Silicon Valley insiders are taking advantage of soaring values for technology startups by creating a potentially lucrative side business.
Venture-capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz and FirstMark Capital, along with a cast of prominent entrepreneurs and executives, have each raised tens of millions of dollars for impromptu funds that take a direct stake in a single startup.
Image: Pinterest has raised more than $1 billion, much of that through special funds called SPVs, since 2010. Above, Pinterest headquarters in San Francisco. PHOTO: RAMIN RAHIMIAN FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
