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In the social media era, even VCs need personal brands

Nobody wants to admit it, but building a personal brand is essential if you want to thrive in a business world dominated by social media. This is especially true for entrepreneurs and even venture capitalists who have only recently stepped out from the shadows and into the spotlight.

I became intrigued by the rising role of personal branding in the VC world by a New York Times article last week that discussed how more VC firms are hiring PR specialists to help brand their firms.

Here's a quick excerpt from that article:

"Now, Sand Hill Road in Silicon … Read more

Reid Hoffman joins board, invests $5M in Wrapp

Wrapp, a Stockholm-based startup that lets you send gift cards to friends on Facebook, today announced that LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman has joined its board.

This comes as Wrapp said that it has raised $5 million from Greylock Partners, where Hoffman is a partner.

Wrapp was founded early last year by a team that includes the former CTO of Spotify and the founder of Rebtel, the world's largest independent VoIP company. In September, it launched as a mobile app in Sweden, where it it soon became the top social app.

Wrapp is working with more than 25 top merchants … Read more

Grockit gets $7M to keep boosting SAT scores

Social learning startup Grockit has raised an additional $7 million in venture funding to expand its online test-preparation services.

Although not related to the funding, Grockit also recently launched a new service called Grockit Answers that can turn any YouTube video into a Q&A session. (Here's a company-supplied example on the credit crisis.)

Grockit's tools draw on social networking and online gaming to personalize learning outside of the classroom--ideally, to help students conquer their academic weaknesses and ace test preparation. The company's tag line is "Test Prep Made Fun." Grockit claims one million … Read more

Mozilla CEO John Lilly to step down and head to Greylock

AllThingsD

According to several sources, John Lilly, the well-regarded CEO of Mozilla, is preparing to give up his post at the open-source software nonprofit foundation, which is also a for-profit start-up.

[Update: Lilly confirmed the move in an e-mail to Mozilla employees, which you can read below in its entirety.]

Lilly (pictured here) is moving to Greylock Partners as a venture partner, sources added, although the affable entrepreneur could eventually end up doing a start-up.

Lilly became CEO of Mozilla in early 2008, after serving as its COO. He took over from Mitchell Baker, who remained the company's chairman.

Sources … Read more