Mark Boslet

The University of California found its way back into a Sequoia Capital fund last year after spending eight years in an investment-barred wilderness.

“I think we now know how to make entrepreneurs fail less,” Steve Blank said Friday during an on-stage appearance at the Menlo Ventures 2012 CEO Summit. Not so fast. “We’re starting to amass evidence, but it is still early days,” counters Eric Ries, author The Lean Startup.

Venture fund performance began to recover from the excesses of the bubble years in 2003 and 2004 before dipping again in the following two years of 2005 and 2006. There are signs these now mid-life funds with ’05 and ’06 vintages are starting to hit a better stride.

If a venture firm needs to roll out a new logo every 36 years, the time has come for Menlo Ventures.

Included on the list of active players are Salesforce.com, Adobe Systems and Cisco Systems. Even Johnson & Johnson talks about its efforts to fuel innovation and potentially pull the most attractive companies in house.

Cisco Systems said it plans to acquire privately held Truviso, Inc., a Foster City, Calif., company that provides network data analysis and reporting software. No terms were disclosed. PRESS RELEASE Cisco Announces Intent to Acquire Truviso Acquisition Reinforces Cisco’s Commitment to Intelligent Networking by Providing Customers with Enhanced, Real-Time Data Analytics SAN JOSE, Calif. – […]

Foursquare Business Development Vice President Tristan Walker said on his blog that he has joined the firm. It’s a “spot where I can work with a blank slate, people are encouraged to think big and the opportunities are endless,” he wrote.

Indiana pension manager’s portfolio shows promising generation of funds

Ben T. Smith IV, the co-founder and former CEO of MerchantCircle, is moving back into an operational role by taking the chief executive job’s at ShopCo. He will also keep his hand in investing as venture partner at the seed firm Accelerator Ventures.