SnapNames Raises Financing, Hires Key Executive Team

Business Wire, Dec 7, 2000

Business Editors

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 7, 2000

SnapNames Inc., today announced it has closed on a two-part convertible debt financing round of $1.73 million to fund the development and launch of the first phase of its unique on-line service for the protection and acquisition of domain names.

The source of financing is an international mix of strategic partners, founders, angels, and the Portland-based venture capital firm, Empire Ventures, LLC. The company was initially financed and incubated through Venture Mechanics, LLC, of Portland, Ore., and began formal operations in June of this year. After a five-month intensive development effort the SnapNames.com web site is currently in beta test with a number of major law firms and corporate users.

In gearing up for its product launch debut scheduled for late December 2000, SnapNames has recruited a seasoned staff of Internet executives. The key principals of Venture Mechanics have also taken permanent executive positions with SnapNames, placing the incubator/accelerator entity into indefinite hibernation.

SnapNames' chairman and CEO, Ron Wiener, formerly CEO and chief mechanic of Venture Mechanics, comments, "From our unique vantage point as a venture accelerator, we reviewed hundreds of Internet opportunities and financed a few, both before and after the `dot com bubble'. Of all the technology ventures we had the opportunity to back, SnapNames was the most compelling in terms of scalability, profitability, extension of its patent-pending technology, and substantial competitive advantage. We soon found ourselves comparing every other deal to SnapNames and realized that all others paled in comparison to its multi-billion-dollar upside potential." Operating as a syndicate rather than a fund, the principals of Venture Mechanics had the freedom the change course and direct their energies to this best of breed seedling venture in its portfolios.

Wiener is a serial entrepreneur, formerly founder and CEO of PrintBid.com -- which was successfully sold to ImageX.com (Nasdaq:IMGX) in 1999. His previous ventures included Distribution Sciences Corp./JetStream Aviation (Portland, Ore.), founded in 1994 and Azure Technology (San Jose, Calif.), founded in 1988. Both were leading developers, manufacturers, and distributors of aviation technology products including flight simulators and navigation avionics; JetStream an early pioneer of Internet e-commerce.

Outside of his own start-ups, Wiener held marketing and management positions with Central Point Software (Symantec), ICOT, Orchid Technology, Eagle Computer and Computer Factory. A long-time outspoken proponent of high technology business and capital formation in Oregon's "Silicon Forest", the Silicon Valley refugee founded the Oregon Young Entrepreneurs Association (since merged with the MIT-affiliated Oregon Entrepreneurs Forum) in 1992.

Additional Key Executives Join SnapNames

Nelson Brady, vice president of engineering, the first executive to join SnapNames, leads a development team of 15 employees and contractors. Brady was formerly a development executive, manager and engineer with Oregon technology leaders including Tektronix, MentorGraphics, OrCAD, Opmaxx and Dynamics Research Corporation.

Next to join was Len Bayles, vice president of Domain Industry Relations, now leading the company's charge to partner with major domain name Registrars and secondary market players in the ICANN (International Corporation of Assignment of Names and Numbers) community. Most recently Bayles built the 11th operational Registrar -- AW Registry (Salt Lake City, Utah) -- from the ground up. As such he has been an active participate and voting member of ICANN's Registrars Constituency. There are presently 60 operational and 160 total ICANN-accredited domain name Registrars globally. Bayles spent the last seven years as a private consultant in the computer/Internet industry. His consulting ranged from software and hardware development to establishing many Internet Service Providers. Prior to that he worked in the Bell Systems.

Traci Miadich Shields serves as vice president of Corporate Development for SnapNames. Most recently out of PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Ms. Shields brings her CPA/MBA background and extensive operational experience with growth companies to SnapNames. Shields' venture capital expertise from Orien Ventures in the early 90s allows her to serve in a unique and valuable role; bridging technology, finance, legal, operational and business development areas for SnapNames.

Jack Williamson, Jr., joined SnapNames as chief financial officer from PrintBid.com, where he served as CFO & controller together with former CEO Ron Wiener. Williamson brings a wealth of experience in merger & acquisition, venture capital, public accounting and IPO/SPO processes, with a number of high-growth companies. Prior to PrintBid, he was turn-around CFO of Gould Manufacturing, successfully sold to MailWell (Nasdaq:MWL), a $2 billion printing industry consolidator, in 1998. As an early employee and vice president-finance, treasurer, and director of Barrett Business Services (Nasdaq:BBSI), Williamson helped grow the company ten-fold in employee count and to $150 million in revenues before taking the company public in 1993.