Austin Ventures Promotes Thomas Ball to General Partner

AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwire - May 7, 2012) - Austin Ventures ("AV"), the most active and established early-stage venture capital firm in Texas, today announced the promotion of Thomas Ball to General Partner.

"Having worked with Tom for several years on our portfolio companies, we know firsthand the domain expertise and dedication he brings to the AV team," said Chris Pacitti, General Partner at Austin Ventures. "Through his leadership at AV, Tom will continue to be an integral leader in the firm's venture capital practice."

Mr. Ball joined AV in 2005 as a Venture Partner and was promoted to Partner at the closing of Fund X in 2008. Thomas' investment and transaction experience and focus are on early-stage information technology companies, with a primary focus on Internet, software and technology-enabled business and consumer services.

Thomas has led recent investments in WhaleShark Media, Umbel, Gazzang, and Silvercar, and is also currently on the board of SGN (fka Mindjolt), FoodontheTable.com, Adometry, and Boundless. He has also been actively involved with AV portfolio companies Jigsaw (acquired by Salesforce.com), Bazaarvoice (BV), and Convio (CNVO).

"Tom made sure that Austin Ventures was more than just an investor in WhaleShark. He has supported us at every turn as we have grown this business from green-field into the largest online coupon marketplace in the world," said Cotter Cunningham, CEO and Founder, WhaleShark Media. "He has been an integral part of this company as he traveled the globe with me, helping us to become the company we are today. He's not only a great advisor to me, but to all of the management team."

Before joining AV, Thomas was an entrepreneur and started two successful companies. He was the CEO and co-founder of Openfield Technologies, the leading provider of technology solutions for the ticket industry that merged with Razorgator Interactive Group. Prior to Openfield and Razorgator, Thomas was the CEO and Founder of eCoupons (acquired by Lifeminders - LFMN). He received his MBA from Stanford University and a BS in Finance from the University of Florida.

About Austin Ventures
Austin Ventures ("AV") has worked with talented entrepreneurs to build valuable companies for over 25 years. With $3.9 billion under management, AV is the most active venture capital and growth equity firm in Texas and one of the most established in the nation. With an investment focus on business services and supply chain, financial services, new media, Internet, and information services, AV invests at all stages of company development, from $100,000 in "planned experiments" in early-stage ideas to $100+ million investments in expansion rounds and recapitalizations. AV's strategy is to partner with talented executives and entrepreneurs through its CEO-in-Residence and Entrepreneur-in-Residence programs. Visit austinventures.com for more information.