WOW! This guy will go down in history
BSJAD
Round of Funding from TCV
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 14, 2000--In a symbolic gesture,
Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) partner Michael Linnert today swapped $8
million for his favorite CD, Barry Manilow's Greatest Hits, with Switchouse, a
leading person-to-person swapping site.
The funding will help fuel Switchouse's engineering, marketing and customer
service efforts.
"Eight million is the most I've ever paid for a CD," said Michael Linnert.
"On the serious side, it also represents TCV's belief that Switchouse will
capitalize on the potential of the enormous online market for person-to-person
trading.
"By enabling people to utilize unused items to swap for what they want,
Switchouse will unleash the potential buying power for millions of consumers.
We see in Switchouse a rare business model that profits from a dynamic
e-commerce market that does not carry any inventory."
"We consider this investment further validation that our consumer swapping
model is a winning one," said Michael Lin, CEO and co-founder of Switchouse.
"Switchouse alone has an innovative approach that creates a retail-like
browsing and shopping experience. We've found it creates an active market where
our members make more listings and find more swaps, which in turn is producing
more satisfied and repeat customers."
Tapping into the $180 billion market for all secondhand goods, Switchouse is
enabling consumers to get the entertainment goods they want such as music,
video games, movies and books using the entertainment goods they no longer
enjoy. Switchouse has estimated that there are over 15 billion CDs and over a
billion video games and movies collecting dust in U.S. households.
About Switchouse
Switchouse (www.switchouse.com) is the leading online trading community for
swapping consumer goods. Paving the way for a new category of e-commerce,
Switchouse is dedicated to bringing together millions of people on the Internet
to help consumers obtain entertainment goods they want using items they no
longer enjoy.
Founded in July 1999, Switchouse is located in San Francisco. For more
information, visit www.switchouse.com or call 415/970-8600.
About Technology Crossover Ventures
Technology Crossover Ventures, one of the largest multi-stage venture firms in
the country, was founded in 1995 to capitalize on the emergence of the Internet
and to create a new model for Internet investing.
Since it's founding, TCV has invested in more than 70 Internet companies, with
such business-to-business successes as Ariba, CNET, and iVillage. The firm's
primary Internet focus includes: business-to business, Internet infrastructure,
eBusiness applications, Internet services, and business-to-consumer.
CONTACT:
Switchouse
Sharon Yu, 415/970-8614
or
Burson-Marstellar
Ken Stram, 415/591-4065
KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA
BW1067 MAR 14,2000
4:18 PACIFIC
7:18 EASTERN