2008-05-08 17:55:11 -
- El Dorado Ventures today announced that Jeff Hinck has joined the firm as a General Partner, becoming El Dorado's fifth general partner.
In his new role with El Dorado Ventures (EDV), Hinck will seek new investment opportunities in early-stage information technology companies across the consumer and enterprise sectors. Hinck, who maintains offices in Minneapolis, MN and Dallas, Texas,
will help El Dorado Ventures increase its presence in the mid-U.S. and particularly in Minnesota and Texas, where El Dorado is already an active investor. EDV Venture Partner Mark Floyd is also based in Dallas. EDV is currently investing EDV VII, a $200 million early-stage venture capital fund.
Recent exit activity includes the Initial Public Offering for Compellent Technologies (NYSE:CML) in 2007 and Convio, which is in registration for an IPO.
Hinck has worked closely with EDV in the past, co-investing with the firm in NuSpeed Internet Systems (which was acquired by Cisco for $465 million) and Compellent (NYSE:CML), which completed its Initial Public Offering in 2007. In total, Jeff has co-invested with EDV in seven companies, including current portfolio companies RipCode and Storspeed. All told, Hinck has worked with El Dorado Ventures to create more than $1 billion in market capitalization and has helped return hundreds of millions of dollars to investors.
"We're extremely pleased to add Jeff Hinck to our partnership," said Scott Irwin, General Partner of El Dorado Ventures. "Jeff is a proven investor and already has a successful track record of working with us."
Hinck joins EDV from Vesbridge Partners, a Minneapolis-based venture capital firm. Prior to Vesbridge, Hinck was a General Partner with Crescendo Ventures, and was a venture capitalist with IAI Ventures.
Jeff also served as CEO of Sistina Software, an infrastructure software company acquired by Red Hat (NYSE:RHT), and was an Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Co. He was a John M. Olin Fellow in Law & Economics at Harvard Law School, Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy and taught Statistics at Harvard College. Jeff graduated with a bachelors degree in economics from Northwestern University and received his JD from Harvard Law School.
About El Dorado Ventures
El Dorado Ventures (EDV) is a leading entrepreneur-focused, early-stage venture capital firm with over two decades of success. Entrepreneurs see EDV as a trusted investment partner who shares their vision and helps them succeed by providing ongoing strategic guidance and access to a wealth of industry contacts. With $750 million in capital under management, the firm invests across the information technology spectrum, targeting both consumers and the enterprise. El Dorado's early-stage investments have included Cyras Systems, EarthLink, Efficient Networks, Novellus and NuSpeed Internet Systems. Numerous EDV portfolio companies have gone public or been acquired by major technology companies including AT&T, Ciena, Cisco Systems, nVidia, Siemens, Texas Instruments and Yahoo. For more information, please visit www.eldorado.com.
for El Dorado Ventures
Jon Greer, 510-547-7123
news@eldorado.com 
