Tomio Geron

Two funding deals and an acquisition recently involving financial information sites show there’s plenty of interest in sites that provide content about money in a fresh, compelling way.

Recent entrant StockTwits raised a $3 million Series B led by Foundry Group with participation from existing investor True Ventures. Meanwhile, Seeking Alpha Ltd. raised $7 million in Series B financing led by DAG Ventures with participation from Benchmark Capital, which provided undisclosed funding in 2006, and Accel Partners.

Also this week, Thomson Reuters Corp. (TRI) closed its acquisition of financial commentary site Breakingviews. It didn’t disclose the financial terms of the …

For fast-growing technology start-ups, there are many approaches to employee hiring and retention.

Two of the more successful Internet start-ups, Facebook Inc. and Zappos Inc., have very different methods, each with different goals: Facebook wants to hire entrepreneurs even if that means they will eventually leave, while Zappos wants to hire the best people to fit its culture and figure out how to keep them.

It all started with a “stupid” idea and a message about pinot noir.

Two of the founders of Twitter Inc., Evan Williams and Biz Stone, talked about how the micro-blogging service began, the challenges it faced and an eventual potential IPO, at Startup School, an event organized by Y Combinator held at the University of California-Berkeley on Saturday.

While many venture firms have dialed back their investments amid a punishing economy, Sequoia Capital has made about 20 seed or Series A investments in the past 12 months, more than in the prior two years.

What Zappos.com did for shoes, Diapers.com is seeking to do for all manner of baby products.

Red Bank, N.J.-based Diapers.com, which just raised $30 million in funding from several venture firms, is known for its over-the-top focus on customer service.

Benchmark Capital can’t get enough of Michael Wolfe.

After two big hits for Benchmark, the serial entrepreneur is back at the firm for his second stint as an entrepreneur-in-residence to start up a new company.

Corporate investors and acquirers are showing more interest in potential deals after a difficult economic downturn, but start-ups can improve their chances of a favorable exit by taking some steps of their own.

Nokia Corp. faces fierce competition from Apple Inc.’s iPhone and Google’s Android operating system, but the Finland-based mobile phone giant is competing through investing in start-ups and acquiring key technology, a company executive said.

As an experienced tech entrepreneur and angel investor, Rizwan Virk was happy to see a solid return on one of his recent investments after just one year.

But the exit didn’t come from a software start-up or social media company finding a corporate acquirer. Instead, Virk’s quick payoff came from an independent film.

A proposal that would exempt the venture capital industry from strict regulations including requiring firms to register as investment advisers with the Securities and Exchange Commission drew cheers Thursday from the National Venture Capital Association, which has been fighting increased regulation.