• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons

2

Ohio city workers are covering automated license plate readers with trash bags as officials sound the alarm on 'egregious violations' of privacy

3

10,000 Boomers a day, $39 trillion in debt, and no benefit cuts: Bessent stakes Social Security on the Trump economy

1

AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons

2

Ohio city workers are covering automated license plate readers with trash bags as officials sound the alarm on 'egregious violations' of privacy

3

10,000 Boomers a day, $39 trillion in debt, and no benefit cuts: Bessent stakes Social Security on the Trump economy

No more spark? Fuse Capital joins the walking dead

By
Dan Primack
Dan Primack
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Dan Primack
Dan Primack
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 29, 2010, 2:13 PM ET

Over the years, I’ve written a lot about Fuse Capital, the venture capital firm that also has gone by such names as ComVentures and Velocity Interactive Group. Much of it has been negative, as firm boss Roland Van der Meer has fired partners as if he were auditioning for the Steinbrenner role on Seinfeld. Plus, the returns have been anything but stellar.

This week, Fuse took what might be its death blow: Ross Levinsohn, a partner brought aboard in late 2007 to help right the ship, quit to run U.S. operations of Yahoo (YHOO). This comes more than a year after Jon Miller — the guy Levinsohn joined with — left to run digital media for News Corp., and at around the same time that fellow partner Mickie Rosen was named CEO of a Fuse-backed startup called Tecca.

In other words, Fuse Capital is now a formal member of the Walking Dead Club. As such, some readers have asked if I’m planning to write a grand post-mortem.

Maybe someday, but the thing about zombies is that they’ve got more spark in their step than do the typical corpses.

For Fuse, that means collecting over $8 million in fees from limited partners this year, based on legacy portfolios. That figure will decline a bit next year, but still will represent a pretty generous living for the small handful of remaining staffers.

So, for now, the real question is if those hangers-on will be allowed to continue drawing paychecks. Some Fuse investors already have begun (very) early discussions about firing the general partner, with Saints Capital among the possible replacements.

There is a good case to be made that limited partners should dump the remaining Fuse team out of spite, given its historical inability to play well with others. But, ultimately, this will come down to the following judgment: Can a replacement general partner cost less while providing similar portfolio management services – particularly for a couple of Fuse portfolio companies in India?

If so, then a deal will be struck. If not, LPs will just avert their eyes, while working to help prevent other GPs from becoming zombies.

About the Author
By Dan Primack
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

jack
PoliticsElections
A Kennedy, Kellyanne Conway’s ex-husband and a former Palantir data scientist debated AI regulation. Welcome to the Manhattan primary
By Anthony Izaguirre and The Associated PressJune 5, 2026
1 hour ago
trump
Arts & EntertainmentWhite House
Trump says Knicks owner James Dolan invited him to Game 3 of the NBA Finals and he’s going
By Collin Binkley and The Associated PressJune 5, 2026
2 hours ago
College Ave Private Student Loans review
Personal FinanceLoans
College Ave Private Student Loans review
By Joseph HostetlerJune 5, 2026
2 hours ago
Elon Musk holding a glass of wine.
BankingSpaceX
Jamie Dimon called Elon Musk the ‘Edison of our time’ as JPMorgan hosted SpaceX’s $75 billion IPO roadshow—and even invited Musk’s mom
By Tristan BoveJune 5, 2026
2 hours ago
boss
Future of WorkProductivity
AI productivity gains are real but so is bad management: ‘Leaders are really struggling to articulate what the vision and strategy is’
By Sasha RogelbergJune 5, 2026
2 hours ago
Putin is running out of money to wage war on Ukraine, and this Russian-occupied territory is running out of fuel as Kyiv smashes supply lines
EnergyRussia
Putin is running out of money to wage war on Ukraine, and this Russian-occupied territory is running out of fuel as Kyiv smashes supply lines
By Jason MaJune 5, 2026
2 hours ago

Most Popular

AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons
AI
AI CEOs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft set aside their rivalry to warn Congress AI is making it too easy to design and create bioweapons
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 5, 2026
11 hours ago
Ohio city workers are covering automated license plate readers with trash bags as officials sound the alarm on 'egregious violations' of privacy
Cybersecurity
Ohio city workers are covering automated license plate readers with trash bags as officials sound the alarm on 'egregious violations' of privacy
By Sasha RogelbergJune 3, 2026
2 days ago
10,000 Boomers a day, $39 trillion in debt, and no benefit cuts: Bessent stakes Social Security on the Trump economy
Economy
10,000 Boomers a day, $39 trillion in debt, and no benefit cuts: Bessent stakes Social Security on the Trump economy
By Nick LichtenbergJune 4, 2026
1 day ago
A single new sentence in SpaceX's amended IPO filing could signal the biggest merger in history
Startups & Venture
A single new sentence in SpaceX's amended IPO filing could signal the biggest merger in history
By Shawn TullyJune 4, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 4, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 4, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 4, 2026
1 day ago
CEO says anyone who works from home is grabbing groceries or at the vet 30% of the time—and shows off his busy office at Friday 5 p.m. to prove it
Success
CEO says anyone who works from home is grabbing groceries or at the vet 30% of the time—and shows off his busy office at Friday 5 p.m. to prove it
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 4, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.