[June 02, 2008] Grotech Capital Group Becomes Grotech Ventures Tweet (Marketwire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) VIENNA, VA, June 2 / MARKET WIRE/ -- Grotech Capital Group, a leading early-stage investor in high-potential technology companies and one of the longest-established firms in the venture industry, is now Grotech Ventures. The new name represents Grotech's alignment towards an early-stage technology investment focus while also supporting companies as they evolve. Over the past year, Grotech has made a number of additions and promotions to its investment team, strengthening its domain expertise in the IT industry and delivering a team with both entrepreneurial and financial experience. With this alignment and focus, Grotech is well-positioned to serve the most promising early-stage technology companies in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast and other select underserved regions in the U.S. Grotech Ventures focuses on early-stage companies in communications and IT infrastructure, software and services, and Internet and Digital Media. "Our recent changes allow Grotech to best leverage our core strengths and attract the most promising companies in high growth technology markets," said Grotech's managing director and founder Frank Adams. "We're bringing flexible amounts of capital along with our hands-on team approach to the table to help our companies build valuable, sustainable businesses. Over the past quarter century, our limited partners have placed their trust in us time after time, and we are optimally positioned to back today's talented entrepreneurs." Some of Grotech's past investments include Digex (currently part of Verizon), USI (successful IPO then acquired by AT&T) and Advertising.com (acquired by AOL). Grotech's current list of disruptive portfolio companies includes BroadSoft (the market leader in VoIP applications), iBiquity (sole provider of HD Radio(TM) technology) and Zenoss (a developer of open source network management software). "Grotech worked with us from our inception in 1998 through our successful IPO, our rebuilding after the Internet bubble burst, our profitable growth, and our eventual sale to AT&T in 2006," said Andy Stern, former Chairman and CEO of USInternetworking (USi). "Their strategic guidance helped us pioneer the Software-as-a-Service model and build a sustainable business." While most venture capital firms are structured to make mid-sized to large investments, Grotech Ventures has the agility to make investments as low as $500,000. These smaller investments are greatly needed in today's technology markets where start-up costs are dramatically lower given the existence of Web 2.0 infrastructure and outsourced development efficiencies. In many ways, it costs less to build a company today than it did five years ago, yet for most companies, this initial money is the most difficult to raise partly because much of the venture industry is now largely structured to write big checks. Grotech believes that its ability to meaningfully contribute to a company's development is just as important as the capital it invests. The firm offers a hands-on and personal approach to help its portfolio companies grow and succeed over the lifecycle of each investment and continues to make follow-on investments as each company matures. "From the very beginning, Grotech believed in our company and our vision," said Bob Struble, president and CEO of iBiquity. "Because Grotech is comprised of entrepreneurs, the firm has deep operational knowledge that is a huge asset to emerging companies. They clearly believe in supporting -- not micromanaging -- their investments." Grotech is situated in the heart of the mid-Atlantic region. Together with the Southeast, this geography is routinely one of the three largest investment regions in the United States in terms of total number of deals. Metropolitan Washington, DC has twice as many IT workers as Silicon Valley and the second-highest concentration in the nation, according to Challenger, Cray and Christmas. About Grotech Ventures Grotech Ventures is a team committed to helping creative and driven entrepreneurs build technology companies that last. Our strategy is simple: early investors in high-potential technology companies. We initially invest from $500,000 to $5 million. Areas of emphasis are: Communications & IT Infrastructure, Software & Services, and Internet & Digital Media. Our investments tend to be east of the Rockies with a focus on the mid-Atlantic and Southeast. With committed capital in excess of $1 billion, we are currently investing Grotech VII. To learn more about Grotech Ventures, please visit www.grotech.com Media Contacts: Robin [email protected] 571-312-1448 Ted [email protected] 914-432-7083 Copyright ? 2008 Marketwire [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]