- Venture capital firm Eden Ventures to make unique early stage capital investment to support winning developer
- Challenge signals the increasing impact of web-based software, an industry growing at 43% per annum
Eden Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in new software and technology businesses, is today launching a Challenge to find a next-generation software developer or team that will receive an investment of up to £1 million to fund a business based on their innovation.
The Challenge comes as the software market rapidly shifts from old fashioned PC-based software programmes to web-based applications.
Traditional software companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and SAP are faced with having to adapt their businesses to suit the web application model, known as ‘software as a service’ (‘SaaS’), as more and more businesses run their IT infrastructure over the web and web-based applications become increasingly commonplace for both businesses and consumers.
Mark Farmer, General Partner, Eden Ventures, said: “This Challenge is a first for a venture capitalist in the UK and it is an indication of how pervasive we believe the ‘software as a service’ model will become. The days of visiting your local PC store to buy boxed software or having the IT guy visit your desk with a disk are coming to an end, as web-based applications, remote storage and software downloads prosper.”
Enterprise software, the backbone software infrastructure for businesses, covering finance, payroll and HR functions amongst others, is increasingly shifting online. This year an estimated 25% of the enterprise software market will be web-based ‘software as a service’. The market is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 43 percent.
Mark Farmer added: “There are massive technical and efficiency benefits to be derived from the SaaS model. It removes the requirement for tiresome desktop upgrades, centralises maintenance and creates global access to a business’s IT infrastructure. It also democratises the use of enterprise grade software, making it accessible and affordable to small and medium sized businesses. If the software giants of today were starting out today – Microsoft, Oracle and SAP – software as a service is unquestionably the approach that they would adopt.”
The Challenge, which launches today, calls for developers to build an application that works on the Force.com development platform, a highly regarded platform developed by salesforce.com that is rapidly becoming an industry standard.
The £1 Million Force.com Investment Challenge is the first of its kind in the UK. The objective is to inspire a new generation of independent software vendors to develop and deliver SaaS applications on the Force.com Platform. The winner will have the opportunity to negotiate with Eden Ventures for a potential investment of up to £1 million. Eden Ventures will announce the winner in November at Dreamforce 2008, salesforce.com’s user and developer conference.
“SaaS and PaaS have transformed how entrepreneurs and established companies build, deliver and deploy business applications,” said Mark Farmer. “As a team of successful entrepreneurs and experienced business managers we will apply our collective operational expertise to assist the development of SaaS and PaaS companies. Eden Ventures will help this new generation of entrepreneurs leverage Force.com to not only build innovative applications but also build successful long term businesses.”
How the investment challenge works
For the £1 Million Force.com Investment Challenge, salesforce.com will work closely with Eden Ventures in an advisory capacity. As Eden reviews promising entrepreneurs and early stage companies building on the Force.com platform, salesforce.com will provide background and be available to assist in due diligence. Salesforce.com will also provide design, packaging, distribution and marketing support. Eden Ventures and salesforce.com will meet regularly to review Force.com applications and companies that meet the criteria for the £1 Million Force.com Investment Challenge.
Eden Ventures will participate in a panel of judges who will select the winning entrepreneur or startup. In addition to the financial investment, the selected business will receive ongoing support from Eden’s team to grow their business. With Eden’s strong seed and Series A investment track record, they have particular skill in identifying entrepreneurs with the right balance of creativity, vision and leadership who can develop companies of lasting value. Entrants in the £1 Million Force.com Investment Challenge will be judged along eight main criteria:
- A significant market opportunity and likelihood of becoming market leader – A strong team with deep domain knowledge – International vision and ambition – Customer success and user adoption – Adoption and innovative use of the Force.com Platform – Financial plan – Competitive differentiation – Likelihood of long-term company success
For more information, contest rules, and to enter, please visit www.edenventures.co.uk or www.salesforce.com/eu/eden.
About Eden Ventures
Eden Ventures invests in technology companies in the telecommunications software, enterprise software, digital media, e-commerce, internet and mobile sectors in the UK and Ireland. Eden Ventures was founded by a group of software engineers turned investors and the team brings real operational experience to the venture process. The company’s blend of knowledge, experience and skill covers business strategy, sales and marketing, finance and operations, M & A transactions and institutional fund management. Eden delivers value to early stage technology companies through investment of hands-on skills and expertise as well as seed funding and Series A finance. Its goal is to help the businesses in its portfolio grow to their maximum potential through utilisation of a key blend of skills and expertise.
Eden’s existing portfolio includes Huddle, Reevoo and Truphone, and recently completed exits include the sale of Apertio to Nokia. In 2007 Eden Ventures was awarded Winner, Exit of the Year, 2007 for the sale of Cramer Systems to Amdocs by Investor AllStars. Eden Ventures (UK) Ltd. is regulated by FSA. http://www.edenventures.co.uk
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