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During Juniper's earliest days, it was comforting to know we were working with a debt partner of the same caliber and mindset as our VC investors.

Scott Kriens
President & CEO, Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR)

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We chose WTI over other lenders because they had great local references in the New York City metro area and are well known for their ability to scale with companies over time.  We always dealt with a highly responsive decision maker from first engagement through funding, and would highly recommend them to any of our business partners.

Gauthereau Guillaume
CEO, Totsy

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WTI has provided funding to more than ten Founders Fund companies. We consider them to be a valuable partner and love working with them.

Luke Nosek
Managing Partner, Founders Fund

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I have worked with WTI in two of my companies, and their capital works as advertised; it is truly usable and provides real value. The WTI team is used to the challenges of operating in a start-up environment, so they have steady hands. I would be pleased to work with them again.

Bernard Harguindeguy
CEO, Atlantis Computing and GreenBorder Technologies

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WTI is a terrific and exceptionally responsive partner. Throughout the relationship I dealt with a decision-maker who provided me quick and candid feedback, which enabled me to maximize the time I devoted to running my business. Given my positive experience with the firm, I highly recommend WTI to any company seeking the highest quality capital partner.

Victor Jablokov
President & COO, Yap

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As a public company, we had many financing options available to us. We were very impressed with how WTI worked with us on the $15 million debt instrument that we announced in conjunction with our recent follow-on offering.

Tim Lynch
CFO, Tercica

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WTI was a great, dependable partner to Plaxo, from the early days of our build out through our successful sale to Comcast. Through multiple stages of debt financing, we found them to be level-headed, flexible and responsive. Not only was their venture debt model a terrific fit - their people have all the right characteristics for a dynamic industry such as ours.

Ben Golub
CEO, Plaxo (acquired by Comcast)

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We chose to work with WTI rather than a bank because their deal structure was more flexible and it really allowed us to use the money.

Vivek Ragavan
CEO, Atrica

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WTI played a pivotal role in working with our team and investors. Without their assistance, we would not be the successful, publicly traded company we are today.

William (B.J.) Lehmann
President and COO, Athersys (NASDAQ: ATHX)

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This is the third company that I have founded, and in each case, I have worked with WTI because of their integrity and flexibility.

Christopher McCleary
Chairman & CEO, Evergreen Assurance

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WTI played an integral role in financing the early development at Ablation Frontiers in conjunction with our Series A equity. They are a great partner.

Keegan Harper
CEO, Ablation Frontiers

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Our long-standing relationship with WTI has given us first-hand experience with how consistent and valuable they are as a partner, especially in challenging macroeconomic times.  WTI has been a strategic source of capital that we have relied on to help grow our business.

Jim Imbler
CEO, ZeaChem

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WTI provided $11 million to WWP at a critical inflection point for the company. We had a new product we were bringing to market which became the foundation of our successful acquisition by Ciena. The debt capital and support from our existing investors allowed us more time to win large carrier contracts and improve our position with potential acquirers.

Matt Frey
COO, World Wide Packets (acquired by Ciena)

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As Skystream entered the critical expansion phase of its growth as a private company, WTI provided us the capital cushion we needed to maximize our market opportunity

Joseph Geesman
CFO and Vice President of Operations, SkyStream Networks (acquired by Tandberg Television)

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Over the past 4 years we have worked with WTI on 3 separate lending transactions totaling $15.5 million. They have proven to be strong financial partners and particularly responsive at critical times when we most needed their support.

Michael Maulick
CEO, Platform Solutions

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I have had a positive experience working with WTI at three different companies. WTI consistently delivered as promised and showed considerable flexibility to meet our unique business requirements. After 25-years of working in Silicon Valley, I can attest to the importance of smart money.

Steve Wong
CFO, Rainfinity (acquired by EMC)

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This is my second start-up and my second time working with WTI.  WTI certainly provides capital that is helpful in growing a business. But even more so, being able to do business with people you can trust is critical to us.  We work with WTI because of the value of our relationship.

Brent Dusing
Founder & CEO, Hexify

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It was important for Neutral Tandem to choose a reliable financing partner who could scale with us.  WTI provided us with financing early in our development, and has continually been able to meet our funding needs as our business grew.

Rob Junkroski
CFO, Neutral Tandem (NASDAQ: TNDM)

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WTI's growth capital has been an important part of the capital structure, and strategic planning, of several of our portfolio companies.

