Founded in 2000, SelectMinds' original mission was to develop an online system for alumni. Well, it hasn't gained much traction. Besides, Facebook is the dominant player in the academic space.Well, SelectMinds is taking another tact. The company is developing a system to allow for social networking in the corporate environment.
In fact, this week the firm obtained $5.5 million in venture capital. The investor is the venerable Bessemer Venture Partners.
Actually, SelectMinds has snagged some top customer references like JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), and Ernst & Young.
I had a chance to interview Robb Hecht, who is an expert on social networking and operates MEDIA 2.0. According to him:"SelectMinds' corporate social networking (CSN) service combines enterprise platform and social networking with the goal of positively affecting businesses' bottom lines. Utilizing Web 2.0 media tools and an online open-sourced mindset in helping organizations build connections among and between corporate constituencies (employees, alumni, retirees), the vision is to allow for innovation, increased productivity, and improved human resource needs.
"Given Bessemer has backed successful companies like LinkedIn, eBay's (Nasdaq: EBAY) Skype and Revver, the future potential for corporate social networking as a future business tool is becoming increasingly clear."
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.
