Joe Tibbetts Joins Charles River Ventures as Administrative Partner and Managing Director of CRVelocity

Business Wire, May 17, 2000

Business Editors

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 17, 2000

Charles River Ventures announced today that Joe Tibbetts has joined the Firm as Administrative Partner and Managing Director. As Managing Director, Joe will spearhead CRVelocity, a new path-breaking venture model that features a suite of on- and off-line services to help entrepreneurs accelerate their vision by eliminating much of the friction in launching a new company. (See April XX press release entitled: "Charles River Ventures Unveils CRVelocity, a Twenty-first Century Venture Model.")

"Charles River is pleased to have Joe Tibbetts at the helm of this important program," said Bruce Sachs, General Partner, Charles River Ventures. "As the founder of Price Waterhouse's Entrepreneurial Services Center and as the former CFO of two public companies, Joe brings a well-rounded perspective and deep experience that our portfolio company entrepreneurs can draw upon in building their companies. He is a highly-capable leader with an informed understanding of the kinds of services our portfolio companies need."

"Because time-to-market is more critical than ever before in today's rapidly moving internet economy, start-ups need lots more than just money from their venture capital firm," said Mr. Tibbetts. "CRVelocity provides entrepreneurs with the services and tools needed to get up and running quickly, freeing them to focus on the strategic imperatives of their business. With this program, entrepreneurs can build support functions, such as finance, legal, human resources and marketing in sync with their core business infrastructure. I look forward to leading this powerful program for entrepreneurs."

Mr. Tibbetts is a seasoned executive with expertise in understanding early-stage business and financial models. He joins Charles River with nearly twenty-five years of direct involvement with start-up and early-stage ventures, including recent experience as CFO of Lightbridge, Inc. (Nasdaq:LTBG), and before that, as CFO of SeaChange International, Inc. (Nasdaq:SEAC).

Earlier in his career as a Price Waterhouse (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) Partner, Joe launched and managed the Firm's highly-regarded Entrepreneurial Services Center, dedicated to providing financial and business services to Boston-area start-ups and also managed its national Software Services Group. Joe served ten years as an audit partner, managing relationships with numerous high technology firms, including Shiva, Wellfleet Communications and Lotus Development.

"As CEO of Shiva Corporation, I selected Joe as our Client Partner, partly based on working with him during his years as the start-up guy at Price Waterhouse's Entrepreneurial Services Center in Cambridge," said Frank Ingari, founder and CEO of Wheelhouse Corporation, a Charles River portfolio company. "In his role as our client partner, Joe's strategic advice and counsel helped us through Shiva's rapid growth phase, as well as with two successful public offerings and an important acquisition. His unusually deep experience working with start-up companies will be of great value to Charles River's early-stage portfolio companies."

Mr. Tibbetts has authored articles on entrepreneurial business issues in the Harvard Business Review and Venture Capital Journal, among others. He is a member of the board of directors of Great Plains Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: GPSI), a member of the advisory board of the New England High Tech Charity Foundation, and a former chairman of the Financial Practices Committee of the American Software Association, a division of ITAA.

About Charles River Ventures

Charles River Ventures (www.crv.com) is one of the nation's leading early-stage venture capital firms. The firm invests in data communications and e-commerce companies that form the cornerstones of the Internet economy. Charles River helps build companies that define and dominate important categories by providing the corporate development guidance, expertise and experience necessary to help them move swiftly and decisively to execute on their bold visions. Since its founding in 1970, Charles River has organized ten funds totaling over $1 billion and has provided capital and guidance to more than 250 companies. Trademark investments include industry-leading companies such as Be Free (Nasdaq:BFRE), CIENA (Nasdaq:CIEN), Excite (Nasdaq: ATHM), iBasis (Nasdaq:IBAS), net.Genesis (Nasdaq:NTGX), Versata (Nasdaq: VATA), and Vignette (Nasdaq:VIGN). Throughout the past decade, Charles River funds have been among the industry's highest performing funds according to Venture Economics, a division of Thomson Financial Securities Data that covers investment, exit and performance activity in the private equity industry.

Note: Charles River Ventures and CRVelocity are trademarks of Charles River Ventures, Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.