Originally Posted by NY Times
SAN FRANCISCO, July 26 ? Except for the sexual twist, Friendfinder Inc. sounds like the quintessential investment prospect for venture capitalists. The company, based in Palo Alto, Calif., operates social networking sites that boast 140,000 new registrants a day, and $200 million in annual revenue.
But the company?s main site, Adult Friendfinder, helps people meet for purposes of having sexual liaisons. The content, including explicit photographs and language, has put off mainstream investors.
?Over the last 10 years, we?ve met with a dozen venture capitalists,? said the company?s founder, Andrew Conru, who holds a Ph.D. in engineering from Stanford. ?The conversations end fairly quickly.?
Times and investment tastes may be changing. Mr. Conru said that in recent months he had received more sustained interest, and follow-up calls, from potential investors. More generally, mainstream venture capitalists and private equity funds are starting to show interest in companies that make and distribute pornographic entertainment and sexually related products and services.
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