InfoSpace can't get no respect

When InfoSpace CEO Jim Voelker had an opportunity to speak to a roomful of Wall Street analysts Thursday, he took the moment to bend their ears about — what else? — how his Bellevue company is undervalued.

The event was the "Guess the Dow" luncheon hosted by the Metropolitan Grill. The analysts gathered to eat good steak and set predictions for the upcoming year, including the Dow Jones industrial average at year's end; which local stocks will perform well; and rates of 10-year Treasury bonds. This year, the analysts were also asked to predict whether the Seahawks would go to the Super Bowl.

Voelker, chosen for the main presentation, spoke for about an hour, but zeroed in on the one thing analysts could conceivably help him with. He said his mobile-content and search-technology company is not getting the credit it deserves.

"We are trading around $24 and we have $11.67 a share in cash. I would say there's not very much recognition for our business right now," he said.

Needless to say, none of the eight analysts chose InfoSpace's stock as a potential winner in 2006. Redmond-based ADIC received a couple of votes, along with Seattle-based Dendreon.

Who knows? Seven of the eight analysts predicted the Seahawks will make it to the Super Bowl.

Operating system a go

What does one Microsoft employee say to another when riding the monorail in Las Vegas?

In town for the Consumer Electronics Show, the two were overheard last week discussing the rail design as a second train approached on the other track.

"So, they have tracks that are actually far enough apart for the cars to pass each other?" one said.

"We'll see how it works on the curve," the other said.

No word on whether it was the track design or operators responsible for the successful pass.

For sale; now hiring

Seattle-based Redfin, which maps homes for sale on aerial photographs online, plans to announce today that it has hired two executives and raised venture capital.

Glenn Kelman will take over for founder David Eraker, who will be in charge of business development and product strategy. Brian Marsh, a former Amazon.com exec, is joining as chief technology officer.

Kelman, a Seattle native, said that after co-founding Plumtree Software and taking it public, he decided to move back to Seattle from the Bay Area. When looking for a home, he used Redfin.com.

The same month, a venture capitalist asked him if he was familiar with the company and whether he'd be interested in working there.

The company has raised $1.25 million from Madrona Venture Group and angel investors.

Kelman said he expects Redfin to expand in the Bay Area by June. "There's a race, and we got to get out there," he said.