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DFJ Frontier

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DFJ Frontier
Company typePrivate Ownership
IndustryPrivate Equity
Founded2002
FounderDavid Cremin
Scott Lenet
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California, United States
ProductsVenture capital
Total assets$80 million
Websitewww.dfjfrontier.com

DFJ Frontier is an American venture capital firm with offices in Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Santa Barbara, California as well as Portland, Oregon. The firm invests in seed and early-stage technology companies on the west coast, initially funding companies with between $100,000 and $1 million. The firm has approximately $80 million under management in two funds, DFJ Frontier Fund I, LP ($25.6 million, 2003 vintage) and DFJ Frontier Fund II, LP ($55.4 million, 2007 vintage). DFJ Frontier typically leads the first round of investment, with one of its partners serving on the board of the portfolio company.

DFJ Frontier is a network partner of the DFJ Network and Draper Fisher Jurvetson. DFJ is based in Menlo Park, California with affiliate offices in more than 30 cities around the world and over $5 billion in capital commitments.[1] These 17 individually structured venture capital firms form a network with over 150 investment professionals. Notable DFJ Network investments include AdMob (acquired by Google), Baidu, Hotmail (acquired by Microsoft), Overture (acquired by Yahoo), Skype (acquired by eBay), and MaxPreps (acquired by CBS Sports).

DFJ Frontier was founded in 2002 by Managing Directors David Cremin and Scott Lenet, former entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Frank Foster joined as a venture partner in 2003, becoming a managing director in 2007. The firm’s venture partners include Jim Schraith, Oleg Kaganovich, Brian Danella, Eric Rosenfeld, and Tony Perkins.

Investment Criteria

Stage: DFJ Frontier invests in seed (yet to complete product development) and early-stage (product development complete, may have launched) companies.

Geography: DFJ Frontier invests in companies on the west coast of the United States.

Industry Sector: Information technology, internet, media, life sciences, and other.

Business Model Characteristics: DFJ Frontier favors investments with recurring revenue characteristics, defensibility from competition, and extensibility into new markets, products, and geographies.

Entrepreneurial Education

The partners at DFJ Frontier have developed curriculum to teach entrepreneurship and venture capital to MBAs, PhDs, post-doctoral students, and undergraduates. DFJ Frontier investment professionals have served as adjunct professors at UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and University of Southern California; and co-founded the Center for Entrepreneurship at UC Davis. The firm has run entrepreneurship academies or guest lectured at Stanford University, Harvard University, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, UCLA, University of Michigan, Portland State University, University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Oregon Health & Science University, University of Edinburgh, Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm, Sweden), CSU Fresno, CSU Sacramento, and Humboldt State University.

The firm's professionals author a byline called "Something Ventured" to educate entrepreneurs about venture capital. The column has appeared in the Sacramento Business Journal.

Portfolio

DFJ Frontier has provided venture capital for the following companies:

Name First Invested Description Status
MomentFeed Jul-11 Analytics and marketing tools for location-based engagement. Private
Super Heat Games Apr-11 Collectible trading card games showcasing the world's top professional action sports athletes. Private
Dx Biosciences Oct-10 Develops diagnostic technologies to extract biomarkers from tissue samples. Private
Unsubscribe Oct-10 One-click unsubscribe plug-in for email. Private
MyWinesDirect Aug-10 Software and logistics for online and interstate wine shipping. Private
GameSalad Jun-10 Leading software platform for developing casual games. Private
Predixion Software Jun-10 Cloud-based predictive analytics tools for business. Private
AppleTree Nov-09 Wiki-based family tree of the world. Private
Netpulse Oct-09 Interactive media platform for fitnesss equipment. Private
Marval Biosciences Sep-09 Next generation contrast agents for medical imaging. Private
Janrain Jul-09 SaaS user management platform for websites. Private
Lottay Jun-09 Social, friend-to-friend gifting platform. Private
HyrdaDx Nov-08 Develops low cost molecular diagnostics for dehydration. Private
AudioMicro Sep-08 Music and sound effects for any creative project. Private
Foundog Sep-08 Provider of next generation corporate promotional products. Acquired by Life360
Zadspace Jul-08 Direct marketing solutions[buzzword] for the packaged shipments industry. Private
uSamp Apr-08 Online sample services for market research firms. Private
Planitax Nov-07 Corporate tax software services. Acquired by Thomson Reuters
ClearAccess Jul-07 Broadband network management technology. Private, acquisition announced by Cisco[2]
d.light design Jul-07 Affordable lighting and power solutions[buzzword] for rural households. Private
Delve Networks Jul-07 Audio and video search technology. Acquired by Limelight Networks (NASDAQ:LLNC)
BOOM! Studios Jun-07 Diversified media production and publishing. Private
Mogreet Apr-07 Video mobile messaging. Private
Synapsense May-06 Wireless sensor network technologies. Private
Chimeros Apr-06 Nanoscale technology for the delivery of nucleic acids. Private
SkyGrid Feb-06 Real-time information services for the finance industry. Private
Iconix Nov-05 High definition video solutions.[buzzword] Private
Synthetic Genomics Sep-05 Genomic "manufacturing" techniques for energy and life sciences applications. Private
Dragnet Solutions Aug-05 Fraud prevention and identity management solutions[buzzword] for banking and retail. Private
Bondmart Jun-05 Real-time trading platform for municipal securities. Private
World of Good Jun-05 Fair Trade globally sourced gifts. Acquired by eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY)
Tioga Energy Feb-05 Solar finance and integration services. Private
JiWire Dec-04 Wi-Fi ad network, hotspot directory and Wi-Fi consumer software. Private
MaxPreps Dec-04 Online publisher of national high school sports media and information. Acquired by CBS Sports
Prolacta Bioscience Sep-04 Specialty nutrition for premature and low birth weight infants Private
CrystalVoice Aug-04 Quality of service software for voice over Internet solutions.[buzzword] Acquired by Global IP Sound
Intematix Dec-03 Material science discovery services. Private
Lipomics Dec-03 Predictive diagnostics for personalized medicine. Acquired by Tethys Bioscience
Tethys Bioscience Dec-03 Predictive diagnostics for personalized medicine. Private
OnTech Oct-03 Self-heating technology for food packaging. Private
Digital Path May-03 Wireless broadband networks. Private
Abazab Jan-03 Video sharing technology. Private

References

  1. ^ Draper Fisher Jurvetson
  2. ^ Cisco acquires ClearAccess, 28 March 2012. Visited: 3 April 2012