Dan Primack

Following nearly 15 months of beta testing, Trada today will open to the public and announce that it has raised $2.2 million in VC funding from Foundry Group. The Boulder, Colo.-based company is focused on the paid search optimization space, and has created a crowd-sourced marketplace in which small and mid-sized businesses can get certified search experts to help improve their keyword campains.

Financial Engines priced its IPO above range last night, and just closed its first day of trading up nearly 44 percent. It was the fifth VC-backed IPO to price in 2010, and the third to do so since we last looked at the VC-backed IPO pipeline (the others were pharma companies AVEO and Anthera). There also have been four new additions to the pipeline in the past month, including the recent filing from Broadsoft. That works out to a net total of 38 VC-backed companies in registration to go public on U.S. exchanges, representing more than $4.5 billion in targeted raise. View the entire pipeline after the jump...

Earlier this month, I expressed disapproval over a proposed repeal to the federal preemption of state laws regulating securities offerings under Regulation D. Basically, I said that the current system works fine, and the proposed change would make it more difficult for startups to raise capital across state lines. In response, a reader sent over the following: “But shouldn't you mention that you have a conflict of interest, since a centralized repository of filings helps the press (but most particularly you and VentureBeat) to report on financings that used to be hidden from public view? You question Dodd's motivation for repealing the Reg D requirement but don't mention your motivation for wanting that centralized repository?” First, my objection was not based on self-interest. As you may (or may not) recall, I actually supported the creation of the centralized electronic depository, even though it was better for peHUB that the Form D filings remain in paper form (since my corporate overlords had someone at SEC HQ who scanned them into a fire-walled database, thus giving us near-exclusive access). But my goal this morning is not to reply to a single reader. Instead, it’s to share a secret with you that is so outside of my self-interest that it could cause consternation among my peers. Here goes: Many VC-backed startups do not need to file Form Ds with the SEC.

Senator Chris Dodd today unveiled the latest version of his financial regulatory reform bill which, if passed, would have some implications for the venture capital and private equity markets (despite some media suggestions that PE/VC escape scrutiny). It's a lot like the original bill from last fall, but with exactly 200 more pages (we'll consider this the unabridged version). Here are the relevant highlights: 1. Dodd retains the original Senate bill's registration exemption for venture capital and private equity funds. He also retains the original bill's edict that the SEC is responsible for constructing a definition for "venture capital" funds and "private equity" funds -- so as to differentiate them from "hedge funds" (which will be required to register). As a reminder, an earlier House bill had only exempted venture capital funds of $150 million or less. Industry trade groups had insisted that any registration would be unwarrented, given that neither VC nor PE firms helped contribute to the financial meltdown. They're right, but hedge fund reps could have made the same argument...

I’m pleased to announce that peHUB will return to San Francisco on April 14, for our first Bay Area Shindig in more than a year. It will take place at Mighty, which doubles at a music hall on the weekend (and which also should afford us more space than that overcrowded affair at Pete’s). Per usual, cocktails and conversation with the area's venture capitalists, private equity pros, entrepreneurs, bankers and assorted hangers-on. Plus, the Taco Truck will be there to satisfy your hunger. Get tickets and more info at: http://sfshindig.eventbrite.com Tickets are just $10, with proceeds to be donated to a charity chosen by event attendees. Be sure to nominate one upon sign-up. BIG thanks to our sponsors: Capital Dynamics, Rothstein Kass, Flag Capital Management, SecondMarket and True Ventures.

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to help judge the regional VCIC at MIT. Congrats to the winners from Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, which just edged out Wharton. The Tuck team will head to Chapel Hill for the finals next month. For the uninitiated, VCIC is an international competition, in which teams of business school students imitate venture capital firms. This includes due diligence with real entrepreneurs, the drafting of term sheets, deal negotiations and Q&A with the judges (which can be a bit harsh).

Mark Suster is a venture capitalist, serial entrepreneur and owner of one of the best office views in Los Angeles. He also has become a blogging phenomenon, joining the pantheon of VCs whose every word is devoured by startup CEOs. He and I have spoken a few times informally, but it was about time to put something on the record. So what follows are 5 Questions for Mark Suster: GRP Partners once was known as Global Retail Partners, and is best known for deals like Starbucks, Costco and P.F. Chang's. What's a tech guy like you doing there? I'd love to set the record straight on this. We did a lot of that retail and consumer stuff in the 1980s and early 1990s, but our first independent fund was in 1996. Since then, We've backed Overture, CitiSearch, LastMinute.com, DealerTrack, Bill Me Later and more. We invested in HealthDataInsights, which is just ripping it up. We also did Qualys, a software-as-a-service company that's got double-digit millions in revenue run rate.

Payfone Inc., a New York-based company that allows users to pay for online goods by using mobile credit, has secured $6 million of a $10 million funding round, according to a regulatory filing. Bob Borchers, a partner with Opus Capital, is listed as a new board director. The company previously raised around $1.6 million in […]

Carried interest taxation is back on the blogs this week, thanks largely to a piece by The New Yorker's James Surowiecki. It also doesn't hurt that Rep. Sandy Levin (D-MI) -- author of a 2007 bill that proposed changing the treatment of carried interest from capital gains to ordinary income -- was named acting head of the House Ways & Means Committee, in the aftermath of l'affaire Rangel. But, just between us, I'm absolutely sick of discussing carried interest (let alone writing about it). That Levin legislation was submitted nearly three years ago, and the issue has been used as political brickbat ever since. The original impediment was a threatened presidential veto, plus some poison pill dispensing by Chuck Shumer. Then came a new sheriff who promised to change the law, until being saddled with the most hapless Congress in recent memory (those folks couldn't pass the salt). For the repeated record: I favor a change to carried interest tax treatment. So do a lot of VC and PE pros, although very few are willing to discuss it on the record.

PricewaterhouseCoopers today published a 28-page report that looks back at the past year's IPO market, and suggests that the second half's momentum will be built upon in 2010. Here's the key graphs, in regard to U.S. offerings: While January and February are often quiet, we expect substantial IPO activity prior to the dog days of summer and robust deal flow throughout the atumn. We foresee a continuing contribution of deals from financial sponsors as private equity firms look to harvest investments made during the "heyday" of leveraged M&A activity that preceded the credit crisis. We expect IPOs from the technology sectors, including biotech, as well as financial services, healthcare and retail and consumer deals. Green energy/technology deals may be the "wild card" for 2010, depending upon how policymakers elect to support a low-carbo economy. PwC adds that companies trying to go public in 2010 must pay particular attention to their abilities to meet short-term market expectations. This might sound obvious, but many private companies assume