CEO & Founder Spotlight

NVP At A Glance

Read what our portfolio company CEOs and Founder's say about Norwest Venture
Partners — why they chose to partner with us, and what they have gained from
working with us.

  • John Scanlon
  • Chief Executive Officer
  • Yipes (acquired by Reliance/Flag Telecom)

    • Founded:

      June 2002

    • NVP Investment:

      $28.7 Million

    • Acquisition:

      December 20, 2007

    • Purchase Price:

      $300 Million

    • Employees:

      149

    • Location:

      San Francisco, CA
  • “NVP is a firm that truly stands behind its companies through the good and challenging times. NVP’s global reach and network of contacts has added tremendous value to Yipes---from the days we were a young company up until our recent global acquisition. Promod Haque saw and understood our vision from day one. He believed in our value proposition and recognized early on that there would be a high demand for managed network and application delivery services for the global enterprise. NVP has been an extremely valuable partner to us.”
  • Doug Sabella
  • President and CEO
  • Veraz Networks
    (Nasdaq: VRAZ)

    • Founded:

      October 2001

    • NVP Investment:

      $10.5 Million

    • IPO:

      April 11, 2007

    • Revenues:

      $105.5 Million

    • Employees:

      476

    • Location:

      San Jose, CA
  • “I could not ask for a better investor, board member and partner to Veraz. NVP takes a long term perspective while actively assisting in making the business successful. They strike the perfect balance.”
  • Brett Galloway
  • President and CEO
  • Airespace
    (acquired by Cisco Systems)

    • Founded:

      March 2001

    • NVP Investment:

      $14.47 M

    • Acquisition:

      March 24, 2005

    • Purchase Price:

      $450 Million

    • Employees:

      160

    • Location:

      San Jose, CA
  • “Matt Howard helped figure out what the butter dish was—the one feature that sells the whole refrigerator. You can directly trace the sale of Airespace to Cisco back to a key customer win, back to a key feature, and back to Matt’s insight.”
  • Ron Bianchini
  • President and CEO
  • Spinnaker Networks
    (acquired by Network Appliance)

    • Founded:

      December 1999

    • NVP Investment:

      $14 Million

    • Acquisition:

      February 18, 2004

    • Purchase Price:

      $300 Million

    • Employees:

      83 (at acquisition)

    • Location:

      Pittsburgh, PA
  • “Norwest Venture Partners added strategic value by providing us access to strong industry contacts in the storage field and guidance on vital business decisions and financing rounds. Matt Howard and Promod Haque were both active board members. Their guidance was critical in helping us evaluate and execute significant business decisions."
  • Murali Aravamudan
  • CEO
  • Winphoria Networks
    (acquired by Motorola)

    • Founded:

      March 2000

    • NVP Investment:

      $13 Million

    • Acquisition:

      April 15, 2003

    • Purchase Price:

      $179 Million

    • Employees:

      130

    • Location:

      Tewksbury, MA
  • “Promod is well known in both the venture world and the equipment world, and his success with Cerent and Redback Networks in the previous months was one of the main reasons why we selected NVP. We were looking for a venture capital firm that would know our business, hence understand our capital requirements and exactly how we needed to grow our business.”
  • David Tahmassebi
  • CEO
  • Resonext Communications
    (acquired by RF Micro Devices)

    • Founded:

      November 1999

    • NVP Investment:

      $14.3 Million

    • Acquisition:

      December 20, 2002

    • Purchase Price:

      $133 Million

    • Employees:

      90+

    • Location:

      San Jose, CA
  • “From the onset we felt that NVP would be a great partner. I had heard from multiple sources about how the firm supports its portfolio companies throughout their lifecycles— from Series A funding, to going public and/or being acquired. NVP has a great reputation for supporting its portfolio companies and standing behind them. NVP also has a great reputation for helping portfolio companies build strong management teams coupled with extremely valuable contacts in the networking area.”
  • Ratinder Ahuja
  • President and CEO
  • WebStacks
    (acquired by Extreme Networks)

    • Founded:

      November 1999

    • NVP Investment:

      $4.29 Million

    • Acquisition:

      March 2, 2001

    • Purchase Price:

      $79 Million

    • Employees:

      30

    • Location:

