Prism Venture Partners, the 9-year-old, early stage venture capital firm based in Westwood, is looking toward the future with a new fund, its first portfolio company under that new fund and some executive level changes.
The firm announced its new $250 million fund last week. The new fund is the firm’s fifth, bringing its total capital under management above the billion dollar mark to $1.25 billion. The company intends to continue with the industries and portfolio
The company also wasted no time in announcing its first company under the new fund, Boston-based Everypoint Inc., a
Though a relatively small amount for VC funds these days, the $250 million fund re
“We try and stay on a three- to four-year cycle on raising funds, but we are patient,” he said. “We’d rather raise a $250 million fund every three or four years than a bigger fund and sit on it longer.”
This can be an attractive quality when ap
“Large funds can start to look more and more like large corporations, and that isn’t very attractive from an entre
Prism has held onto the philosophy since its inception in 1996. Even during the boom days, the company’s largest fund was $350 million. That attitude helps perpetuate the firm’s public reputation as a “hands-on” firm, traditionally investing in companies in the earlier stages of development, generating smaller funds and being very involved in the entre
Fougere confirms the firm’s hands-on attitude because he has seen it in
“While we were manning our booth at SuperComm this year, up walks Bill (Bill Seifert, Prism general partner and member of Colubris’ board of directors) wearing a Colubris shirt,” he said. “Then he stayed at the booth and started talking up all our channel partners.”
While Benson concedes certain aspects of the industry, particularly the lack of liquidity events and a poor IPO market, are driving investor caution, he said the firm remains bullish on the markets it participates in, and cites the mobile and on-demand software industry as particularly attractive.
The new fund comes at a time when the firm is also undergoing management changes. Co-founder and General Partner Duane Mason will not participate in the fund and will retire from the firm, effective July 1, according to Benson. Mason’s board seats have been assigned to other team members.
Former General Partner David Baum is no longer with the firm, though no reasons were disclosed.
The firm also
