DFJ Frontier
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.
 | |
| Type | Private Ownership |
|---|---|
| Industry | Private Equity |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Founder | David Cremin Scott Lenet |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Products | Venture capital |
| Total assets | $80 million |
| Website | www.dfjfrontier.com |
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 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 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. | 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 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. | 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
- Draper Fisher Jurvetson
- Cisco acquires ClearAccess, 28 March 2012. Visited: 3 April 2012