Every now and then, you see a company get acquired for an absurd amount of money and wonder why. In this case, we know very little, but let me frame something.
According to the WSJ, vark was founded in late 2007 by two former Google employees and raised $7.5 million in venture capital. The company has about 90,000 subscribers (think MRIS, MRED and MLSListings).
It lets users create their networks by importing contacts from their email accounts and social profiles like facebook. It says its search engine considers people’s profiles, connections, people’s favorite things and location when matching questions with respondents. The company generates revenue by charging some users to serve as specialists (REALTORS) in particular fields and provide “sponsored answers” It also takes a cut on transactions recommended by and acted on through its services.
Rumor is that Google may have given them $50 Million for their efforts.