      Santa Clara, CA
  • “What I like about NVP is that the partners are very approachable. They are extremely knowledgeable about the industries in which they invest. They always have good feedback and will help fill in the gaps to make a venture successful.”
  • Dave Ellet
  • President and CEO
  • Docent (founded as Stanford Testing Systems in 1989)

    • Founded:

      June 1997

    • NVP Investment:

      $19.3 Million

    • IPO:

      September 29, 2000

    • Market Cap:

      $802.1 Million (11/10/00)

    • Revenues:

      $11.0 Million (2000)

    • Employees:

      230

    • Location:

      Mountain View, CA
  • “While we were still private, Norwest Venture Partners was very helpful in bringing in additional investors who understood the space and what the Internet was all about, rather than those only interested in a short-term liquidity event. Overall, we have found that NVP has been a partner to us for the long-term, someone who can connect us to the people and partnerships that can add value to the company”
  • Dean Hamilton
  • President and CEO
  • CoSine Communications

    • Founded:

      April 1997

    • NVP Investment:

      $7.1 Million

    • IPO:

      September 26, 2000

    • Market Cap:

      $1.567 Billion (12/19/00)

    • Revenues:

      $41.6 Million (2000)

    • Employees:

      530

    • Location:

      Redwood City, CA
  • “Promod helped with screening talent when we needed to fill key positions. He’s a good resource for us—he stays close to what we’re doing and he’s always up and current with our market. Promod has been great about introducing us to other NVP companies for partner and customer relationships. And the Norwest Venture Partners name has helped us open many doors.”
  • Mark Tapling
  • President and CEO
  • Serviceware

    • Founded:

      January 1991

    • NVP Investment:

      $8.4 Million

    • IPO:

      August 25, 2000

    • Market Cap:

      $100 Million

    • Revenues:

      $29.2 Million (2000)

    • Employees:

      235

    • Location:

      Oakmont, PA
  • “Norwest Venture Partners was instrumental in helping us weigh the pros and cons of various strategies leading to our IPO. NVP’s experience was invaluable during this process and especially valuable in a shifting market. Over the years, Norwest Venture Partners has helped initiate a variety of introductions with potential customers, partners and employees, along with their financial support.”
  • George Kadifa
  • President and CEO
  • Corio

    • Founded:

      September 1998

    • NVP Investment:

      $9.29 Million

    • IPO:

      July 21, 2000

    • Market Cap:

      $500 Million

    • Revenues:

      $43.6 Million (2000)

    • Employees:

      550

    • Location:

      San Carlos, CA
  • “Norwest Venture Partners knows this industry and its track record speaks for itself. They have made some very strategic investments over the years and developed strong relationships with all of their portfolio companies. We were looking for a company to not only back us financially, but also be a true business partner in many ways.”
  • Vivek Ragavan
  • President and CEO
  • Siara Systems
    (acquired by Redback Networks)

    • Founded:

      May 1998

    • NVP Investment:

      $5.5 Million

    • Acquisition:

      March 8, 2000

    • Purchase Price:

      $4.3 Billion

    • Employees:

      240 (at acquisition)

    • Location:

      Sunnyvale, CA
  • “It has always been a win-win relationship. We have relied on Promod for advice in many areas – sales strategy, dealing with system integrators, recruiting, advice on partnerships, and different types of financing. Norwest Venture Partners has always provided good financial guidance and has participated actively in the negotiation of our merger with Redback Networks.”
  • Sam Spadafora
  • President and CEO
  • Chordiant Software

    • Founded:

      June 1997

    • NVP Investment:

      $4.22 Million

    • IPO:

      February 15, 2000

    • Market Cap:

      $1.2 Billion

    • Revenues:

      $17.5 Million (1999)

    • Employees:

      180

    • Location:

      Cupertino, CA
  • "George was a member of our board for a period of time and was a very active member. He offered a lot of input and insight into the market and helped us with various strategic decisions. He also was instrumental in introducing us to a variety of other companies for partnership opportunities."
  • Mark Pine
  • CEO
  • OnDisplay

    • Founded:

      July 1996

    • NVP Investment:

      $9 Million

    • IPO:

      December 17, 1999

    • Market Cap:

      $1.5 Billion (at IPO)

    • Revenues:

      $11 Million (1999)

    • Employees:

      350

    • Location:

