Momentum Venture Management, LLC

Great ideas don't get funded. Great business do.

"The team from MVM helped me transform Academy123 from a nascent technology to a well-funded, significant business in 9 months."
Maury Friedman,
Chairman & Founder,
Academy 123


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Stuart MacFarlane - Managing Director
 Stuart brings more than 10 years of consumer internet and new media experience to Momentum Venture Management, with a strong track record of launching popular online destinations. He joined Momentum in 2007 after serving as CEO of Insider Pages, a search engine backed by Sequoia Capital, Softbank Capital and Idealab. Stuart quickly built Insider Pages into a leading user generated content site before it was sold to Citysearch in 2007. Previously he was VP of New Ventures at Idealab, where he advised portfolio companies in business development, fundraising and new product development. Prior to joining Idealab, Stuart was Managing Director of Digital Media Services at Loudeye Technologies, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at MXG Media, and was also a consultant at Bain & Company. He started his career working for SmithKline Beecham for five years. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor's Degree from Cornell University.

Stuart's accomplishments include:

  • As founder of Insider Pages, Stuart designed a popular social networking site for parents, homeowners and local community groups. Through his product management and marketing efforts, the company recruited and cultivated a strong national member community that contributed more than 600,000 detailed local business reviews and generated over two million unique visits per month.
  • At Insider Pages, Stuart raised $9.5 million in two rounds of funding from major VC firms and negotiated major partnerships with Google, Yahoo and Infospace.
  • Stuart has recruited many skilled executives in his career. Most recently at Insider Pages he assembled a top-notch senior management team from eBay, Yahoo, NBC and Citysearch.
  • At Idealab he headed the group responsible for managing the new investment process including due diligence, deal negotiations, valuation analysis, and investment recommendations to the board of directors. He also worked extensively with companies in wireless communications, medical devices, robotics, renewable energy, and online search.
  • Stuart co-founded and raised over $30 million for MXG Media led by USA Networks and Urban Outfitters. While at MXG Media, Stuart launched the popular MoxieGirl teen magazine, MXGonline ecommerce site, and the MXG Video Countdown and X-Girls television series.
  • Stuart grew MXG’s magazine property, MoxieGirl, to over 500,000 subscribers and helped establish MXGonline as a premiere shopping site for young women. Stuart also built and managed all operations including magazine layout and design, circulation, merchandising and planning, call center and fulfillment center operations, and e-commerce.