Shasta Ventures Announces $210 Million Fund; Firm Makes First Two Investments; Austin Grose Joins as CFO

Business Wire, Feb 28, 2005

MENLO PARK, Calif. -- Shasta Ventures, a newly-formed venture capital firm, today announced the closing of Shasta Ventures, L.P., a $210 million venture capital fund formed to make investments in early-stage information technology companies.

Shasta's founders are three venture capital veterans from leading venture firms. The founding managing directors are Robert T. Coneybeer, who has eight years of experience investing in infrastructure companies at New Enterprise Associates; Tod H. Francis, who has ten years of venture experience investing in technology-enabled service companies at Trinity Ventures; and Ravi Mohan, who has eight years of experience investing in software and technology-enabled service companies at Battery Ventures.

"We came together to build a venture firm that focuses on early stage technology companies serving both consumer and enterprise customers," said Francis. "We are fortunate to be managing an investment partnership funded by many leading institutional investors including endowments, foundations, pensions and family offices. We are pleased to have the support of experienced investors in this asset class."

Shasta Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that serves as a value-added partner to both entrepreneurs and investors. The team possesses a rare combination of core technology expertise and deep experience in marketing to consumers. By combining these skills in an integrated, collaborative approach, Shasta helps entrepreneurs build companies that address the growing demand among consumers and enterprises for new technology products and services. The fund pursues investment opportunities within the infrastructure, software and technology-enabled service sectors.

Shasta Ventures Makes First Two Investments

Shasta Ventures is also announcing its first two investments. According to Robert Coneybeer, "We have experienced strong deal flow over the past several months and have invested in our first two portfolio companies." Shasta Ventures led an investment in Zenprise, an early stage software company focused on automation and service management tools for IT administrators. Mayfield and Bay Partners, previous investors in Zenprise, participated in the round. "We invested in Zenprise because of the high quality of the management team and the compelling nature of the product vision for service management," said Ravi Mohan.

In its second investment, Shasta Ventures has teamed up with Benchmark Capital to co- invest in a company in the marketing services sector. The company will be announced in the next several months. "We are pleased to partner with Benchmark in building an innovative marketing services company that leverages the Internet to offer a superior customer service," said Tod Francis.

Austin Grose Joins Shasta Ventures as CFO

Shasta Ventures announced that Austin Grose has joined the firm as Chief Financial Officer. "Austin is a great addition to the firm as he brings over a decade of experience in venture finance to Shasta Ventures," stated Ravi Mohan. Grose has 14 years of experience in venture capital finance roles, most recently as CFO of Allegis Capital, a $500-million family of funds. Austin's prior experience includes CFO roles with Associated Venture Investors and MK Global Ventures. He began his career as a CPA with Arthur Andersen & Co., where he led audit and tax engagements for clients in a variety of industries. Grose holds a BA with majors in Business Administration and Spanish from Carroll College and an MBA with honors from the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird).

About Shasta Ventures

Shasta Ventures is a venture capital firm formed by three venture capital veterans from leading venture firms. Located in Menlo Park, CA, Shasta Ventures manages a $210 million venture capital fund to invest in early stage technology companies serving consumer and enterprise customers. The fund pursues investment opportunities within the infrastructure, software and technology-enabled service sectors. For more information on Shasta Ventures, please visit www.shastaventures.com.

The Managing Directors of Shasta Ventures

-- Robert T. Coneybeer (35), Managing Director. Coneybeer has more than eight years of venture capital experience. He leads the firm's investments in infrastructure technology companies that serve the business and consumer markets. Prior to co-founding Shasta, he was a general partner at New Enterprise Associates (NEA) investing in IT infrastructure companies. Coneybeer initially joined NEA in 1996 as a Kauffman Fellow. Prior to joining NEA, he was a summer associate at Bain & Company in 1995. He also served as a lead integration and test engineer in the Astro Space division of Martin Marietta from 1992 to 1994. Coneybeer holds a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Palmer Scholar and was awarded the Ford Fellowship. He also holds a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Virginia.