      San Ramon, CA
  • “Norwest Venture Partners helped us find talented people and helped us network with other relevant companies to work together in the market or develop partnerships to sell our products."
  • Carl Russo
  • President and CEO
  • Cerent Corporation (acquired by Cisco Systems)

    • Founded:

      February 1997

    • NVP Investment:

      $11.8 Million

    • Acquisition:

      November 1, 1999

    • Purchase Price:

      $7.3 Billion (at acquisition)

    • Revenues:

      $10 Million (prior to acquisition)

    • Employees:

      360

    • Location:

      Petaluma, CA
  • "As I got to know the people at Norwest Venture Partners, I was particularly impressed by their disciplined approach. They have a steady and methodical approach that I haven't seen in any other venture capital firm."
  • Michael A. Brochu
  • President and CEO
  • Primus Knowledge Solutions

    • Founded:

      October 1986

    • NVP Investment:

      $5.5 Million

    • IPO:

      July 1, 1999

    • Market Cap:

      $248.1 Million (as of 3/12/99)

    • Revenues:

      $9.5 Million (first 6 months of '99)

    • Employees:

      160

    • Location:

      Seattle, WA
  • “One of the reasons I joined Primus was because it had investors such as Norwest Venture Partners. NVP is considered to have a very good eye for backing market-leading technology companies, even when they are well ahead of the market curve. NVP also has a reputation for supporting and working with its portfolio companies even after the IPO."
  • Ken Holec
  • President and CEO
  • Showcase Corporation

    • Founded:

      January 1989

    • NVP Investment:

      $5.2 Million

    • IPO:

      June 30, 1999

    • Market Cap:

      $102.7 Million

    • Revenues:

      $35.5 Million (FYE 3/31/99)

    • Employees:

      264

    • Location:

      Rochester, MN
  • “Promod understands the various people and financing issues that can occur in a growing organization, and instead of having us learn primarily through the school of hard knocks, he's helped us to anticipate some of the issues and head off potential problems.”
  • Bill Giudice
  • CEO
  • Maker Communications

    • Founded:

      October 1994

    • NVP Investment:

      $4.6 Million

    • IPO:

      May 10, 1999

    • Market Cap:

      $500 Million

    • Revenues:

      $4.1 Million (Q3 '99)

    • Employees:

      85

    • Location:

      Framingham, MA
  • “Having Norwest Venture Partners as an investor added credibility to the IPO process, specifically when we went looking for bankers. Birds of a feather flock together, as they say. NVP also has helped us find and hire some good people, and introduced us to potential business partners. The real value has really been in the knowledge of our industry and technology.”
  • Gordon Stitt
  • Co-founder and CEO
  • Extreme Networks

    • Founded:

      May 1996

    • NVP Investment:

      $7.25 Million

    • IPO:

      April 9, 1999

    • Market Cap:

      $3.9 Billion (8/99)

    • Revenues:

      $98 Million (FYE 6/30/99)

    • Employees:

      280

    • Location:

      Santa Clara, CA
  • “Norwest Venture Partners has been an extraordinary business partner, providing us with tremendous guidance and helping us understand the dynamics of building a large and successful organization.”
  • Justin Jaschke
  • President and CEO
  • Verio Inc.

    • Founded:

      March 1996

    • NVP Investment:

      $20 Million

    • IPO:

      May 12, 1998

    • Market Cap:

      $1.6 Billion (as of 3/12/99)

    • Revenues:

      $200 Million (annualized)

    • Employees:

      1,400

    • Location:

      Englewood, CO
  • “Norwest Venture Partners brings a broad industry perspective to bear on Verio's strategic thinking. In addition, the firm has been a great business partner, lending their capital, contacts, strategic insights and counsel to the company. Their constructive approach supports the company without interfering with management's responsibilities to run the company on a day-to-day basis.”
  • Larry Ford
  • President and CEO
  • Information Advantage

    • Founded:

      April 1992

    • NVP Investment:

      $7.69 Million

    • IPO:

      December 17, 1997

    • Market Cap:

      $240 Million

    • Revenues:

      $70.7 Million (FYE 1/31/99)

    • Employees:

      500

    • Location:

      Minneapolis, MN
  • “Our relationship with Norwest Venture Partners is both broad and deep. It is broad in the sense that we benefit from their knowledge about markets and potential partners, and it is deep in that they helped us understand how to manage an IPO, expand internationally, and determine how to build an effective stock incentive option plan for employees. Our current relationship is an active two-way channel of communication that offers our organization significant value.”
  • James Allen
  • Vice Chairman, CEO and Director
  • Brooks Fiber Properties (sold in 1998 to MCI WorldCom for $3.4 Billion)

