NY TIMES-- Aug 5 -- WHEN Neil Clark Warren and Greg Forgatch, the founders of eHarmony,
a popular online dating site, were making the rounds last fall looking
to raise venture capital, they weren't merely seeking money to bankroll
a big TV marketing blitz. Rather than wait for eHarmony to go public,
which might never happen, or for some bigger company to acquire it,
which also might not happen, the company's founders decided to look for
venture capitalists willing to cash out some of the stake they and
others held in the company. They had no trouble finding eager venture
investors, even though a big chunk of the investment would end up
paying for vacation homes and other personal luxuries, rather than
building the company. In eHarmony's case, 116 people
benefited financially when the company, which was started in 1999,
announced last December that it had raised $110 million. The word
within the venture capital community is that less than $30 million of
that sum went into the company coffers. Mr. Forgatch said that was
inaccurate, but he would provide no specifics. FULL ARTICLE @ NY TIMES