Sunday, September 16, 2012

The Return of Facebook's Winklevoss Twins




The Winklevoss twins lost the biggest social-network showdown ever when their rival, Mark Zuckerberg, walked away with Facebook. Now, according to a WSJ report,  they are trying again—with a social network for professional investors.
Flush with at least $65 million from the settlement of a legal battle with Mr. Zuckerberg and Facebook Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss are backing fellow Harvard alumnus Divya Narendra, their ally in the Facebook fight, in the investment website. The Winklevosses have put $1 million into SumZero, which was founded by Mr. Narendra and another Harvard alum Aalap Mahadevia, in 2008.

SumZero.com has parallels with the first versions of Facebook. For one, Mr. Narendra believes the key to ensuring high-quality ideas was exclusivity. The site allows investors to become members only if they work on the "buy side." SumZero defines that group as investment professionals at hedge funds, mutual funds, and private-equity firms. Analysts from the "sell side" such as Wall Street banks aren't allowed.

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