    • Founded:

      November 1993

    • NVP Investment:

      $7 Million

    • IPO:

      May 2, 1996

    • Revenues:

      $125 Million (1/97)

    • Employees:

      1,800

    • Location:

      St. Louis, MO
  • “Back in the early days of Brooks Fiber, NVP really participated at the management level. Our relationship with NVP was one that brought many knowledgeable contacts, prospects and business partners to the table that we ultimately talked to and did business with.”
  • Steve Kim
  • President and CEO
  • Xylan

    • Founded:

      August 1993

    • NVP Investment:

      $5.7 Million

    • IPO:

      March 11, 1996

    • Market Cap:

      $750 Million (1/98)

    • Revenues:

      $210.8 Million (1/98)

    • Employees:

      535

    • Location:

      Calabasas, California
  • “Norwest had the experience and expertise to help build Xylan into a major corporation and they had the resources to back their commitment. Norwest has continually provided crucial strategic direction, industry connections and business support that helped us build a world-class company.”
  • Robert Steinkrauss
  • Chairman and CEO
  • Raptor Systems (merged with Axent Technologies in March 1998)

    • Founded:

      January 1991

    • NVP Investment:

      $3 Million

    • IPO:

      February 6, 1996

    • Market Cap:

      $200 Million

    • Revenues:

      $28 Million (at IPO)

    • Employees:

      90

    • Location:

      Waltham, MA
  • “Norwest Venture Partners gave us immense value relative to our IPO. NVP is a quality venture capital firm that added value to Raptor, making the company more attractive to institutions that might buy Raptor stock.”
  • Jeff Miller
  • CEO
  • Documentum

    • Founded:

      January 1990

    • NVP Investment:

      $1.8 Million

    • IPO:

      February 5, 1996

    • Market Cap:

      $391 Million (3/99)

    • Revenues:

      $123.8 Million (YE 12/98)

    • Employees:

      610

    • Location:

      Pleasanton, CA
  • “Norwest Venture Partners sponsored a Software CEO day, where approximately 20 CEOs gathered to discuss the challenges and opportunities in our businesses. This was an insightful day, which also served to establish some long-term personal relationships.”
  • John Luongo
  • President and CEO
  • Vantive

    • Founded:

      October 1990

    • NVP Investment:

      $2.5 Million

    • IPO:

      August 14, 1995

    • Market Cap:

      $700-$800 Million (at time of IPO)

    • Revenues:

      $117 Million ('97)

    • Employees:

      500+ worldwide

    • Location:

      Santa Clara, CA
  • "Our relationship with Norwest Venture Partners has been special. NVP stayed on our board longer than most venture capitalists. They are very committed to the companies they invest in. They have introduced us to a number of different companies, which has led to innovative product design and enhancement, as well as to interesting partnerships and business opportunities."
  • William Fisher
  • Chairman and CEO
  • Transaction Systems Architects

    • Founded:

      November 1993

    • NVP Investment:

      $9 Million

    • IPO:

      February 2, 1995

    • Market Cap:

      $1.1 Billion (4/98)

    • Revenues:

      $215.5 Million (FY '97)

    • Employees:

      1,500

    • Location:

      Omaha, NE
  • “Besides being a quality board member, they have been invaluable in providing us linkage to their industry connections. They invited me to a get-together of their technical companies and brought Scott McNealy from Sun Microsystems and one of the top executives at IBM to speak to us. These connections have proved very valuable.”
  • Dave Duffield
  • President and CEO
  • PeopleSoft

    • Founded:

      August 1987

    • NVP Investment:

      $5 Million

    • IPO:

      November 18, 1992

    • Market Cap:

      $7 Billion (1/98)

    • Revenues:

      $815.7 Million (1/98)

    • Employees:

      3,000 (1/98)

    • Location:

      Pleasanton, CA
  • “Besides being an excellent source of capital, NVP has proven to be a valuable reference and sounding board for our new market and product plans. Their extensive experience with technology companies in all phases of growth has served as both a reality check and a source of inspiration. George has also provided valuable insight and evaluation as a PeopleSoft Board member.”