Bartleby Ventures Values Vrooom Marketing

Bartleby Venture Partners LLP in suburban Chicago, a boutique firm with venture capital and investment banking capabilities, focusing on "growth stage" companies, was approached with the opportunity to invest in Vrooom Marketing, an information technology-based marketing firm targeting automobile repair shops. Vrooom had built a modest media network by installing flat screen TVs in automotive repair shop waiting areas, where commercial advertisements and content, such as car maintenance and safety tips, were broadcast in a continuous loop from a remote location through ISDN-based internet connections. 

By early 2008, more than 400 muffler and brake shops, car parts stores and other repair facilities used Vrooom's system, but Vrooom executives sought more capital to sign additional retailers and grow the media network. Bartleby managing partner and co-founder Theodore K. Cooke surprised himself with his own interest in the project and potential investment, since typically the firm rejected about 90 percent of the referrals received. Vrooom seemed unlikely to generate the 40 percent annualized return Bartleby set as a threshold. Bartleby needed to determine the overall value of Vrooom and accurately assess the marketing company's growth prospects before committing to any investment amount. Cooke reviews "management case" and "Bartleby case" financials, as well as a prospective capitalization table to support his recommendation to the investment committee.