MerchantCircle gets new funding to continue spam campaign

Tim Faulkner — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 17:21:49 EST

MerchantCircle has secured an additional $10 million in series B funding from past investors Rustic Canyon Partners, Scale Venture Partners, and Steamboat Ventures (Disney's VC arm), as well as new investors including Barry Diller's IAC and Square 1 Bank. The press release claims, "the investment validates the company's 'merchant-first' business model." I'd say, rather, it confirms that investors who should know better will sink cash into a disreputable business.

MerchantCircle is continuing to spam local businesses, despite promised by CEO Ben Smith that it would stop. Smith still hasn't addressed complaints that his company autodials merchants with false claims, a full year after he told John Battelle that "he's on it." Even to this day, MerchantCircle's targets complain in the comments on Battelle's Searchblog. MerchantCircle says it plans to reach an additional 750,000 businesses over the next year. Local businesses make money through their phone lines. Telemarketers, they'll gladly tell you, take bread from their tables. Is this a merchant-first business model? Or MerchantCircle-first?

Imaginary product, millions invested — and it's not a Web 2.0 startup

Tim Faulkner — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 12:25:42 EDT

Vexed by the piles of cash hopeless Web companies raise? Burned by a bad investment in a startup? Indulge your schadenfreude in the story of Brent Kovar and his "magic" box scam. The "entrepreneur" claimed his "invention" could dramatically boost internet transmission speeds via satellites — only problem: it didn't exist. With prime penthouse real estate, a box of spare parts, an antenna not connected to anything, some technical mumbo jumbo, and a female employee mimicking the two-second delay of a satellite transmission in the other room, Kovar was able to bilk friends, family, neighbors, and investors out of upwards of $21 million for more than eight years. At least most of these Web startups have a real product... um, never mind.

Gawker: valleywag, scam

MerchantCircle gets new funding to continue spam campaign

Imaginary product, millions invested — and it's not a Web 2.0 startup