite having posted similar losses), Aruba seems in better position based on their investment pedigree - irrational markets call for irrational methods.  Certainly, I do not suggest that Aruba will perform well over the long haul, but trends indicate that it should perform well at IPO.  We’ll see what happens on Monday.

Update: Aruba raised $88M on $8M shares for $11/share. compared with the estimated forecast range of $8-$10/share. 

Zazzle Relational Map.  Notes: (1) Zazzle is funded by KPCB and Sherpalo (their only 2 investors); (2) John Doerr and Ram Shriram sit on the board (their only 2 outside board members); (3) Zazzle has capital relations with Google, Tellme, and Podshow (it is a full Kleiner-Sherpalo sibling); and (4) Zazzle and Google are the only two companies that have both Doerr and Shriram on their current board. 

Cisco buys NeoPath, a network storage company    (Venture Beat)

NeoPath Relational Map (Pendants dropped, Inactive companies included).  Notes: (1) Cisco was an investor in NeoPath; (2) Cisco relational investment ties to August Capital = BroadLogic & Ubicom; (3) All of the active companies are private; (4) Only 1 inactive acquired company = Caw Networks; and (5) Cisco relational investment tie to Bill Joy (Caw). 

Another qualitative VC Ratings service launches

VC Ratings @ thedeal.com reports on the company The Funded, which offers ratings for VC Firms.  A blurb on the post that drew my attention: 

While the news and opinion in this blog hopefully provide readers with a sense of which VCs are doing well (and badly) and why, there is little quantitative analysis that would provide statistical-backed insight into not just which firms are doing good work, but which individual partners adds value to those around them.

I believe that our Relational Capital Index would be a good metric along these lines.  The main idea here is the quantification of network relations based on the strategic value of VC firm connections.  More to come: (1) we plan on publishing our rankings of Silicon Valley Investment and People (Board) Relational Capital; (2) we will incorporate network metrics as an optional advanced feature on LinkSViewer.  For those who want to learn more, please contact us at linksviewer@groupscope.com.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals files for gutsy $172M IPO (Venture Beat)

Jazz Pharmaceuticals Investment Map (Pendants Dropped).  Jazz has a relational capital upside upon IPO because: (1) Lack of inactive companies on the map (and Novacept was a profitable exit); (2) All of the related companies are in the medical, biotech, or nanotech sectors; (3) Public company experience of Sam Colella (Versant Ventures); and (4) Relative success of the the 3 most recent IPO companies on the map (Note: Alexza Pharma recently had their IPO). 

Mike Moritz on Art Rock (VC Ratings blog @ thedeal.com citing Paul Kedrosky’s Infectious Greed blog)

Relational Map of Arthur Rock as both a Board Member and Investor.  Note the current Investor/Board tie to Arena Solutions - other than Intel, this is his only current board.  Check out Arena Solutions as a company to watch.

 Your Social Network at Ning (Venture Beat)

Marc Andreessen adds much to Ning as an investor and board member.  While he is all over the Web 2.0 landscape, this seems to be his first true “Social” Networking company. 

 Sequoia Capital vs. ComVentures (Venture Beat)

The WebSite battle is indicative of few relational ties.  Note that only two companies (Monterey Networks - Inactive; and Skyrider - Active) were invested in by both Sequoia and ComVentures [Yikes, poor Skyrider]. 

Post a reply if you have any additions/suggestions for the format: Headline (link to blog); Picture (link to map); Caption (map commentary).  This reminds me of copy editing, but convoluted by the Web….