Two former executives of Excite International
Monday launched
Eos Internet Ventures,
an Internet development company that is already working
on a new online gourmet food business named Foodoo.
The two former Excite executives are Dafna Ciechanover,
who was Excite’s European business development and
marketing director, and Jed Simmons, once managing
director of Excite International and more recently
a venture partner at the equity firm Botts & Company.
They are joined by three other founders: Delon Dotson,
former director of engineering at Netscape Communications;
Lisa Boom, a product manager at Lycos who launched
launched the Web-based e-mail service Mailcity for Whowhere,
and Peter Dailey, who led Lehman Brothers’ European
Communications and Media Group.
Eos Ventures says it plans to develop just a small number of
Internet and digital media businesses, ensuring that
each one get maximum attention and the best chance of
success.
“We are not a churn and burn outfit,” said Ciechanover,
who emphasized that Eos Ventures would work only on
concepts that have business models strong enough to
stand the test of time.
Chief Executive Officer Jed Simmons said Eos Ventures
wanted to work with new Internet businesses that can
fundamentally change the way people do things at home
or at work.
“To make that happen, we’ve pulled together global experts
in the fields that drive success: technology, logistics and
fulfillment, strategy and finance — people with proven operating
experience and success,” said Simmons.
Early funding for the venture comes from Botts &
Company, which has already made several investments
in Internet and digital media companies.
Eos Ventures says it will leverage alliances with
specialists in complementary fields such as recruitment
and public relations. It has concluded a deal with
Internet search firm e9c in the first of these alliances.
