Pearl Jam. Pearl Bailey. Pearl S. Buck. Even Pearl Harbor.
Examples of pearls abound in popular culture and history. But if
you're looking for a natural pearl in our oceans, my advice is
to hold your breath and dive deep.
If you're searching for expansion capital, you know the
feeling. But just as divers may want to consider dropping by a
Neiman Marcus, you're likely looking in the wrong places for
financing. Maybe the right place is a corporate investment fund.
The Intel 64 Fund was the oyster to Black Pearl, an enterprise
software company co-founded by CEO Lisa Hammitt, 38, in 1998.
A year after opening for business with her vice president of
marketing and husband, Mark, 39, and COO John Rafter, 40, Lisa felt
she needed expansion capital. She'd already succeeded in
raising start-up capital, but her usual financial suspects were no
longer interested. "The market was steeped in dotcom
mania," recalls Lisa, "so a lot of the VCs we would have
normally targeted were preoccupied with the land grab on the Net,
doing stuff like Pez dispensers over the Internet."
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Lisa also feels that most VCs are reluctant to take female
entrepreneurs as seriously as their male counterparts. "No
matter who you are, you're accused of being emotional, a
feeler, for having mood swings," says Lisa.
But the Intel 64 Fund had no closed doors, just open minds. The
techies there understood the details of her business right away-and
everybody was sold on it pretty quickly. "You do need a
business plan," says Lisa, "but our business plan was
[finished] at that point, and in that sense, Intel is no different
than any VC."
As the co-founder of a private company, Lisa is hesitant to
reveal how much revenue Black Pearl is raking in, but use your
imagination: The Intel 64 Fund initially invested $8.4 million in
the company. More important, Black Pearl's relationship with
Intel has attracted other investors, who've handed over a
whopping $14 million.
The Intel 64 Fund not only forks over cash, but also introduces
entrepreneurs to like-minded companies. Lisa soon found new clients
with abbreviations like HP and IBM. "I think you're judged
these days by the company you keep," says Lisa.
"Let's face it, a lot of people are driven by the
relationships you have, and I think when you're a partner with
something like Intel, it gives you an ear that you normally
wouldn't have if you were just a small company banging on
doors."
Geoff Williams
is a writer in Cincinnati.
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