It was venture backed by Flatiron Partners, TechFund, and idealab!

Fred Wilson, formerly of Flatiron Partners, has already raised $125 million for a new firm called Union Square Ventures.

The $30 million round of investments, led by Flatiron Partners, was announced in January.

Flatiron Partners declined to discuss its plans.

"We were among the first to carve out a space in the area," said Seth Goldstein of Flatiron Partners.

In 2000, I spent some time working with friends at Flatiron Partners, one of the biggest Internet venture firms on the East Coast.

With his partner, Fred Wilson, Jerry launched Flatiron Partners in August 1996.

The first step, in January 2000, was to take on an outside loan of $30 million from sources that included Flatiron Partners and Pearson.

"This is a very important trend," Jerry Colonna, co-founder of Flatiron Partners, said of the quest for investment information on line.

Flatiron Partners, Softbank and Oak Investment Partners also put money into the company.