Under the radar startup, Personal.com is an online and mobile service that allows individuals to organize, control and benefit from trading their digital data directly with marketers who will pay consumers handsomely for a direct relationship which tells them " who I am, what I like and what I want", but always with the consumer owning and keeping their valuable data. Personal is based in Washington, DC and was founded in 2009 with the vision that people - not companies - should have the right to take charge of and be rewarded for granting safe access to their online information. Personal was founded by the management team that built business-mapping application, The Map Network (which was acquired by NAVTEQ in 2006, subsequently acquired by Nokia in 2008). ICP was an early investor in The Map Network.

In December 2010 Personal raised $7.6 million in a Series A round of investment of new investment from Grotech Ventures, Steve Case's Revolution LLC, Ted Leonsis, Jonathan Miller, several partners from Allen and Company and follow-on support from early investor Eric Semler of media hedge fund, TCS Capital Management.

Personal is certainly emerging as a powerful consumer advocate in the online privacy debate. Personal highlights the invasiveness of online tracking as a problem in the consumers web. Personal aims to transform the current practice of companies tracking, compiling and selling digital information without the consumer's consent. The Personal team is dedicated to the idea that people - not companies - should have the right to take charge of and get value from their own information.

"People have been told they must accept online tracking as a tradeoff for keeping their favorite websites and mobile apps free, but they are surprised at how invasive this tracking has become and just how valuable their data is to these companies and advertisers," said Shane Green, president and CEO of Personal. "We aim to fundamentally turn the tables to empower consumers to become gatekeepers of their information and, if they choose, be rewarded for granting access to it, even anonymously."

Don Rainey, general partner at Grotech Ventures, adds, "Personal is building a transparent, permission-based model that is a win for consumers concerned about privacy and a win for their preferred sites and brands, which can now get direct access to far richer, more accurate data if they agree to play by a fair set of rules."

TVplus helps major networks and their advertisers "re-engage" their audiences that have become increasingly distracted by email, search and social networking while watching TV. TVplus' patented audio technology automatically hears what a person is watching on TV, then syncs to the exact point of the show where they can connect with their Facebook and Twitter friends, comment on the show and engage in a rich programming experience of information clips and special offers from the shows producers, selected Super Fans and advertisers in a fun, personalized experience.

TVplus is backed by Cape Ventures, Roger Werner, CEO of the Outdoor Channel and past CEO of SpeedVision, President of ESPN and EVP of ABC, and a group of senior west coast technology executives.

Stone Creek Entertainment™ creates on-line, social and mobile games under the brand Karizmac™ for the largest emerging digital gaming group: young women and women. Women 18+ represent a significantly greater proportion of the game playing population than boys 17 and younger.



Today, females socialize differently, sharing personal discovery through communal technologies like games, blogs and social networks. They feel good about sharing feelings and they value genuine friendship and openness. Stone Creek’s games foster these experiences.

Stone Creek’s games are sponsored by major advertisers on media websites, social media sites and mobile platforms. Brands are integrated into game content, creating deep engagement.

Stone Creek is backed by a network of Angel investors from the media world including ICP.

In 1999 ICP helped found and provide start-up capital to Foundation Source with software services veteran Doug Mellinger. Today, the company is led by financial services veteran Dan Schley and Doug as they build Foundation Source into the leading provider of services for private foundations through approximately 20 major private client groups such as Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Banc One, Wilmington Trust and Wells Fargo.

 

Foundation Source provides all the elements required for an efficient, well-run foundation, including the foundation structure, back-office administration, grant management, communication tools, and expert advice on foundation rules and philanthropic development. Foundation Source takes care of the time consuming and complicated duties that are required to help keep a foundation running and in compliance with IRS regulations. This allows founders, board members and staff to focus on charitable giving.

Approximately 10 CEOs have financed FoundationSource along with institutional financial services investors W.R. Berkley and Whitney and Company.

In 1998, ICP backed several engineers from General Electric's Research labs to form GlobalSpec.com, which today is the world's largest business-to-business product database connecting engineers and technical buyers with products and services they need. In November of 1999 GlobalSpec received a $20 million commitment from Warburg, Pincus Equity Partners. GlobalSpec leverages the Internet, searchable database technology, and engineering specifications to provide extensive search capabilities for engineers and technical buyers worldwide.

 

The Company is led by founder/President Dr. John Schneiter who conceived the company in early 1996 after 12 years at GE's Corporate Research and Development Center and Jeffrey Killeen, Chairman & CEO who was previously CEO of Forbes.com, Chief Operating Officer of Barnes & Noble.com and held subsidiary CEO positions at SBC/Pacific Bell and was a Senior Vice President at Dun & Bradstreet.

In early 2003, ICP joined Compaq veteran Chris Gintz and former SG Cowan Venture Capitalist Justin Hall-Tipping, to found NanoHoldings with $20 million in capital as a special purpose holding company making strategic investments in patentable nanotechnology discoveries in partnership with leading research universities and their scientists. Investments focus on applications for existing multi-billion dollar industrial, commercial and military markets. Today NanoHoldings has 11 portfolio companies and a strong pipeline with leading researchers around the world.

 

In 1998 ICP made an early equity investment in SmartBargains as it started as the online extension of Gordon Brothers Group, the world's largest retail liquidation specialist. Today, SmartBargains is led by Internet entrepreneur Ben Fischman and his senior team of retailing experts.

 

SmartBargains is now a leading "e-tailer", using its unparalled purchasing power to offer consumers deep discounts on premium label products in clothing, jewelry and home furnishings. This service is distributed through AOL, Yahoo, MSN and other leading websites. Investors include America Online, Berkshire Partners, Dorset Capital, General Catalyst, Highland Capital Partners, Madison Dearborn Partners, Monitor Clipper Partners and Maveron.

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