TheFunded Gets Its First Cease-and-Desist

TheFunded.com, the VC reviews site whose founder Adeo Ressi is profiled in Wired this month, has received its first cease-and-desist letter from an investment firm.

As VentureBeat reported, Hercules Technology took exception to a review posted publicly on TheFunded, in which the reviewer called the firm "horrible," "shady if not outright dishonest," and said the firm "totally failed to understand some basic economic aspects of our business model -- basically high school arithmetic."

The review, which was posted on Nov. 18, didn't take long to garner a response from Hercules' law firm, which sent a letter this week stating that the posting was "false and defamatory" and is causing "severe and irreparable harm to Hercules."

It's the first C&D TheFunded has received, and comes not long after Ressi's coming-out party on Nov. 15. "My guess is that this is about as close to humanly possible after the coming out party as it is possible for an organized entity to be," Ressi told EPICENTER.

Ressi stood behind the review. "If I start taking things down ... the quality of the forum will drop to zero because anybody who can hire a lawyer can control what's on the site," Ressi said. And, while investment firms receiving negative reviews are unhappy with TheFunded, Ressi says he's spoken with VC firms that received positive ratings, and that these firms are reporting an increase in the number and/or quality of deal opportunities that they're seeing as a result of the positive reviews.

Currently, TheFunded's review of Hercules is still online.

For Ressi's open letter and a copy of the C&D, see below.

Photo: Rainer Hosch/Wired

To Whom It May Concern:

TheFunded.com will not modify or delete content contributed by Members under pressure by third parties unless specifically ordered to do so in an applicable court of law. Changing or deleting content as a result of pressure or threats will undermine the quality of the forum in a more serious way than controversial opinions shared by Members. TheFunded.com technology defends anonymity of the Membership for situations exactly like this.

TheFunded.com provides venture capitalists, angel groups, and private equity firms with tools to respond to supplied content that they perceive to be inaccurate, including the ability to reply and the ability to post factual information. We encourage a constructive dialogue between entrepreneurs and their financing partners, allowing both parties to share information, recommendations, and constructive criticism. TheFunded.com does not share the views of its users nor take responsibility for the content written by third parties.

It is unfortunate that a well-financed entity has taken aim at a largely non-commercial forum attempting to help improve the fundraising process for all parties involved. If necessary, TheFunded.com will request support of the Membership, the Founding Member, and other volunteers to vigorously defend our legal right to operate.

Adeo Ressi,
Founding Member,
TheFunded.com