__ People __
__ Femme Funder __
In 10 years there won't be a need for a fund like ours," says Patty Abramson, managing director of the Women's Growth Capital Fund, referring to the fact that women are currently starting businesses at two times the rate of men. Abramson, who raised US$8 million to "get more women with assets to see investing in women as part of their portfolio," recently received financing from the Small Business Administration, upping the value of her venture fund to nearly $30 million. Her reaction: "It's ridiculous that there are so few women-owned and -focused small business investment companies." With well-placed stakes in Women.com, Women's Connection Online, and Physician's Quality Care - and millions still to be tossed at other start-ups - Abramson can afford to be a little opinionated.
__ Page Maker __
When Patricia le Roy published The Angels of Russia, she never dreamed it would be considered for Britain's most prestigious literary award, the Booker Prize. It's not that the historical romance isn't worthy - it's just that her labor of love isn't a book. Le Roy's work débuted on the Net (www.onlineoriginals.com/), where it was spotted by a London Times Literary Supplement writer, who described it as "what, in other contexts, one would call a page-turner." Will le Roy sign up with a traditional publisher if the nonbook makes the Booker Prize short list this month? "Absolutely," she replies. "My goal is to reach as many people as possible."
__ Net Programmer __
It's been obvious from the beginning that TV was going to end up on the Net," says Josh Harris, president and CEO of Pseudo Programs. Harris founded Jupiter Communications a career ago, but left to launch the avant pop-culture chat service in 1994. Pseudo now features 45 Net television shows every week on such subjects as hacking, skateboarding, and alternative music. In October, Harris will christen Pseudo's broadcast-capable TV studio. "Chat is the most consumptive part of the Internet," he says. "Now we're integrating chat with television, the most-consumed medium known to mankind."
__ Tele-comer __
How does a Baby Bell exec cut through red tape? Leave and start a new company. That's what Catherine Hapka did after four years as an executive VP at US West. Hapka's new venture, Rhythms NetConnections, will use DSL and network management tools to offer voice and data services to businesses in 30 US cities. Her start-up plans were impressive enough to attract investment from Kleiner Perkins and Brentwood Partners, and Rhythms recently completed a $150 million debt offering to fund its network. How does Hapka like life outside Bell? "It's great to be unencumbered by history," she says.
__ Pop Iconoclast __
"I'm interested in the iconography of technology and wealth," explains artist Tom Sachs, who takes blue-collar tools and brands them with upscale designer labels. His work includes a Chanel chainsaw and a Prada toilet. But it's his latest creation - a Sony atomic bomb complete with DVD player and surround sound - that will bemuse Parisians at the Thaddeus Ropac gallery, where his brand of beauty will soon be on display. "There's no better way to destroy a country than with VCRs," he says. When asked for the inspiration of this artwork, he shrugs, "I watch a lot of TV."
- Thanks to Chip Bayers, Tim Dickinson, and Mikki Halpin. *
