But if success is also measured by the fun quotient, Venture Frogs is stumbling.

FORBES: Tadpoles

Venture Frogs was a backer of the search engine Ask Jeeves, which went public in July.

FORBES: Tadpoles

Hsieh, originally an adviser and investor through a concern called Venture Frogs, joined the company a year later.

NEWYORKER: Happy Feet

The public face of their San Francisco firm, Venture Frogs, is more Melrose Place than Sand Hill Road.

FORBES: Tadpoles

He then started a venture firm called Venture Frogs with college pal Alfred Lin, who's now chief financial officer of Zappos.

FORBES: Magazine Article

After its success, many other incubators, including eCompanies , eHatchery , Internet Capital Group and the funky Venture Frogs (one of their ventures was BBQ.com), sprung up.

FORBES: Magazine Article