Contents:


I> NEWS ABOUT THE PROGRAM
--1. Y2K, Here We Come
--2. Meet Carlyle Venture Partners
--3. Vini, Vidi, VC (I came, I saw, I collected)
--4. Some Light Reading With Your Egg Nog
II> REGIONAL NETPRENEURS
--1. Gidget Goes Surfing
--2. Browser Button Compares Prices
--3. Product Recalls By Email
--4. An Entrepreneur's Marketplace
--5. Aviation Industry E-Market
--6. Resolving Insurance Claims
--7. Compare E-Procurement Packages
--8. eStart Launches Iranian Community
--9. The Sweetheart Of Sigma Tau
-10. Young Lawyers Online
-11. Pattern Recognition For Email Responses
III> PARTNERSHIPS
--1. You've Got Direct Mail
--2. Finally, AOL And Wal-Mart Team Up
--3. V-ONE And Sharp Form VPN Alliance
--4. Proxicom Joins With Ericsson
IV> CONSTRUCTION CREWS: Who's Bringing Whom To The Web?
V> FUNDING & FINANCE NEWS
--1. TCS Nets $10 Million
--2. Capital.com Scores $15 Million
--3. CAIS To Get Up To $200 Million
--4. Enews Lands Investments
--5. AOL Buys MapQuest
--6. Entegrity Solutions Acquires Chromatix
--7. Boxerjam To Acquire SilverSun
--8. eGlobe To Merge With Trans Global
--9. PSINet Goes Uruguay

I> News About The Program
________________________________
1. Y2K, HERE WE COME
Been a pretty good year, huh? Well, we're going to take a break next week to
rest up for an even more booming 2000. Netpreneur News will be back on
January 6. Over the break, we'll also be putting a hold on all our email
lists, including ActionNet, from December 30 to January 3. You can still
send messages during that period, they'll just be held for delivery until
the third. Happy Holidays.
________________________________
2. MEET CARLYLE VENTURE PARTNERS
Our Meet The Investor sessions are becoming so popular (and successful, see
the story below) that we've scheduled another one for January 26. Carlyle
Venture Partners is a $210 million equity investment fund based in
Washington, DC and focused on industries that are experiencing rapid sector
growth or significant structural change. They invest in startups, more
established companies, management-led buyouts and private placements in
smaller public companies in the mid-Atlantic region. IT, telecom and
Internet companies are of particular interest to venture capital veterans
Brian Hayhurst and Arun Gupta. Investments include Blackboard, Kestrel
Solutions, MuniAuction, Narrative Communications, Net2000 Communications,
SkyCache and VarsityBooks.com. For a chance to Meet The Investor, send an
email to investorservices@netpreneur.org to request a NET-INVEST
application. Selected companies will hear a presentation and have one-on-one
meetings with Carlyle representatives.

Carlyle Venture Partners http://www.thecarlylegroup.com/venture.htm
________________________________
3. VINI, VIDI, VC (I CAME, I SAW, I COLLECTED)
Meeting the investor is just the first step. After a few more you get the
term sheet and sign on the dotted line, which Twinbays International just
did after meeting Capital Investors through our July Meet The Investor
event. Congrats to Twinbays on receiving first round funding totaling $2
million with participation from Capital Investors alongside individual
investments by several of its partners. Said Jeff Tonkel, president of the
Capital Investors, "We are extremely excited about the Twinbays investment
opportunity that we found through Meet the Investor, an invaluable service
bringing together netpreneurs, VC firms and angel investors in our region."
Twinbays operates two online shopping sites targeting American and Chinese
consumer markets. The Capital Investors is an early stage investment group
that includes over twenty entrepreneurs and CEOs of tech and telecom
companies, including Bill Melton, Steve Case, Marc Andreessen, and John
Sidgmore.

Twinbays International: http://www.twinbays.com
Capital Investors: http://www.thecapitalinvestors.com
________________________________
4. SOME LIGHT READING WITH YOUR EGG NOG
The transcript for last week's Coffee & DoughNets is available now at
netpreneur.org. In it you'll get practical pointers on methods for assessing
(and enhancing) your company's valuation from speakers with four
perspectives: investment banker Jeff Hooke of Hooke Associates, venture
capitalist Scott Frederick of FBR Technology Venture Partners, analyst
Jeffrey Anderson of Bond & Pecaro and netpreneur Angie Kim of
EqualFooting.com.

