Techstreet Selected as Unanimous Winner by Distinguished Venture Capitalists in GetLaunched! Competition
17 November 2000
Techstreet Selected as Unanimous Winner by Distinguished Venture Capitalists in GetLaunched! Competition
ANN ARBOR, Mich.--Nov. 17, 2000--Online information marketplace, Techstreet Inc., has won the $10,000 first prize in the GetLaunched! Business Plan competition sponsored by technology leaders Oracle, Cisco Systems, and EMC. The program was developed to showcase Michigan companies seeking venture capital investments. Techstreet sells technical information products to engineers, scientists, corporate librarians and other technical professionals in over 65 countries.
Eight finalists were selected to present their case in front of four venture-capitalist judges from distinguished VC firms including Arbor Partners, EDF Ventures, Blue Water Capital, and Silicon Valley Bank. The elite panel of judges chose Techstreet as the unanimous winner.
"This award is genuine validation of the strength of our expansion plan and our success to date," said Gregg Hammerman, President and co-founder of Techstreet. "We were honored to be chosen among a pool of very tough competitors." Techstreet is projecting FY2000 revenue of $2.5 million, has three consecutive years of 70% growth, and is operating near break-even.
Dan Wallace, Vice President of Silicon Valley Bank and one of four judges of the competition said, "Techstreet impressed me with their knowledge of the industry and their quick answers to difficult questions."
Through its Web site at www.techstreet.com, Techstreet offers nearly a half-million technical books, industry standards, and training and education products. The Company's mission is to satisfy professionals' information needs throughout all stages of the product development cycle, the process of bringing a product to market. The Company will expand its business over the next five years by:
| -- | Building private customized corporate "i2B" (information-to-business) information purchasing systems for industrial, engineering, and scientific companies worldwide. |
| -- | Powering vertical information stores (called "Infoports") in high-traffic vertical e-marketplaces. The Company recently signed a valuable agreement with Manufacturing.Net, a major B2B e-commerce exchange operated by Cahners Publishing. |
Techstreet is actively seeking a $5 million investment and projects gross revenue of $131 million in the fifth year after funding. In January 2000, Techstreet received a strategic first round of funding from powerhouse industrial publisher, Thomas Publishing Company, best known for its flagship product, the Thomas Register.
Although the Company has substantial operating revenue, Techstreet's co-founder and Vice President of Business Development, Andrew Bank, expressed to the judges that "every dollar is like a soldier to us, and $10,000 will go a long way towards increasing our revenue."
About Techstreet
Techstreet, formerly CSSINFO, is an online information marketplace offering one of the world's largest collections of technical books, industry standards, and training and education products. The collection includes over 485,000 titles, with over 35,000 documents available in downloadable format. The Techstreet Web site empowers technical professionals and provides critical information quickly, easily, and at the lowest prices available. Techstreet also powers e-commerce information stores on partner sites such as Manufacturing.Net, the American Water Works Association, Engineering Information, and SoluSource.
For further information, executive interviews, or electronic format, contact: Michela Angelini E-mail: mangelin@techstreet.com PH. (734) 930-9277 ext. 122