Mission and History

In 2003, the venture capital scene was a desert with Dot com skeletons strewn about. Like a cactus holding on to scarce moisture, the only firms raising funds were those already able to sustain themselves. An entrepreneur with little more than an idea to share with VCs stood the same chance of attracting investment as a snowman in Death Valley. Yet Jigsaw Co-founder and CEO, Jim Fowler had an idea so compelling, the VCs pumped $750,000 into his fledgling startup.

A Modern Solution to a Classic Problem

Jim, angel investor Rick Magnuson, and El Dorado Ventures' Tom Peterson saw Jigsaw as the Web 2.0 solution to a vexing, age-old problem - how to win back that 1/3 of a salesperson's time spent calling and crawling in search of the right person with whom to open a dialog.

The problem was so bad that when he was VP of Sales at NetGravity, Jim recalls ordering one of his salespeople, nicknamed "Tark," to spend his next 80 hours doing nothing but setup an appointment with the appropriate person at a high priority prospect.

Just to cope, Tark would trade horror stories with his peers over lunch. If he got lucky, someone else in his circle would already have made inroads at the firm he was targeting. Lead-swapping to the rescue.

Inspired by Wikipedia

Years of fighting the problem prompted Jim to find a way to formalize lead-swapping. He saw how Wikipedia, at first dismissed by Encyclopedia Brittanica as inconsequential, later came to dominate its closed, proprietary rival. Jim wished to emulate this successful play.

Still, there were cultural issues. The ".org mentality" of Wikipedia uses noble ideals and recognition to motivate its contributors. This contrasts sharply with the self-interest that drives salespeople.

Cross-pollinated with eBay

When he realized he could temper the Wikipedia model with eBay, Jim had his "a-ha moment." eBay tore down barriers. Small town merchants could now sell to buyers the world over. Likewise, Jigsaw would empower sales reps to trade contacts globally. Better still, they'd bypass the physical realm entirely. Jigsaw would be a paean to the power of openness, transparency, and free markets.

The "Open Many" Trumps the "Closed Few"

Harnessing the masses, Jigsaw has amassed a database of contacts broader and deeper than any found in a closed system like that of Hoovers. Knowing they can find hard-to-reach directors and managers who are the primary influencers of so many deals motivates them to add even more contacts.

Also, a system of rewards and penalties keeps Jigsaw a self-correcting system. The result is today's most accurate and complete business contacts offering. Once again, the power of the "open many" trumps the entrenched "closed few."

JIGSAW TIMELINE