Novak Biddle Venture Partners

Novak Biddle Venture Partners was a private equity and venture capital firm based in Bethesda, Maryland, founded in 1997. The firm specialized in seed, startup, and early-stage investments, while also considering opportunities in later-stage companies and spinouts. It focused primarily on information technology companies located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, with particular interest in sectors such as education, security, big data analytics, and business-to-business-to-consumer markets. The firm typically made equity investments ranging from $100,000 to $10 million and aimed to exit its investments within five to seven years. Novak Biddle Venture Partners ceased operations on March 29, 2019.

A.G.W. BIDDLE, III

General Partner

Joy Binford

CFO

Simita Bose

Partner

Phil Bronner

Venture Partner

E. Novak

General Partner

Roger Novak

General Partner

Past deals in Maryland

WealthEngine

Debt Financing in 2019
WealthEngine, Inc. specializes in wealth intelligence and predictive marketing analytics, primarily serving nonprofit organizations and financial services companies. Founded in 1991 and based in Bethesda, Maryland, the company offers a range of services including its flagship platform, WealthEngine 9, which aids in predictive prospecting. The firm leverages advanced analytics to gather and analyze wealth indicators, helping marketers and fundraisers develop effective strategies for engagement and fundraising. WealthEngine also provides modeling, consulting, and training services tailored to various sectors, including financial services, healthcare, higher education, retail, and travel, in both the United States and the United Kingdom. As of December 2020, it operates as a subsidiary of Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC.

WealthEngine

Series B in 2014
WealthEngine, Inc. specializes in wealth intelligence and predictive marketing analytics, primarily serving nonprofit organizations and financial services companies. Founded in 1991 and based in Bethesda, Maryland, the company offers a range of services including its flagship platform, WealthEngine 9, which aids in predictive prospecting. The firm leverages advanced analytics to gather and analyze wealth indicators, helping marketers and fundraisers develop effective strategies for engagement and fundraising. WealthEngine also provides modeling, consulting, and training services tailored to various sectors, including financial services, healthcare, higher education, retail, and travel, in both the United States and the United Kingdom. As of December 2020, it operates as a subsidiary of Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC.

2U

Series D in 2012
2U, Inc. operates as an education technology company in the United States, Hong Kong, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. It operates in two segments, Graduate Program Segment and Short Course Segment. The Graduate Program Segment targets students seeking a full graduate degree. The Short Course Segment targets working professionals seeking career advancement through skills attainment. The company builds, delivers, and supports online graduate programs and certificates for working adults through its 2U Operating System, a platform that provides front-end and back-end cloud-based SaaS technology and technology-enabled services to university clients. The company was formerly known as 2Tor Inc. and changed its name to 2U, Inc. in October 2012. 2U, Inc. was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Lanham, Maryland.

FiberZone Networks

Series C in 2011
FiberZone Networks aims to automate complex fiber infrastructure while providing flexibility and control. FiberZone's Automatic Fiber Management system controls every aspect of fiber management, including installation, documentation, maintenance, testing, and disaster recovery. By offering this automated arrangement, FiberZone allows its customers to maintain remote access to the fiber infrastructure and to hold control over this infrastructure in a centralized location.

2U

Series C in 2011
2U, Inc. operates as an education technology company in the United States, Hong Kong, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. It operates in two segments, Graduate Program Segment and Short Course Segment. The Graduate Program Segment targets students seeking a full graduate degree. The Short Course Segment targets working professionals seeking career advancement through skills attainment. The company builds, delivers, and supports online graduate programs and certificates for working adults through its 2U Operating System, a platform that provides front-end and back-end cloud-based SaaS technology and technology-enabled services to university clients. The company was formerly known as 2Tor Inc. and changed its name to 2U, Inc. in October 2012. 2U, Inc. was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Lanham, Maryland.

GroupFlier

Seed Round in 2010
GroupFlier is an easy way to set up group texts. No matter what kind of phone or service you have, you can easily set up a texting group and share messages. The group service is free. Any messages you send, though, are subject to the regular rates of your plan.

WealthEngine

Series A in 2010
WealthEngine, Inc. specializes in wealth intelligence and predictive marketing analytics, primarily serving nonprofit organizations and financial services companies. Founded in 1991 and based in Bethesda, Maryland, the company offers a range of services including its flagship platform, WealthEngine 9, which aids in predictive prospecting. The firm leverages advanced analytics to gather and analyze wealth indicators, helping marketers and fundraisers develop effective strategies for engagement and fundraising. WealthEngine also provides modeling, consulting, and training services tailored to various sectors, including financial services, healthcare, higher education, retail, and travel, in both the United States and the United Kingdom. As of December 2020, it operates as a subsidiary of Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC.

