NewsGator rakes in VC money, Bloglines stays cool

Social software is hot, but it’s getting hotter.

This just in: NewsGator, the Denver-based online news service which allows people to choose topics of interest and then receive instant updates from blogs and other news organizations, says it raised an undisclosed amount of venture money in a second round.

NewsGator’s first round, in June, was led by Brad Feld, a partner at Mobius Venture Capital who is based in Colorado. Feld is so enamored of the company that he’s hording it to himself, and is the sole investor in the second round. He told the Denver Post that the total amount invested is less than $10 million.

You’d think that would put pressure on Bloglines, the Silicon Valley competitor that hasn’t raised VC money yet. We just checked in with Bloglines’ CEO, Mark Fletcher, but he sounds relaxed: “We don’t feel any pressure to take VC funding just because another company is doing so. We’ve had plenty of great offers, but we’re following our own timeline.”

“All of our competitors have different roots — some have pretty humble beginnings and must take funding early to build out their infrastructure and add features,” Fletcher continued. “We’re in a position where we have resources at our disposal, and my team has been through this start-up gauntlet before and knows how to run lean. We have the lead in the market, we have room to run, and we’ll take on partners when the timing is right for us.”

Chuckle. It’s that sort of calm, confident response — together with Fletcher’s proven record at eGroups — that drive VCs wild. Sand Hill Road’s venture firms will probably be banging down Fletcher’s door before the end of the day.

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