Amelio Advising Newport Beach Startup Net Toaster
By ANDREW SIMONS
Gil Amelio, one of Orange County’s newest venture capitalists, has taken an office in Newport Beach startup Net Toaster Network Corp.
Net Toaster is developing gear that can quickly link an office, according to the company’s Web site. The company apparently uses a graphical user interface, similar to Windows, which makes it possible to set up a network without reading an instruction manual, the company says.
Amelio,a former Rockwell Inter-national Corp. executive who probably is best known as the former Apple Computer Inc. chief ousted by founder Steve Jobs,declined to comment for this story. So did Net Toaster officials. Sources said Amelio is advising the company.
Amelio apparently is working with the company in his own time. Though he recently opened a Southern California office for Bay area venture capital firm Sienna Ventures, that firm hasn’t made an investment in Net Toaster. Amelio’s contract with Sienna only has him working part-time with the firm, sources familiar with the matter say.
Sienna, which manages about $125 million in assets, has invested in companies such as Redwood City-based OpenWave Systems Inc., formerly Phone.com, Irvine-based Autobytel Inc. and Norwalk, Conn.-based Priceline.com Inc.
Amelio has demonstrated a penchant for networking gear. Sienna led a $7 million funding round for Newport Beach-based Newport Opticom, a fiber-optic startup, in July in a deal negotiated by Amelio. The round also included money from the Irvine office of Investar Capital Inc. and others.
“Our sense of this is that there are burgeoning deals in (Southern California). We’re looking at being in disruptive technologies,” said Amelio in an earlier interview. Nearly 80% of Sienna’s funds are in communications and 20% in other technologies such as Internet security.
But Amelio, who has his share of local detractors, has remained in stealth mode since coming to OC. A year ago, he planned to sell Beneventure Capital, a San Francisco venture firm he founded, in a deal with Irvine-based Advanced Communications Technologies.
He also signed a letter of intent to take over Advanced Communications as the chief executive. But negotiations with Advanced Communications soured and Amelio pulled out of his dealings with the company. Amelio, along with Beneven-ture, later joined Sienna.
Amelio advised another OC company, Newport Beach-based ThemeWare, about two years ago. The company had developed a product called an Internet Toolbox that allowed users to develop Web pages quickly. The company had hired Amelio as the chief executive, but dealings between ThemeWare’s founders and Amelio soured. ThemeWare closed its doors last year.
Still, mentoring companies has interested Amelio since his days at Apple.
“I am really more interested in venture capital,” Amelio said. “I am interested in doing more hands-on work, nurturing, mentoring and guiding young companies.”
