REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- Dec. 9, 2004 -- Two Leading Bay Area entrepreneurs to pursue new business opportunities with West Coast venture capital firm

Rustic Canyon Partners, a leading West Coast-based investment firm, announced today that Ben T. Smith IV and Wayne K. Yamamoto have joined the firm as Entrepreneurs-In-Residence (EIR), a role that enables them to apply, respectively, their extensive knowledge of software and services in pursuit of new business opportunities and to the firm's existing portfolio companies.

"Rustic Canyon is far more than a capital source -- we are business strategists who take an active management role in the companies that we fund," said Tom Unterman, Rustic Canyon's Los Angeles-based managing partner. "We look forward to introducing Ben and Wayne to our companies, and to the new level of value and business success they will help us create. They both are proven entrepreneurs in new media and next-generation software and have identified some unique opportunities for us to pursue together."

Smith and Yamamoto have recently founded MerchantCircle, an Internet media company focused on generating leads for small businesses. The company is currently in stealth mode and has built an executive team grounded with deep experience in media, networks, and Internet businesses.

Prior to joining Rustic Canyon, Smith was CEO and co-founder of Spoke Software, which established a new category to enable sales execution and created partnerships with sales applications companies including Siebel and Salesforce.com. Smith led Spoke from its founding with USVP through three rounds of successful financing and signed more than 50 customers. He served as a White House Senior Advisor for strategy and planning to the Secretary of Transportation, helping develop the Transportation Security Administration in the wake of 9/11.

Immediately prior to his work in Washington, in his role as a vice president in EDS's A.T. Kearney management consulting subsidiary, Smith led the West Coast operations of the Kearney/EDS Venture Development Group. He was one of the youngest partners in the history of A.T. Kearney and was recognized by Consulting News as one of the 25 most influential consultants in the world in 2002.

"The vitality, energy and expertise Rustic Canyon partners bring to their portfolio companies in the media space, made my decision a natural one," said Smith. "MerchantCircle is a prime example of the emerging companies I can add value to working closely with Rustic Canyon."

Yamamoto previously served as an engineer, architect, and ultimately the vice president of engineering at BroadVision. Most recently, he was a visiting scholar in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington. In addition to teaching computer science, he investigated the application of computational and statistical technologies for finding genes in genomes. Previously, he was a software engineer at AT&T Bell Laboratories and Sun Microsystems. Additionally, Yamamoto served on the Technical Advisory Board of Spoke Software.

"Rustic Canyon's experience in media is a natural complement to our expertise in information technology and software," said Yamamoto. "MerchantCircle sits on the boundary between media and technology, so this is a great opportunity for all parties."

The appointments won praise from industry peers. "Ben's creativity, passion and professionalism in bringing Spoke to market, as well as his ability to define, articulate and sell a compelling strategic vision, will provide a great deal of value in his creation of and work with new companies," said Rob Theis, general partner at Doll Capital Management. Theis works with Smith as a fellow board member and investor in Spoke Software.

"Wayne brings a lot to the table, with deep technological and entrepreneurial talents, along with a good sense of how to get things done. His skills and talents will be invaluable to Rustic Canyon while working with their portfolio companies and incubating MerchantCircle with Ben Smith," said Chris Tolles, vice president of sales and marketing at Topix.net, and co-founder of Spoke Software.

About MerchantCircle

MerchantCircle is an early stage company based in Silicon Valley and was founded by veterans of Spoke Software, Broadvision, EDS and Sun Microsystems. The company is currently in stealth mode and is being incubated by an established venture capital firm with deep experience in media, networks, and Internet businesses.

MerchantCircle helps small enterprises build strong relationships with local customers. Ultimately, better relationships result in larger revenue.

About Rustic Canyon Partners

Rustic Canyon Partners is a leading West Coast-based investment firm with approximately $700 million under management. With a footprint that covers Southern California, Silicon Valley and the Pacific Northwest, Rustic Canyon focuses on investments in early stage venture capital stage positioned for strong growth. Rustic Canyon has invested in a broad array of technology-driven companies in sectors such as communications, software, IT infrastructure, business and information services, materials science and efficient energy. For more information, visit www.rusticcanyon.com.

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