Nothing is more frustrating than expecting a check and then not getting it, and no one knows that better than the former shareholders of PayQuik.com.

In a complaint filed in Delaware federal court recently, the representative of the former stockholders of PayQuik sued Citibank )PayQuik’s acquirer) and U.S. Bank (the escrow agent) to compel the release of the balance of the escrow. At the closing of the transaction, Citibank placed 10% of the merger consideration in an escrow account with U.S. Bank. Near the end of the escrow period, Citibank brought an indemnification claim, but the stockholder representative asserted that Citibank submitted this claim one day after the escrow period had expired. As is typical, the escrow bank took no position on the dispute, so the stockholder...

Skimming the recent spate of somewhat rosy articles touting the resurgence and benefits of angel investing, I was persuaded to dig through some of my older posts to examine whether my somewhat caveat emptor position on raising angel capital had been swayed. With a few exceptions, it hadn’t.

This is not to say that I am a critic of the practice of start-up teams chasing investment dollars from individuals. Capital coming from private individuals is still how many, if not most, start-ups initially get off the ground. Additionally, in a challenging funding environment like the one we currently inhabit, finding individuals ready and able to “top off” institutional investment rounds is often a key element in getting those rounds closed at all. Indeed, one of my more popular post...

A few weeks ago, Fred Wilson posted a presentation he delivered on What Makes the NYC Start-Up Scene Special.

I was inspired to deliver a similar presentation today to a group of Harvard Business School students who are interested in entrepreneurship in Boston. There’s been alot of chatter in the community about a start-up renaissance in Boston. Don Dodge of Microsoft had a great post listing out all the amazing start-up resources in the Boston community that’s worth reviewing as well.

I’ll post the video as well in the coming days so folks can hear the voice over. Yahoo’s ex-president (and fellow HBS EIR) Susan Decker was there to serve as a good foil for my Boston vs. Silicon Valley quips:

What Makes the Boston Start-Up Scene Special? View m...

As the Obama administration starts to talk about propping up small businesses with the next phase of the bailout, I’ve begun hearing noise from some venture capitalists and angel investors that the government should provide financial support to startups, early-stage venture capitalists and angel investors.

All I can say to this is “vomit.”

There are white papers being developed, politicians lobbied and it’s all based on the proposition that what’s good for small business is good for the United States.

I agree with the premise. In fact, my open letter to the Obama administration on what innovation policy should be details my support and how I think the government should be involved in these efforts.
But it shouldn’t involve bailouts or cash handouts...

What’s the difference between strategy and tactics? Age-old question. Usually, strategy is what you said was your plan after you blundered and lucked your way to a win.

I was never more aware of this truism than at the recent IPO for A123 Systems, a new-age battery company that a few of us backed seven-and-a-half years ago. The original idea: Build lithium ion batteries for cell phones and laptops. Who wouldn’t want a cell phone that you charge once a week or a laptop that you charge once a month?

That was the strategy, and our mission statement boldly said just that: Pick where you want to be in five years, then pick where you should be in year four, year three, etc.—in other words, work backwards. Tactics, on the other hand, say: Be opportunistic; try a few...

Hewlett-Packard just announced that it has agreed to buy 3Com Corp. for $7.90 per share, or approximately $2.7 billion. Two thoughts:

1. It’s a good thing the SEC is off for Veteran’s Day, or else it would be busy trying to sort through the slew of inside traders. First, 3Com’s stock price has been steadily raising for the past few days — as Dan Frommer points out — for no discernable reason.

Moreover, someone with access to a Bloomberg terminal sent over some charts showing the price and volume for 3Com $5 strike c...

The Winning Young Entrepreneurs of 2009: The results are in for BusinessWeek’s Best Entrepreneurs 25 and Under roundup. Number one is the founders of Emergent. (BW)

BX Talks a Little Shit: In a not-so-subtle jab at TPG, Tony James in Blackstone’s earnings call said, “Many of our competitors are not so lucky and many are being forced to give back capital, to downsize and to change strategy.” More on that from The FT.

PE BACK! Some banks are preparing for the return of PE. On the hiring front, UBS Investment Bank and BMO Capital Markets have beefed up their financial sponsors teams. (Dealscape)

And Speaking of Hiring: Here’s a Q&A with the head of recruiting at Carlyle Group. (FINS)

More PE Is Back Cheerleading Evidence: (Portf...

A year ago, buyout deals were so dead that fundraising news was about all I could come by. It seems the opposite is now true, with deal activity on the mend and the fundraising market slower than ever.

But today’s question is whether those 2008 funds actually got raised and, if so, at what levels. So I’ve compiled a series of updates (if there were any) on 20 peHUB fundraising stories from the second half of 2008.

The sad thing is, out of the 20, only four have announced their closing (please email if you have updates)....

* Skype Scorecard: Who won and who lost?

* Bad investment habits come back from the dead

* Mark Gimein: Do market libertarians believe their own hype?

* Morning Call: U.S. futures point higher, London rises early, European shares gain after G20, the Nikkei edges up and Shanghai hits 3-month high.

* The technology behind Madoff’s scam

* Fred Wilson on the inclusion of option pools in the pre-money valuation of VC deals: “The option pool is absolutely a piece of the price negotiation. But it is a very important one.”

* CalPERS boar...

Former NFL star Ronnie Lott has resigned as an executive with Capital Dynamics, the Swiss alternative asset manager that earlier this year assumed management control of funds-of-funds raised by Lott and others under the HRJ Capital brand.

In a brief email obtained by peHUB, Capital Dynamics thanked Lott for “for his contributions to the company and wish him well in his future endeavors.”

For the uninitiated, HRJ was formed in 1999 by ex-San Francisco 49ers stars Lott and Harris Barton, with Joe Montana joining the following year. It was originally ca...