Transcript: http://netpreneur.org/events/doughnets/121599/transcript.html

II> Regional Netpreneurs
_______________________________
1. GIDGET GOES SURFING
(Norfolk, VA) Even a smart aleck like your humble editor can't figure out
what to do with this one, so we're just going to quote: "Boy Crazy! is a
cool new trading card game for girls just like you! Each Boy Crazy! card has
the picture of a real guy along with his own personal profile. You'll see
what this guy is like, how old he is, what his favorite food is, where he's
from, what he likes in girls, what kind of music he likes, and much more!
And these are real guys! Not some famous star you may never meet but a real
guy that you may see in school, at the mall or even next door." Since it's
launch this week the Boy Crazy! site has garnered over 7,000 members and a
million page hits. According to the company, the system "encourages healthy
exploration of girls' emerging interest in boys." Your editor was going to
check it out further for you, but you have to register for some of the
stuff, and, frankly, he was scared. There are some things we're just not
meant to know. I dunno, just can't see giving up a Boog Powell rookie card
for two Tads and a Jason, even if he is really dreamy.

Boy Crazy!: http://www.boycrazy.com
_______________________________
2. BROWSER BUTTON COMPARES PRICES
(Washington, DC) ValueSpeed, Inc. released the Shopping Wizard, a
downloadable browser companion for comparing prices on online merchandise.
The wizard adds a "Compare" button to your Web browser that allows shoppers
visiting any site to pull up a price comparison for the product they are
viewing. An open architecture lets shoppers obtain a comparison from any
shopping robot or portal and helps users register gifts and rate merchants.
It will soon add features to fill out forms, use one-click checkout, track
whether orders have been shipped and keep a private record of online
purchases. ValueSpeed also provides private label Wizards for partners in
which the "Compare" button is hardwired to a particular shopping robot or
merchant whose brand it bears. The private label editions will also enable
merchants to intercept purchases at competing sites to offer better values
to their preferred customers.

ValueSpeed: http://www.valuespeed.com
_______________________________
3. PRODUCT RECALLS BY EMAIL
(Baltimore, MD) RegistrationVillage.com is a free consumer protection site
that will alert users about product recalls. Visitors can register a range
of products to receive specific recall updates through email or snail mail.
The site also contains product demonstrations, safety tips and an archive of
past recall information. RegistrationVillage expects to partner with
manufacturers to offer online instruction manuals, warranty information and
the ability to purchase accessories and missing product parts. Initial
funding was provided by several technology investors, including Chris
McCleary, CEO of USinternetworking.

RegistrationVillage.com: http://www.registrationvillage.com
_______________________________
4. AN ENTREPRENEUR'S MARKETPLACE
(Washington, DC) InQubator.com has launched a new classifieds marketplace
for entrepreneurs, start-ups and vendors. Initial categories include general
merchandise, office space rentals, intellectual property, and a matchmaker
service for entrepreneurs looking for capital. The application was developed
by e-Classifieds, an InQubator.com company.

InQubator.com: http://www.inqubator.com
e-Classifieds: http://www.e-classifieds.net
_______________________________
5. AVIATION INDUSTRY E-MARKET
(Washington, DC) A group of former aviation executives has formed aviationX,
Inc. offering an electronic marketplace for the aviation industry. The
company is targeting suppliers such as aircraft designers, systems and
components manufacturers, overhaul facilities and repair shops. The site
will include commerce applications with decision support capabilities. The
company has closed its initial funding round for an undisclosed amount.

aviationX: http://www.aviationx.com
_______________________________
6. RESOLVING INSURANCE CLAIMS
(Washington, DC) ResolveClaims.com, Inc. provides online commercial
insurance claim resolution services to help policyholders, insurers,
re-insurers, lawyers, consultants, brokers and others. The site features
reports and insurance coverage charts and will soon offer bulletin boards,
chat, Q&A modules and conferencing. The company's Web site was developed by
DC-based Doceus.

ResolveClaims.com: http://www.resolveclaims.com
Doceus: http://www.doceus.com
_______________________________
7. COMPARE E-PROCUREMENT PACKAGES
(Reston, VA) SPEX released a new evaluation kit for electronic procurement
software packages. The kit focuses on the buyer/seller relationship where
non-production assets are purchased and implemented by the buyer. Hands-on
evaluations and side-by-side comparisons cover Ariba ORMS, BuyerXpert,
Clarus eProcurement, Intelisys Electronic Commerce and MarketSite/BuySite.

