Cava News
The Wilton Bulletin
Written by Joan Lownds
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
At Cava Capital, the motto is simply “Companies grow here.” That’s the driving principle behind the company, which Geoff Schneider, founder and managing partner, described as “an innovative early stage venture firm. We are dedicated to providing appropriate levels of capital and significant hands-on guidance to exciting entrepreneurs with pioneering ideas.”
The early stages are crucial, according to Mr. Schneider. “At Cava Capital, we believe it is exactly this time and energy spent working with entrepreneurs at the earliest business stages that is core to a company’s progress,” he said.
Along with providing “significant capital,” Cava Capital helps companies implement a “strategic business framework they can utilize going forward,” which includes revisiting and analyzing their business models.
“We are here to work with our entrepreneurs, helping to architect the right vision for each company at the earliest stages of its life cycle,” Mr. Schneider said....
Cava Capital invests in etouches, Inc. Series A
Online Event Management Software Solution
New York, NY. June 3, 2010 – Cava Capital recently announced its Series A investment in etouches, Inc., a CT based software as a service (SaaS) company for the online event management industry. Premier deal syndicate partners include Greycroft and CT Innovations.
etouches is a web‐based SaaS provider to the multi-billion dollar global meeting and event technology marketplace. The award‐winning software solution enables clients to realize the benefits of consolidation and control with simple web‐based tools for easy user adoption. etouches features a suite of web‐based hosted software in a modular design which facilitates effective and efficient management of all phases of the event lifecycle. The suite includes a real‐time dashboard view of event performance to support the closed loop process for spend management, marketing demand generation, and predictive analysis. Serving over 2,000 global event programs annually, the customer base includes top tier companies such as Volkswagen, Dell, and The Financial Times.
“We are excited to be investing in a great business alongside quality investment partners,” says Geoff Schneider, managing partner at Cava Capital. “etouches continues to add to an already impressive list of customers and the market for such online solutions is growing. The Management Team, the Board of Directors and Advisors have extensive sector expertise and we feel very confident in their ability to continue to drive growth.”
For more information, please visit:
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Cava Capital welcomes new Managing Partner, Peg Jackson
Early Stage Venture Investments in Metro New York
New York, NY. May 17, 2010 – Cava Capital is pleased to announce the hiring of new Managing Partner, Peg Jackson, who brings a tremendous background of investing and operating expertise from over 15 years at NeoCarta Ventures, NBC and Reuters. Peg joined NeoCarta Ventures in May, 2000, investing in the technology sector and managing the portfolio. Peg was on the board of several companies including SilverPop, Zoom Systems, Cendura (acquired by Computer Associates), Datasynapse (acquired by Tibco) and Myrio (acquired by Siemens).
Prior to joining NeoCarta Ventures, Peg was Vice-President of Business Development at NBC. She joined NBC in 1996, making investments in Internet and Interactive TV companies. In addition, she managed a production group that developed NBC’s interactive TV programming. Exits include Tivo (TIVO) and LivePerson (LPSN).
Prior to NBC, Jackson worked in the business development group at Reuters New Media, where she managed new acquisition and joint venture projects. Jackson was also employed as a Media Analyst for the Toronto Dominion Bank.
Cava Capital combines operational talent with venture expertise. The fund targets early stage, capital efficient Media and Financial Technology companies in the Metro NY area. “We wrap business understanding around good ideas,” says Peg Jackson. “We provide entrepreneurs essential resources at a critical time in their company development. From spending time optimizing sales and business model strategies to helping with management team build-out and product side expertise, we’re available to help.”
With few sources of focused capital in the area and access to a ton of quality deals, there is huge opportunity. “Startups are starving for capital and venture partners with an active approach,” says Geoff Schneider, Founder and Managing Partner of Cava. “Peg is a premier venture capitalist and brings tremendous experience to our team. New York is on fire and it’s the right time to be an early stage investor in this market.”
For more information, please visit:
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Industry News
Survey: Most CMOs To Boost Social Media Budgets In 2010 (And It Had Better Pay Off)
Dec. 9 - Nearly two-thirds of chief marketing officers plan to increase social media budgets in the next year, but they are also expecting more in return, according to a new study. The survey of 133 CMOs, conducted by social commerce company Bazaarvoice and the CMO Club, found that nearly three-quarters who didn't attach revenue expectations to social media spending in 2009 will start doing so next year.
Patricof Discusses Venture Capital Funding, IPO Market: Video
Nov. 23 - Alan Patricof, founder and managing partner of Greycroft Partners LP, talks with Bloomberg's Betty Liu, Jon Erlichman and Adam Johnson about venture capital funding.