Venture-capital report: Entrepreneurs find a new way to cash in

In the startup world, when companies mature, they go to the public markets to fund growth and allow investors and employees to reap the financial rewards of their work.

WhitePages.com took a different route recently to reach the same goals.

The Seattle company, which provides residential phone listings online, had been profitable since it was formed five years ago. It didn’t need capital, but it still made sense to compensate those who had contributed to the company’s early days, said Max Bardon, WhitePages.com’s president and chief executive.

So it sold stock to private investors eager for a piece of the company. But unlike venture-capital deals, in which investors buy stock in a company, a couple of private-equity companies bought stock directly from WhitePages.com shareholders.

By Tricia Duryee

Seattle Times technology reporte

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