SPEX: http://www.checkspex.com
_______________________________
8. eSTART LAUNCHES IRANIAN COMMUNITY
(Bethesda, MD) Startec Global Communications Corp. (Nasdaq: STGC) launched
its new Iranian virtual community, the second in a series of nine planned
ethnic portals offered under the name eStart. It follows
the October launch of eStart's Arab community, with Turkish, Indian,
Chinese, Russian, Polish, Israeli and Latin American sites on the way.

eStart: http://www.estart.com
Startec: http://www.startec.com
_______________________________
9. THE SWEETHEART OF SIGMA TAU
(Arlington, VA) WeAlumni.com is an online community for fraternity, sorority
and collegiate alumni organizations which recently signed contracts with 14
fraternities from Alpha Chi to Theta Tau. Features include an organization
directory, community calendars, a branded email address and electronic
newsletters, members-only functions and group buying services. The site has
signed up one million members since its debut.

WeAlumni.com: http://www.wealumni.com
_______________________________
10. YOUNG LAWYERS ONLINE
(Silver Spring, MD) USLaw.com is a new site that offers free, private,
one-on-one chats with licensed lawyers on topics from living wills to
divorce to immigration and criminal law. Online lawyers explain legal rights
and proceedings and guide people to resources, but are careful not to cross
the line into giving legal advice. Besides the chat feature, the site offers
consumer-oriented legal information including a legal resource library,
Build-a-Document area, directory of lawyers and online store. USLaw.com is
the operating name of AmericasLawyer.com, Inc., a joint venture between
LawCorps Development Co., Venture Consultants and Dispute Resolutions.

USLaw.com: http://www.uslaw.com
_______________________________
11. PATTERN RECOGNITION FOR EMAIL
(Gaithersburg, MD) ReplyNet, Inc. released a new email pattern recognition
system tied to its automatic email response service. The system, targeted at
firms that have an overflow of inbound email that require a personalized
response, enables users to create and store keyword profiles linked to
specific message content. Messages arriving in the client account are
scanned for keywords and, if a match is found, a response is generated with
the content linked to the matched keyword. Each profile can be assigned a
different point of contact and message headers can be customized to match a
given profile.

ReplyNet: http://www.reply.net

III> Partnerships
_______________________________
1. YOU'VE GOT DIRECT MAIL
(Alexandria, VA) liveprint.com has a new partnership with Stamps.com
(Nasdaq: STMP). When visitors use liveprint to design direct mail pieces,
newsletters and other marketing materials, they'll be able to buy the
necessary postage from Stamps.com.

liveprint.com: http://www.liveprint.com
Stamps.com: http://www.stamps.com
_______________________________
2. FINALLY, AOL AND WAL-MART TEAM UP
(Dulles, VA) They've been gossiping about it and now it's official. Wal-Mart
Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and America Online, Inc. (NYSE: AOL) formed an
alliance to offer low-cost Internet access. The agreement creates a new
co-branded ISP which will be a customized version of CompuServe. The deal
involves numerous cross-marketing initiatives, including Wal-Mart
distributing AOL 5.0 software that includes a link to its online store.

America Online: http://www.aol.com
Wal-Mart: http://www.wal-mart.com
_______________________________
3. V-ONE AND SHARP FORM VPN ALLIANCE
(Germantown, MD) V-ONE Corp. (Nasdaq: VONE) has joined with Sharp
Electronics Corp. to target certain vertical markets for VPN-secured
connectivity over handheld PCs. Joint sales and marketing initiatives will
promote V-ONE's SmartGate VPN and Sharp's Mobilon line of handheld PCs to
firms in healthcare and other markets.

V-ONE: http://www.v-one.com
_______________________________
4. PROXICOM JOINS WITH ERICSSON
(Reston, VA) Proxicom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PXCM) and Ericsson Professional
Services and Consulting, a unit of LM Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERICY), announced an
alliance to deliver mobile E-business solutions to the US corporate market.
The alliance will help clients integrate Web applications with wireless
devices such as cellular phones and PDAs.

Proxicom: http://www.proxicom.com
Ericsson: http://www.Ericsson.com

IV> Construction Crews
WHO'S BRINGING WHOM TO THE WEB?

Gaithersburg's Optum Computing Solutions ( http://www.optum-inc.com )
launched the National Data Analysis System site ( http://ndas.cwla.org ) for
the Child Welfare League of America. The site enables researchers to conduct
customized studies using child welfare data from all member states.

