Monday, September 22, 2008

Dace, Allen cast $2.6M ballot for CityVoter.com

CityVoter Inc., operator of websites that allows people who know a city to share their knowledge and help others make every-day decisions, has closed a $2.6 million round of venture capital funding from Allen & Co. LLC and Dace Ventures LP.

As part of the Series B financing, CityVoter.com also appointed three people to its advisory board: Curt Viebranz, former CEO of Tacoda, Bradley Wechsler, co-CEO of IMAX, and media investor Vivi Nevo. The company also named as vice president of sales Chris MacDonald, previously general manager for cable television advertising company Viamedia in New England.

Cambridge-based CityVoter.com features business profiles and user-created guides, contests and recommendations on more than 55 cities. Dace Ventures was founded in 2006 with a $70 million fund. The three-partner firm was founded by David Andonian, the former president and COO of CMGI Inc.

Dace invests $3 million to $5 million in East Coast, early-stage Internet companies. The firm plans to make 12 to 15 investments from its first fund, Andonian has said. Investments include LocaModa Inc. of Somerville; auctionPAL LLC of Waltham; Panraven Inc. of Cambridge; and Atlanta-based Vitrue Inc.

Dace investors include former Pod Venture Partners principal Jon Chait, based in Waltham, and Doug Chertok, who is also the CEO of Modstream Inc., a New York-based retailer advertising company. Allen & Co. is a New York-based investment bank.