The end of the Benchmark boy's club?

An anonymous post about Benchmark Capital on VC-bashing site TheFunded.com piqued our curiosity. Titled "Don't Play with Women", it's a pretty damning claim:

Benchmark has said publicly that they will never fund a woman-founded company. They've never had a woman partner. And the mood seems to be like a frat party (a real turnoff to women).

So far, 13 voters have agreed with the statement, while 2 have disagreed. More »

Nirav Tolia goes to Benchmark

The rehabilitation of Nirav Tolia is not just complete — it is, at long last, confirmed. The cofounder of Epinions, though tarred by old controversies, will announce tomorrow morning that he has, indeed, landed a long-rumored spot at Benchmark Capital as an entrepreneur-in-residence. (Back in March, Valleywag emeritus Nick Denton was told by several people Tolia was heading to Benchmark.) He'll be joined there by Sarah Leary, a former Epinions executive, and both hope to look at startup ideas having to do with online community and user-generated content. (We'll hold our tongue.) Tolia called Valleywag to share the news. More »