2U

Series B in 2010
2U, Inc. operates as an education technology company in the United States, Hong Kong, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. It operates in two segments, Graduate Program Segment and Short Course Segment. The Graduate Program Segment targets students seeking a full graduate degree. The Short Course Segment targets working professionals seeking career advancement through skills attainment. The company builds, delivers, and supports online graduate programs and certificates for working adults through its 2U Operating System, a platform that provides front-end and back-end cloud-based SaaS technology and technology-enabled services to university clients. The company was formerly known as 2Tor Inc. and changed its name to 2U, Inc. in October 2012. 2U, Inc. was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Lanham, Maryland.

2U

Series A in 2009
2U, Inc. operates as an education technology company in the United States, Hong Kong, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. It operates in two segments, Graduate Program Segment and Short Course Segment. The Graduate Program Segment targets students seeking a full graduate degree. The Short Course Segment targets working professionals seeking career advancement through skills attainment. The company builds, delivers, and supports online graduate programs and certificates for working adults through its 2U Operating System, a platform that provides front-end and back-end cloud-based SaaS technology and technology-enabled services to university clients. The company was formerly known as 2Tor Inc. and changed its name to 2U, Inc. in October 2012. 2U, Inc. was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Lanham, Maryland.

Intelliworks

Series D in 2009
Intelliworks' CRM for higher education enables college admissions and enrollment professionals to make purposeful connections with students. Our web-based, software-as-a-service (SaaS) relationship management and marketing solution enhances student recruitment, enrollment management and marketing efforts. Since 2001, Intelliworks has been been trusted by leading higher education institutions around to world to enhance recruitment, enrollment and marketing outreach efforts. The Intelliworks system is an all-in-one solution for contact management, email marketing, program and course registration, event management and campaign reporting. Introduced in April 2009, Intelliworks Social Marketing connects your admissions and enrollment departments directly to students through today's most popular social networks.

Spectrum K12 School Solutions

Venture Round in 2008
Spectrum K12 School Solutions, Inc. provides response to intervention (RTI) and special education IEP software for K-12 student population in the United States. It offers Encore, a special education data management system, which provides a Web-based solution to manage the individualized learning process for various students receiving special services, including special education, 504, limited English proficiency (LEP/ESL), and pre-referral response to intervention (RTI) programs. Spectrum K12 School Solutions, Inc. was formerly known as 4GL School Solutions, Inc. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Towson, Maryland.

Intelliworks

Series C in 2008
Intelliworks' CRM for higher education enables college admissions and enrollment professionals to make purposeful connections with students. Our web-based, software-as-a-service (SaaS) relationship management and marketing solution enhances student recruitment, enrollment management and marketing efforts. Since 2001, Intelliworks has been been trusted by leading higher education institutions around to world to enhance recruitment, enrollment and marketing outreach efforts. The Intelliworks system is an all-in-one solution for contact management, email marketing, program and course registration, event management and campaign reporting. Introduced in April 2009, Intelliworks Social Marketing connects your admissions and enrollment departments directly to students through today's most popular social networks.

Spectrum K12 School Solutions

Venture Round in 2007
Spectrum K12 School Solutions, Inc. provides response to intervention (RTI) and special education IEP software for K-12 student population in the United States. It offers Encore, a special education data management system, which provides a Web-based solution to manage the individualized learning process for various students receiving special services, including special education, 504, limited English proficiency (LEP/ESL), and pre-referral response to intervention (RTI) programs. Spectrum K12 School Solutions, Inc. was formerly known as 4GL School Solutions, Inc. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Towson, Maryland.

Intelliworks

Series B in 2006
Intelliworks' CRM for higher education enables college admissions and enrollment professionals to make purposeful connections with students. Our web-based, software-as-a-service (SaaS) relationship management and marketing solution enhances student recruitment, enrollment management and marketing efforts. Since 2001, Intelliworks has been been trusted by leading higher education institutions around to world to enhance recruitment, enrollment and marketing outreach efforts. The Intelliworks system is an all-in-one solution for contact management, email marketing, program and course registration, event management and campaign reporting. Introduced in April 2009, Intelliworks Social Marketing connects your admissions and enrollment departments directly to students through today's most popular social networks.

