This week, I had a chance to talk to Elizabeth Blair. She joined Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) in 1998 and then became the company's vice president of business operations for the global operating group. Yes, she got a great education in the online marketing space. Interestingly enough, she also has a law degree from Harvard and even practiced M&A and securities law.

Well, Blair has leveraged her experience into an upstart venture: Brand.net. The company recently raised a $10 million Series B round. The investors include: Norwest Venture Partners and InterWest Partners.

Essentially, Brand.net is an online advertising network focusing on major customers. The platform is more than just some technology, though, as Brand.net has assembled a top-notch team of brand experts.

Of course, as seen with companies like Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), the search-based ad business has become a huge profit machine. But this is only one part of the advertising game. Of course, branding is a huge market in the ad market, so why can't it be the same for the online world?

Certain issues still need to be worked out, such as dealing with user-generated content or finding ways to measure performance. No doubt, these are tough problems. But , if companies like Brand.net can find some creative solutions, it should open up another big growth opportunity in the online world.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.