Beckie Robertson
Partner, Versant Ventures

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WTI committed meaningful capital to Polyserve at a time when our business was nearing an inflection point and we were also outgrowing our incumbent debt source. The additional time allowed us to benefit from the solid progress we were making in the business by raising our final round at a significantly increased valuation. The firm's stability and scalability make them a strong partner for venture backed companies of all sizes.

Michael Stankey
Former CEO & President, PolyServe, Inc. (acquired by Hewlett-Packard Company)

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WTI appreciates how businesses change over time. Their flexibility was important to our initial relationship together. As Molecular Imprints has grown, WTI has scaled with us and provided substantial follow-on financing to meet our evolving needs.

Norman E. Schumaker
President and CEO, Molecular Imprints

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It can be challenging as a first time CEO to navigate venture waters, and WTI has consistently provided strong support and seasoned guidance at each stage of our growth. WTI has been an excellent partner and integral part of the FanBridge story.

Spencer Richardson
CEO & Co-founder, FanBridge.com

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WTI provided valuable capital to Sierra Logic as our company continued to grow. Their three commitments (totaling $7.8 million) provided the additional runway we needed to get to profitability without having to raise additional equity.

Bob Whitson
CEO, Sierra Logic (acquired by Emulex)

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WTI's $25 million commitment was a key component of our financing strategy on the runway to an IPO. The strength of the firm's history and reliability of its capital were keys to selecting WTI as our debt partner.

William Moffitt
President and CEO, Nanosphere [NSPH]

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In every company I've started or been a part of, I come across a subset of folks that I know I'll call without hesitation in my next company, and WTI is one of those companies.

Doug Camplejohn
CEO, Mi5 Networks

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WTI has been a valuable partner to Youku as we have grown over the years.  They really took the time to understand our business, which was important to us since we are a China-based company.

Victor Koo
CEO, Youku.com (NYSE: YOKU)

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WTI's capital came into IronPort at an important time early in the company's development - we really enjoyed working with the WTI team.

Scott Weiss
CEO, IronPort Systems (acquired by Cisco Systems)

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WTI's capital came at a critical juncture for the company as we began our initial product launch. The runway the facility provided gave us additional time to demonstrate our technology, culminating in our acquisition by AOL.

Eric Engstrom
CEO, Wildseed

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WTI's growth capital gave us extra time to assemble the best possible investors in our Series B financing.

Keegan Harper
CEO, Cameron Health (Acquired by Boston Scientific)

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Given the strong trajectory of our business, we were fortunate to have a number of firms interested in working with us.  After a fair amount of referencing with our existing investors and other entrepreneurs, we chose to work with WTI given their long history as a firm with the patience and risk tolerance for long-term value creation.  WTI understands our business at a fundamental level and has been terrific to work with from first meeting to funding.

Jasper Malcolmson
CEO, Bloomspot

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WTI made a commitment to Brocade when the company was still unproven; their capital had a meaningful impact on growing the business.

Bruce Bergman
Former CEO, Brocade Communications (NASDAQ: BRCD)

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Articles


WTI set to begin Israel start up investments - Western Technology Investment partner Hagi Schwartz: Israel was chosen as the first target in the world for our global expansion.




Western Investment Technology (WTI) is set to invest in Israel, a year after raising a new $700 million. WTI, which manages $3 billion, makes loans ranging from $250,000 to $30 million in technology companies.

WTI CEO Maurice Werdegar, venture partner Hagi Schwartz, and investment partner Jay Cohan are in Israel…

Schwartz has a thorough knowledge of the Israeli market and believes that WTI has potential here. "Israel was chosen as the first target in the world for our global expansion," he told "Globes". "There is a shortage of capital available for investment, and the debt tool could be an effective means for companies and their shareholders. There is little competition in Israel in the field of financial debt instruments for technology companies. I believe that there are good business opportunities for both sides."

"Globes": What kind of companies are you looking for in Israel?

Cohan: "We see our product as supplementing angels and venture capital funds. We have the financial means and skills to work with companies at every stage, and we're seeking good companies in Israel, too."

Werdegar: "We've been working on the most important thing for several months - getting a thorough knowledge of the local market. Israel has a thriving community of talented entrepreneurs, and we offer debt instruments. Today, more than ever, this could interest companies that do not want to raise more capital from current and new investors, and want to reach greater achievements with less money."

If you invest in start-ups, how are you different from venture capital funds?

"In our case, the loans are repaid, in contrast to venture capital funds. Our loss potential is small, but so is our profit potential. The objective is to invest in companies that will achieve big exits, because without them, we'll also find it difficult to see profits."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 8, 2011

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2011