KaChing! KaChing!

It only makes sense to call a company a sound you like to hear. This is exactly what CEO and co-founder Andy Rachleff must have had in mind. His new company -- kaChing, of course -- is backed by Marc Andreesen (a name often associated with that sound) and Jeff Jordan, the CEO of OpenTable (NASDAQ: OPEN), two guys who usually do a solid job of backing winners. But, they've taken on a challenge by backing a company in the financial services industry.

It's hard to believe that Marc Andreessen is only 38 years old, especially in light of his awesome resume, which includes the creation of the Mosaic browser and the legendary company Netscape. While he could have easily retired years ago, he has continued to work hard. Hey, if not, it would be a waste of an amazing mind.

In fact, it seems that Andreessen has been accelerating his activities lately. For example, he setup a venture fund called Andreessen Horowitz.

It looks like Skype is going to wind up with a new owner. Internet auction company eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) owns Skype now but is said to be selling the online telephony provider to private investors.

Andreessen Horowitz, a recently formed venture capital fund with Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen at the helm, is said to be a likely participant in a transaction. Index Ventures of London and Silver Lake Partners are also rumored to be involved.

Taking a cursory look at the headlines, it seems that the venture capital (VC) business is in dire straights -- and that it will take some time for things to improve. All in all, the mood is grim.

Or is it? Perhaps this may be the ideal time for VC deals?

This appears to be the case with legendary dot-com pioneer, Marc Andreessen, who cofounded Netscape. You see, this week he has launched a $300 million VC fund. Joining him in the endeavor is another Net luminary, Ben Horowitz. Yes, the fund is called Andreessen Horowitz.

Marc Andreessen was only in his early 20s when he changed the world forever. Of course, he helped to create the Mosaic browser and was the cofounder of Netscape Communications (he even was on the front cover of Time).

No doubt, he learned some important lessons – especially during the dot-com bust. In fact, he has been able to deal with the adversity, having created such great companies as Opsware – which was sold to Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) recently for $1.6 billion.

Well, now Andreessen is going to help another tech wunderkind: Mark Zuckerberg, who is the mastermind of Facebook. That is, Andreessen will join the company's board.

While such maneuverings are often cosmetic, I think this move is more substantive. Talking to a variety of Silicon Valley VCs, there's much skepticism about Zuckerberg's capabilities. Besides, is social networking really going to be a platform that can be monetized effectively – and justify the rich valuations?

No doubt, Andreessen understands the pressures and the importance of making key strategic decisions. So all in all, this looks like a pretty savvy move for Facebook.

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.

Social networking attracts tons of traffic. But what about money?

Well, a variety of companies are working on it.

Take SocialMedia Networks. This week, the company announced that it raised $3.5 million in venture capital. The investors include Charles River Ventures and Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen.

SocialMedia is putting together an all-in-one system that monitors and analyzes traffic, provides strategies for promotions and has an ad network. All of it is provided on a self-service basis.

Yes, it's ambitious stuff. But, if SocialMedia can pull it off, the rewards should be substantial.

Visit DealProfiles to check out other recent venture fundings.

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

Compared to other social networking sites – like News Corp's(NYSE:NWS) MySpace and Facebook – Ning doesn't get much buzz. But that may change soon.

This week, the company announced that it raised about $44 million in venture capital. One of the backers of the company is Marc Andreessen, who also cofounded Netscape back in the Internet heyday.

Basically, Ning allows you to create your own social network (and it is actually a fairly easy process). So far, its users have created about 70,000 social networks.

I had a chance to interview Robb Hecht, who is an expert on social networking and operates IMC Strategy Lab Consulting.

According to him:

"In an online environment where consumers are now in control, Ning may give businesses back a little control.

"Brands developing social networks within Ning can insert their logos, branding, visual designs, branded widgets and links much more easily than the three major social networks currently allow. Of further value to businesses seeking customer data, Ning templates allow social networking administrators control over most data members provide them. And with $44 million, Ning can no push aggressively on this strategy."

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.