Issue date: September 22, 1999

BUSINESS BRIEFS BUSINESS BRIEFS (September 22, 1999)

Woodside's Tom Kippola is co-author of a revised edition of a book on high-tech investing, "The Gorilla Game: Picking Winners in High Technology," published by HarperBusiness. The updated version addresses Internet stock valuations. The other authors are market strategist Geoffrey Moore and investment analyst Paul Johnson. Mr. Kippola is a consultant to start-up and established businesses, with an emphasis on customer relations.

Bob and Katie Hanson recently opened their third consignment store in Menlo Park, named Afterwards Home. Located at 1153 El Camino Real, it sells home consignment furnishings. Items range from antique to contemporary, and include "amoires to artwork, chairs to china, lamps to linens, and silverware to sofas," says Bob Hanson. Store hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For information, call 324-2377.

Stephen Miller, who owns a rug gallery on Santa Cruz Avenue in Menlo Park, has opened a new showroom of rugs, pillows, furniture and artifacts at 840 Warrington Ave. in Redwood City. For information, call 363-8858.

Women in Business will meet for breakfast at the Stanford Park Hotel in Menlo Park on Wednesday, October 20, and hear a talk on how foods relate to moods. For information, call the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce at 325-2818.

Homes.com, a Menlo Park-based online real estate company, has found a new home of its own -- in Atlanta. Under terms of a merger with RealEstate.com, the two companies will operate under the RealEstate.com name and be headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Homes.com president and CEO Robert E. Prince will become president of the merged company, while Alan F. Daniels, chairman and CEO of RealEstate.com, will continue in those capacities after the companies are merged.

Established in 1992, the Homes.com Web site includes property listings, mortgages, and relocation assistance as a "one-stop-shop" for people planning to buy a home. The company has offices in Illinois, Michigan, Virginia, Florida, and other California locations, as well as its Menlo Park headquarters.

Tom Hutton, president and CEO of Risk Management Solutions Inc., a Menlo Park company that develops risk simulation models for the insurance industry, said he will step down at the end of the year to pursue venture capital activities. Mr. Hutton, who joined RMS as CEO in 1991, will continue on the board of directors. RMS has retained a search firm to help find a successor.

David Bowden, a former sales and marketing executive at Warner Lambert, has been named executive vice president, sales and marketing for docSPACE Co., a Menlo Park provider of Web-based file delivery, storage and collaboration services.

Advoco.com, a Menlo Park-based Web site for expert advice and services, reports that @Ventures, the venture capital arm of CMGI, is participating in a $4 million initial round of funding for the company. "Advoco.com makes it possible for individuals to locate and negotiate directly with financial advisers, business management consultants, fitness trainers, career counselors, you name it," said Mark Benning, founder and president. "We've built a service distribution hub where people can view a range of expert credentials, select an adviser, negotiate fees, get the advice they're seeking, and pay for services."

Nigel Johnson, vice president of partner marketing for Entrust Technologies Inc., a maker of sotware for secure transactions on the Internet, has moved to the firm's Menlo Park office to expand the company's relationships with software and hardware partners in Silicon Valley.

Alex Lapidus has been named vice president of marketing for ebates.com, which enables Internet shoppers to get rebates. Launched in May, ebates.com was founded by Paul Wasserman and Alessandro Isolani, both former deputy district attorneys in San Mateo County. Based in San Francisco, ebates.com is funded by Foundation Capital of Menlo Park.

StrataSource Inc., a Menlo Park company that provides database and system administration services for companies and organizations, has named Michael Schaeman vice president of sales and business development. He is a former sales executive with the Gartner Group analyst firm in San Jose.

Homestead Technologies of Menlo Park recently announced an agreement with Juno Online Services that enables Juno's subscribers to build Web pages for free using Homestead's Web publishing platform.

Scott Eagle of Menlo Park has joined Gator.com as vice president of marketing. Gator.com is a privately held company based in San Mateo that makes an online "companion" to help Internet users fill out forms and remembers passwords at virtually any Web site. He is a former vice president of marketing at Concentric Network Corp.

Jeffrey M. Tedesco of Portola Valley has been named vice president of sales for Andromedia Inc., a San Francisco-based supplier of marketing software for e-commerce. He has 19 years of management and marketing experience with computer firms, including IBM and Convergent Technologies.

Leigh Metzler, of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in Menlo Park, is certified as a divorce planner by the Institute for Certified Divorce Planners, following an educational program to provide financial information and assistance to people in divorce.