Benchmark Capital Names Dave Goldberg Entrepreneur in Residence
MENLO PARK, Calif., May 2 /PRNewswire/ — Benchmark Capital, a leading early-stage high-technology venture capital firm, today announced that Dave Goldberg, former vice president and general manager of Yahoo! Music, and co-founder and former chief executive officer of LAUNCH Media Inc., has joined the firm as an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR).
Mr. Goldberg co-founded LAUNCH in 1994 and led the company until it was acquired by Yahoo! in 2001. LAUNCH was dedicated to delivering music and music-related content online. Under his leadership, it became the largest online destination for music videos, exclusive artist features and music news covering all genres of music.
While at Yahoo!, Mr. Goldberg led the company’s global music operations and was responsible for building Yahoo! Music into the Internet’s number one music destination. During his tenure, traffic increased from two million to 25 million unique users per month, and 4 billion music videos were streamed in 2006 alone. In addition, LAUNCHcast Radio became the number one Internet radio service, and Mr. Goldberg was named one of Billboard Magazine’s top power players in digital music.
“Dave is an accomplished entrepreneur, an influential music industry executive, and a driving force in the online music industry,” said Bruce Dunlevie, general partner at Benchmark Capital. “As a pioneer in digital media, he experienced first hand the opportunities and challenges faced by consumers, advertisers, artists, and media companies as the music industry moved online. The lessons learned will prove invaluable to us as we work to identify the technologies, trends, and companies that hold the greatest promise for tomorrow.”
As an EIR at Benchmark Capital, Mr. Goldberg will be evaluating investment opportunities in consumer media markets, including music, video, and digital content, and he will assist Benchmark companies across the portfolio.
“I am excited to return to my entrepreneurial roots and begin exploring new developments in the digital media space,” said Mr. Goldberg. “Although music represents the first traditional media business to be transformed by technology, there are dramatic changes underway across a variety of other entertainment fronts as well. With Benchmark’s impressive track record in consumer services, a strong presence in key markets around the globe, and some of the most talented investors and entrepreneurs in the industry, I feel confident that the firm can shape many of the leading companies going forward, and I’m thrilled to be a member of the team.”
Prior to co-founding LAUNCH, Mr. Goldberg was director of marketing strategy and new business development at Capitol Records in Los Angeles. In that role, he was responsible for the development of new multimedia distribution methods and the creation of alternative channels through which music and new artists could be effectively marketed to consumers.
Mr. Goldberg graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and government. He is a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
About Benchmark Capital
Benchmark Capital, a leading international venture capital firm, was founded in 1995 to help talented entrepreneurs with original ideas build successful technology companies. Benchmark’s general partners take a team- oriented, labor-intensive approach to venture investing to deliver a superior level of service to the firm’s portfolio companies. Benchmark’s portfolio includes high-profile start-ups like Bebo, Infinera, MySQL, OpenTable, Second Life, Tellme, Yelp, and Zillow, and franchise companies such as eBay, Juniper Networks and Red Hat. Managing more than $3.5 billion in committed venture capital, Benchmark has offices in Silicon Valley, Europe and Israel. For more information on Benchmark Capital, visit its website at http://www.benchmark.com/.
EDITORIAL CONTACT Stephanie Gnibus GMK Communications for Benchmark Capital 408.776.9727 stephanie@gmkcommunications.com
Benchmark Capital
CONTACT: Stephanie Gnibus of GMK Communications, +1-408-776-9727, orstephanie@gmkcommunications.com, for Benchmark Capital
Web site: http://www.benchmark.com/