Benchmark's Peter Fenton nails both FriendFeed, SpringSource deals in one day | VentureBeat

Benchmark Capital's Peter Fenton scored two exits in one day -- a rarity in the world of venture capital. Fenton was the lead partner behind SpringSource's $420 million sale to VMWare, the company's biggest acquisition yet, and FriendFeed's sale to Facebook. A competitive triathlete, Fenton has his hands in several of Silicon Valley's most talked-about companies: He joined Twitter's board of directors in its most recent fundraising round and holds a seat on Yelp's board, after investing with the company in 2006. Founded in 1995, Benchmark Capital manages about $2.5 billion and has landed other big deals including its initial investment with eBay. Back in 2006, VentureBeat editor Matt Marshall wrote about Fenton's strategy for investing: Wait until right before the company's rising "adoption curve" meets the declining "risk curve." Heady stuff, but it apparently works. “The challenge is to identify the acceleration/adoption phase before it’s obvious,” he said at the time. He made good m

Benchmark Capital's Peter Fenton scored two exits in one day -- a rarity in the world of venture capital. Fenton was the lead partner behind SpringSource's $420 million sale to VMWare, the company's biggest acquisition yet, and FriendFeed's sale to Facebook. A competitive triathlete, Fenton has his hands in several of Silicon Valley's most talked-about companies: He joined Twitter's board of directors in its most recent fundraising round and holds a seat on Yelp's board, after investing with the company in 2006. Founded in 1995, Benchmark Capital manages about $2.5 billion and has landed other