First Round Capital

UrbanSitter’s Social Babysitting Service Granted $1.75 Million in Allowance

Tricia Duryee in Social on January 23 at 7:00 am PT

UrbanSitter, which may become a high-tech version of “The Baby-Sitters Club,” now has a bigger allowance with which to operate.

Hello, Brooklyn! You’ve Got Your Very Own VC Fund.

Peter Kafka in News on January 17 at 4:30 am PT

Charlie O’Donnell leaves First Round Capital and sets up shop across the bridge. (Don’t worry, he’ll stray out of King’s County, too.)

Viral Video: This Year, First Round VCs Channel Rebecca Black (Rrrreeaaallly!)

Kara Swisher in Media on December 20, 2011 at 9:30 am PT

Oh, dear — Silicon Valley VCs acting like teenage girls. And there’s not even a hot start-up in sight to chase and scream over.

TaskRabbit Raises $17.8 Million, Brings in Eisner as Adviser

Lauren Goode in News on December 13, 2011 at 8:59 pm PT

TaskRabbit, the Bay Area-based start-up that outsources human “rabbits” to perform odious chores for neighbors, has raised its second cash pile in eight months.

Refinery29 Adds Shopping After Drawing an Audience in With Content

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on November 2, 2011 at 7:47 am PT

After building up an online editorial presence for the past few years, Refinery29 is using its clout in the fashion world to shift to e-commerce.

Former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt Joins Kno Board

Kara Swisher in News on November 1, 2011 at 5:01 am PT

The online education start-up grabs a new director.

News Byte

Ex-PayPal, YouTube and Yahoo Execs Raise Capital for Kid Activities in a Box

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on October 11, 2011 at 7:00 am PT

Mountain View, Calif.-based Kiwi Crate has raised $2 million in capital to help launch the company’s subscription-based service, which delivers a monthly package of hands-on activities for kids. The round was led by First Round Capital, with Mayfield Fund, Comcast Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, Consigliere Brand Capital, UJ Ventures and 500 Startups also participating. The company was founded in 2011 by Sandra Oh Lin, former eBay and PayPal executive; Yu Pan, PayPal co-founder; and Yael Pasternak Valek, an ex-Yahoo product manager.

Gina Bianchini’s New Start-Up Is a Guide Creation Tool: Mightybell

Liz Gannes in Social on September 8, 2011 at 9:00 am PT

Mightybell is today launching a beta version of its tools for sharing step-by-step guides to experiences like traveling, recipes and education.

Exclusive: Backupify Closes $5 Million in Round Led by Avalon Ventures

Arik Hesseldahl in News on September 8, 2011 at 5:20 am PT

Even in the cloud, data gets deleted by mistake. Backupify aims to have your back.

News Byte

Skype Pays Around $85 Million for GroupMe

Tricia Duryee in Mobile on August 21, 2011 at 3:21 pm PT

Skype has agreed to acquire GroupMe, a company that has developed a way for groups of people to send messages to each across various smartphone platforms. People familiar with the transaction say Skype will pay around $85 million for GroupMe, which was founded at a TechCrunch event in April 2010. Early investors include First Round Capital, Lerer Ventures and Betaworks; last fall, Khosla Ventures won a bidding war for a $10 million funding round that valued the company at around $35 million. Skype is in the process of being acquired by Microsoft.