For the past few weeks we've been informally chatting with VC folks--in the relationship building phase one could say. All told, we've presented to or spoken with 29 firms through SEVC, the AeA Venture Forum and our existing network.

What we're truly looking for is a partner firm with deep experience in the Web 2.0/SaaS/Community Space. The money is really secondary.

To try and turn the process on its head a bit, I've done some research tonight looking at the companies I most respect within the Web 2.0 space and seeing who funded them. The thinking being once I figured that out, we'd know who could be most valuable to us as a partner.

Here are the companies I looked in to and the firms that funded them (note: this is an incomplete list and was compiled quickly using public sources)...

1. Six Apart – Focus Ventures, Intel Capital, August Capital, Neoteny
2. FeedBurner – Mobius, Union Square, Portage, Sutter Hill, DFJ
3. MySpace – Redpoint, Vantage Point
4. Facebook – Greylock, Accel
5. Google - Sequoia Capital and KPCB
6. YouTube – Sequoia
7. Technorati – Mobius, DFJ
8. Digg – Greylock, Marc Andreessen, Omidyar Network
9. LinkedIn – Greylock, Bessemer, Sequoia
10. Yelp – Bessemer, Benchmark
11. Delicious: Union Square Ventures
12. Friendster – KPCB, DAG Ventures, Benchmark
13. Bebo - Benchmark
14. NewsGator – Mobius, Masthead
15. Adbrite - Sequoia
16. Netvibes - Accel
17. FreeWebs - Novak Biddle, Columbia Capital
18. TellMe - KPCB, Benchmark

I also had a few companies on my list I wasn't able to find investor information for easily: Hi5, Xanga, Netvibes, and Bloglines

There were 23 total venture firms who invested in these 18 companies. The firms which have multiple investments in the companies on the list were:

And the firms with one investment in a company on the list were:

• August Capital
• Columbia Capital
• DAG Ventures
• Focus Ventures
• Intel Capital
• Masthead
• Neoteny
• Novak Biddle
• Omidyar Network
• Portage
• Redpoint
• Sutter Hill
• Vantage Point