DC-based Iconixx ( http://www.iconixx.com ) built the site for RedBricks.com
( http://www.redbricks.com ) which allows commercial real estate
professionals to originate and process commercial loans and related
financial transactions.

AppNet (Nasdaq: APNT; http://www.appnet.com ) launched a new site for
America's Second Harvest ( http://www.secondharvest.org ) the nation's
largest hunger relief organization.

V> Funding & Finance News
_______________________________
1. TCS NETS $10 MILLION
(Annapolis, MD) TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TCS) closed on $10 million
in equity investments from GE Equity and Signal Equity Partners. TCS is a
provider of software applications for wireless service providers. Last week
the company launched Data4Me.com, a portal for sending text messages to
wireless devices across multiple carrier networks.

TeleCommunication Systems: http://www.telecomsys.com
_______________________________
2. CAPITAL.COM SCORES $15 MILLION
(Bethesda, MD) Online investment bank American Capital (Nasdaq: ACAS)
received a $15 million investment from First Union Corp. (NYSE: FTU). First
Union received a 15% equity stake and warrants to acquire up to an
additional 5% under certain conditions. First Union will also become a
featured provider of commercial real estate financing at Capital.com.
Capital.com helps small and mid-size companies raise debt and equity from a
range of capital sources.

American Capital: http://www.capital.com
First Union: http://ww.firstunion.com
_______________________________
3. CAIS TO GET UP TO $200 MILLION
(Washington, DC) CAIS Internet (Nasdaq: CAIS) signed an agreement with an
affiliate of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) for a strategic investment
of up to $200 million. An initial $100 million will be in the form of
convertible preferred stock and the agreement includes a one-year option for
KKR to purchase an additional $100 million. The initial purchase will
represent a 16.5% fully diluted capital interest in CAIS. Upon exercise of
the option, KKR's investment would represent a 26.4% stake.

CAIS Internet: http://www.cais.com
_______________________________
4. ENEWS LANDS INVESTMENTS
(Washington, DC) Online magazine retailer Enews.com has agreements for
equity investments from barnesandnoble.com (B&N) and Hachette Filipacchi
Magazines (HFM). The transaction is subject to approval and is expected to
close in the first quarter of next year. The B&N investment amounts to a 32%
stake in Enews and includes a four-year joint services agreement which
designates Enews as the exclusive magazine marketer at B&N's site. HFM's
investment earns the publisher special promotions on Enews for its magazine
titles.

Enews.com: http://www.enews.com
barnesandnoble.com: http://www.barnesandnoble.com
Hachette Filipacchi: http://www.hfnm.com
_______________________________
5. AOL BUYS MAPQUEST
(Dulles, VA) America Online (NYSE: AOL) will acquire online mapping and
directions provider MapQuest.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: MQST) in an all-stock
transaction valued at approximately $1.1 billion. NYC-based MapQuest is
ranked among the top 50 Web properties in the most recent Media Metrix,
delivering content to almost 1000 Web sites and linked to by more than
170,000 sites.

MapQuest: http://www.MapQuest.com
America Online: http://www.aol.com
_______________________________
6. ENTEGRITY SOLUTIONS ACQUIRES CHROMATIX
(Columbia, MD) Chromatix, a provider of secured directory products and
services, has been acquired by San Jose, CA-based Entegrity Solutions, a
provider of b-to-b E-commerce solutions. Details of the transaction were not
disclosed.

Chromatix: http://www.chromatix.com
Entegrity: http://www.entegrity.com
_______________________________
7. BOXERJAM TO ACQUIRE SILVERSUN
(Charlottesville, VA) Online gamer Boxerjam will acquire SilverSun, a
producer of online puzzles including the Puzzle Zone on AOL and
puzzlepage.com. Details of the transaction were not announced.

Boxerjam: http://www.boxerjam.com
SilverSun: http://www.puzzlepage.com
_______________________________
8. eGLOBE TO MERGE WITH TRANS GLOBAL
(Washington, DC) eGlobe, Inc. (Nasdaq: EGLO) announced it will merge with
NYC-based Trans Global Communications, Inc. to form a telecom company worth
$140 million.

eGlobe: http://www.eglobe.com
Trans Global Communications: http://www.tgc.net
_______________________________
9. PSINET GOES URUGUAY
(Herndon, VA) PSINet (Nasdaq: PSIX) entered the Uruguayan ISP market with
the acquisition of Netgate, the largest privately held ISP in that country.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

PSINet: http://www.psinet.com
Netgate: http://www.netgate.com.uy

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