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Zynga General Manager Nabeel Hyatt Joins Spark as Venture Partner

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on February 9 at 10:46 am PT

Nabeel Hyatt, the founder of Zynga’s Boston office, which led the development of Adventure World, has joined Spark Capital as a venture partner. Hyatt joined Zynga a little less than two years ago through the acquisition of Conduit Labs, where he was CEO and founder. Hyatt will help Spark’s investments with product design, and consult on consumer Web, social and mobile projects.

News Byte

Mobeam Banks Another $1.5 Million for Mobile Bar Code Technology

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on February 6 at 1:00 am PT

Mobeam has raised another $1.5 million in capital to work on a solution for point-of-sale systems at retail not being able to read bar codes from coupons on cellphone screens. In October, the company raised $5 million; in December, it inked a high-profile partnership with Procter & Gamble, and now adds new investor DFJ Athena, a Korea-focused venture fund affiliated with Draper Fisher Jurvetson, to the list. Previous investors include Yet2Ventures, Samsung Ventures and Mitsui.

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Gilt Groupe Snags New Chief Marketing Officer from JustFabulous

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on February 3 at 9:20 am PT

Closely following dozens of layoffs, the Gilt Groupe has appointed Elizabeth Francis to the position of chief marketing officer. Francis will be responsible for acquiring new customers and customer retention across the company’s flash sales sites and full-priced apparel and food sites. Francis takes over the role from Alexis Maybank, a founder of Gilt, who will resume the position of chief strategy officer. Prior to Gilt, Francis was the chief marketing officer at Intelligent Beauty and president of JustFabulous, an online fashion and accessories brand that recently raised $33 million in capital.

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Facebook Gifting App Bday Unwraps $2 Million in New Funding

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on February 1 at 7:30 am PT

Tel Aviv-based Bday, a gift-finder on Facebook, has raised $2 million in a first round of funding. The company also announced the launch of its Bday Gift Finder app on Facebook, which helps users identify good gift ideas, including gift cards for friends based on their “Likes” and other data. The round was raised by Tel-Ad Electronics, and will be used to expand the company’s product offerings.

News Byte

Home Decor Flash Sales Site LuxeYard Raises $3.5 Million in Capital

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on January 23 at 9:01 pm PT

LuxeYard, a home decor flash sales and group-buying site, has secured $3.5 million in new capital from undisclosed investors. The Los Angeles company is also unveiling a redesigned site that allows members to participate in two new ways: First, members can post photos of items that they would like to purchase at a discount; and second, they can drive prices down by encouraging others to buy the product on social networks. The more people who buy it, the less expensive it becomes. LuxeYard will be competing against Gilt Groupe, Rue La La, One Kings Lane, Fab.com and other similar sites.