Webs

Series A in 2006
Webs is a website creation service that lets users make fully functioning sites complete with several apps including blogs, photo albums, video galleries, calendars, and discussion forums. Users start by choosing from over 300 templates and can then add rich content and applications to their website via their WYSIWYG Sitebuilder. Small business owners can obtain custom domain names and email addresses to project a professional image. Entrepreneurs also benefit from user-friendly SEO, site statistics, and business apps like a mobile website builder. Also, if users are interested in ecommerce, Webs.com has a Web Store app that integrates with online payment tools [PayPal](http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/paypal) and Google Checkout. In 2009, Webs launched an application platform and App Store enabling third-party applications distribution in the Webs platform. Participants in the App Store include Cafe Press, DudaMobile, BookFresh, Meebo, and Etsy. Webs has also partnered with and integrated several third party applications including [Picnik](http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/picnik) for online photo editing and GetClicky for webstats. Other partners include [YouTube](http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/youtube), [Photobucket](http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/photobucket), and [iPromote](http://www.ipromote.com/). In 2010, Webs launched Facebook connect integration. More recently, Webs developed a family of products to give small businesses super easy and cost-effective ways to develop an online presence across web, mobile, and social platforms. The first addition to the Webs family of products came in October 2010 with the launch of ContactMe, a lightweight customer relationship management (CRM) tool that helps small businesses get organized and grow. In February 2011, Webs added Pagemodo, creator of a do-it-yourself Facebook page builder, to the Webs suite of solutions. Pagemodo’s Pagebuilder enables entrepreneurs to design their own custom Facebook pages for free and with ease. Webs was formerly known as Freewebs.

Netcordia

Series B in 2006
Netcordia provides network automation software for enterprise networks. First released in 2000, Netcordia's NetMRI software focuses around the automation of network configuration and change management for layer 2 and 3 network devices, with a heavy emphasis on monitoring change through timeline dashboards and meeting internal and industry compliance requirements. NetMRI compares SNMP and syslog data to a library of best practice standards to enable network engineers to catch and remediate potential issues before they cause downtime or other problems. Netcordia is headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland and is funded by Gold Hill Capital, Novak Biddle Venture Partners, and Trinity Ventures.

FiberZone Networks

Series B in 2006
FiberZone Networks aims to automate complex fiber infrastructure while providing flexibility and control. FiberZone's Automatic Fiber Management system controls every aspect of fiber management, including installation, documentation, maintenance, testing, and disaster recovery. By offering this automated arrangement, FiberZone allows its customers to maintain remote access to the fiber infrastructure and to hold control over this infrastructure in a centralized location.

Netcordia

Series A in 2005
Netcordia provides network automation software for enterprise networks. First released in 2000, Netcordia's NetMRI software focuses around the automation of network configuration and change management for layer 2 and 3 network devices, with a heavy emphasis on monitoring change through timeline dashboards and meeting internal and industry compliance requirements. NetMRI compares SNMP and syslog data to a library of best practice standards to enable network engineers to catch and remediate potential issues before they cause downtime or other problems. Netcordia is headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland and is funded by Gold Hill Capital, Novak Biddle Venture Partners, and Trinity Ventures.

Matrics

Series C in 2003
Matrics is a provider of RFID technology and visibility solutions for supply chain, asset management and security. Patented wireless tracking technologies provide users with the most reliable and cost-effective solutions to provide the comprehensive visibility of assets throughout an enterprise.

Optinel Systems

Series B in 2002
Optinel Systems' optical Ethernet transport products are designed specifically to meet the diverse needs of today’s high-bandwidth, converged services networks. Optinel's solutions enable service providers to build high-capacity fiber-optic networks capable of simultaneously transmitting video, data, and voice traffic in native formats over long distances. With the management tools necessary to ensure carrier-level reliability, Optinel’s products enable high capacity, flexible and easily scalable network solutions that easily integrate with existing hardware. Optinel’s products enable the deployment of broadcast video, video-on-demand, high-speed data, cable telephony and business services.

Zagros Networks

Series B in 2002
Zagros Networks, Inc. is a fabless semiconductor company. The company focuses on building silicon and software solutions for metro and edge communications systems. Its rate-aware switching fabrics allow network system manufacturers to create switches and routers that provide a packet infrastructure.

Matrics

Series B in 2002
Matrics is a provider of RFID technology and visibility solutions for supply chain, asset management and security. Patented wireless tracking technologies provide users with the most reliable and cost-effective solutions to provide the comprehensive visibility of assets throughout an enterprise.