By JOHN COOK
P-I REPORTER

Friday, April 14, 2006

ROSEN LEAVING FRAZIER TECHNOLOGY: Dan Rosen, who co-founded Frazier Technology Ventures in 2000, has left the Seattle venture capital firm in order to devote more time to early-stage startups and his new role as executive chairman of Neah Power Systems.
" Six years is a long time," said Rosen, whose last day was Wednesday. "I really like early-stage deals that are technology rich and therefore are risky."

In addition to Neah Power's board, the 56-year-old venture capitalist will remain on the boards of Clearsight Systems and eCommerce Industries. He also will continue on the board of the Alliance of Angels, the Seattle investment group that bankrolls early-stage businesses. He will no longer serve on the board of SNAPin Software, the Bellevue mobile software company that just landed $13 million.

Len Jordan, a general partner at Frazier Technology Ventures, said Rosen will be missed.

"We've had a great working relationship, and I think that will continue," Jordan said. "But his passion is in really early-stage."

The firm, an offshoot of the much bigger Frazier Healthcare Ventures, typically invests in startup companies that are close to marketing their products.

Rosen, on the other hand, said he likes to get involved at the time the companies are being formed. The former general manager of new technology at Microsoft Research said he is helping a couple of entrepreneurs get their ideas off the ground. He also has another business venture in mind that he hopes to pass on to a chief executive. And he now plans to spend about two days a week working directly with Neah Power, the Bothell micro fuel cell company that was involved in a reverse merger earlier this year.

Frazier Technology Ventures, which has raised about $145 million, does not plan to fill Rosen's position.

"We feel good about the size of the team, both for this fund and future funds," Jordan said. The firm, which is not raising a new fund, now has five investment professionals along with the insights of Frazier Healthcare founder Alan Frazier. Frazier Technology has made nine investments from its second fund, including bets on Seattle area startups such as Medio Systems, Wetpaint and Smilebox.