SAN FRANCISCO, July 20 (Reuters) – A California judge on
F riday told venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield &
Byers LLC he disagreed with its attempt to move an employment
discrimination case brought by one of its partners to
arbitration, for now keeping one of Silicon Valley’s
higher-profile cases in the public eye.

While San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harold Kahn did not
issue a formal ruling from the bench at a court hearing, he told
Kleiner attorneys they could appeal his decision if they
disagreed.

By Sarah McBride and Greg Roumeliotis

(Reuters) – When staffers at the National Venture Capital Association see a report that refers to U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s investments as venture capital, they grimace — and then contact the author to explain politely why it’s wrong.

The Republican White House hopeful was head of Bain Capital LLC, which does the bulk of its work in private equity and not venture capital, the NVCA would clarify. Venture capital backs companies from their earliest days, and some go on to create thousands of jobs; private equity typically comes in at later stages to turn around underperforming companies, sometimes via job cuts and other unpopular cost-savings moves.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Shera Bechard, the Canadian-born former girlfriend of Playboy Enterprises founder Hugh Hefner, would not be an obvious candidate for the special visas that the U.S. government reserves for “individuals with extraordinary ability.”

Playboy magazine named Bechard Miss November in 2010, and she also started an online photo-sharing craze called “Frisky Friday.” Neither seems quite on the level of an “internationally recognized award, such as a Nobel Prize,” which the government cites as a possible qualification.

SAN FRANCISCO, June 29 (Reuters) – Shera Bechard, the
Canadian-born former girlfriend of Playboy Enterprises founder
Hugh Hefner, would not be an obvious candidate for the special
visas that the U.S. government reserves for “individuals with
extraordinary ability.”

Playboy magazine named Bechard Miss November in 2010, and
she also started an online photo-sharing craze called “Frisky
Friday.” Neither seems quite on the level of an “internationally
recognized award, such as a Nobel Prize,” which the government
cites as a possible qualification.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Institutional Venture Partners said it had raised a $1 billion fund, IVP XIV, underscoring the ability of a small group of venture firms to raise outsize funds amid a broader environment of lackluster returns.

The firm specializes in late-stage venture investments, meaning companies with $20 million or more in revenue, and growth equity, meaning companies with $100 million or more in revenue. Traditional venture companies come in at much earlier stages, perhaps before a company has any revenue.

SAN FRANCISCO, June 19 (Reuters) – What types of online
information services can make money by charging fees rather than
relying on advertising?

That’s the sort of question that one might put to the
business-oriented question-and-answer service Pearl.com.

SAN FRANCISCO, June 17 (Reuters) – Index Ventures said it
raised a 350 million euro fund – about $441 million – to invest
in seed and early-stage technology companies.

The fund will make investments in the $10 million range in
roughly 40 companies, focusing on Berlin, London, New York, San
Francisco, Stockholm and Tel Aviv.