Contactual: Startup's founder revives firm on verge of collapse

By Adrienne Sanders

Despite some bad experiences on Sand Hill Road, Mansour Salame recently raised $9 million from Leapfrog Ventures, one of the firms based on the fabled VC corridor.

Call it vindication. He does.

Salame, 33, founded Contactual Inc. in 2000 as White Pajama Inc. As CEO of the hosted call center management startup, he raised $40 million from well-known venture capitalists like Mayfield and Norwest Venture Partners and hired more than 110 employees.

He eventually clashed with some of the VCs on his board, particularly after sales began to slow in late 2000. Salame wanted to accept an offer to sell the company, but the VCs and his co-founder balked at the idea and ultimately forced him to resign in 2001, he said.

As the bubble burst, the company, which had many dot-com customers, began to implode. Mansour ended up buying some of its debt and later its assets for $100,000.

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