Month: September 2011

Here’s a roundup of some of the recent seed-stage and angel deals from around the world: 

• Fitsistant, a personalized physical fitness software and service company, has recently completed its seed funding round
• Independa, which operates a service to help family and professional caregivers monitor loved ones, has raised $1.6M in a seed funding round
• FirstFuel Software, a developer of software for commercial building managers to achieve energy efficiency, raises $2.4m of venture capital
• E-learning company Sparsha has received an undisclosed sum in seed funding from venture capital firms Blume Ventures and Tempus Capital
• Thinkspeed, a leading crowd sourced market research platform for the IT industry, has received seed funding from Virgo Capital
• Bobber Interactive, a startup looking to gamify youth finances, has closed $1.4 million in Series A venture capital funding
• Piictu grabs $750,000 in seed funding led by SoftBank Capital, RRE Ventures, and Betaworks to grow its game-ified photo sharing app
• Endomondo, which enables users to automatically track their sports data & monitor performance over time, has raised $2.3m from SEED Capital
• Bangalore-based online social learning start-up Eduora Technologies has received an undisclosed sum from Seeders Venture Capital
• Chinese e-commerce company Hui She Shang (The Luxury Club) has completed its seed round financing by Parkview Ventures and Mousse Partners
• PowerInbox, which is hoping to create the future of email by bringing social & gaming apps inside email messages, raises $1.6m new funding
• BodyShopBids, developers of a free online service to get auto repair estimates from local body shops, has closed seed funding
• HomeSav, an online shopping club featuring designer furniture, home décor & family related products, has closed $1.2 million angel funding
• Wikets, a young social commerce startup, has raised $1.5m seed funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures and six angel investors
• CustomMade, which runs an online marketplace for craftsmen to take orders for custom made products, has landed $2 million

To get regular updates, come follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/angel__network.

Have you managed to raise capital for your company?  We always love to hear from entrepreneurs who manage to get funded.

Ever wondered why someone is leaving your website?  These are 8 common reasons why this is happening. I would certainly could not agree more, however, if i had to rank in terms of importance i would set as ” Boring Content ” being the first reason web users abandon a website. Why should i waste my time on a website that has irrelevant to my taste content or does not help me learn anything new?

Internet is all about photos and sexy web design (at least nowadays) however, great content is irreplaceable. Do not fall into the great design and first impression trap, it is impossible to create a loyal customer or user base solely on design and graphics, unless, you offer them for free to everyone. Craigslist is probably the ugliest web site on earth (at least one of the ugliest ) but the most successful classifieds services available. The reason? Because people find exactly what they want.

 

Angel Investment News
• 50+ VC firms and tech Co’s are being booted from Pier 38 in San Francisco by the city. : https://bit.ly/r3cNJf.
• Infographic: How Educated Are Successful Entrepreneurs?https://ow.ly/6tUHF
• Faster, Faster! Venture Capital’s Rush to Seed Investing https://ow.ly/6tTLc
Business Plans & Pitching
• Entrepreneurs step up to the challenge: The winners of the Dragons’ Den style contest – which involved pitching …https://bit.ly/nC4gcG
• Rant about business plans: Dont Make My Eyes Bleed[pdf]https://bit.ly/nfR2Aw
• Business plans vs. broccoli. Relax, they’re both good for you!https://ow.ly/6vNo3
Fund Raising
• Start-up Advice, Fund-raising, and Affiliate Nexus Tax https://ow.ly/6y5NH
• Red Robot Labs Receives $8,500,000 Series A Funding https://bit.ly/oPXZoB
• $1.1M in series A funding for@gShiftlabs (client) Watch the founders share their experiencehttps://awe.sm/5Tgil
• Wattpad raises $3.5 million in Series A funding roundhttps://ow.ly/6ssLB
• Would you turn down a $100M buyout? https://ow.ly/6uXcX
Marketing & Social Media
• How Real Time Social Media Marketing Is Changing PR and Advertising https://bit.ly/aSiE6Q
• Marketers: Don’t be creepy with social media: Sites like Twitter and LinkedIn are invaluable marketing tools, be… https://bit.ly/pX11uh
• Social Media Marketing is hot and Social Media ROI seems to become an important topic. This infographic … xing.com/r/Rn0Fr
Start-Up & Entrepreneurship
• Can entrepreneurship be taught? The five key character traits to be successful as an entrepreneur.https://bit.ly/qOg218
• The less than glamorous first phase of https://bit.ly/otolbc
• Nail it, the scale it! The new startup model https://onforb.es/n5lOU7
• Passion,supportive education&committed incubator services:key ingredients 4 successful entrepreneurship https://ow.ly/6y0iW
• 10 Tips To Improve Family Office Investing https://ow.ly/6uXrJ

 

Angel Investment News

• Angel Investment Network Sees Increased Funding this Qtr goo.gl/SD6TJ
• Inc. 500: Check out the top 10 female entrepreneurs:https://ow.ly/6mROg

Business Plans & Pitching

• Calling all Entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists, Idea makers: What’s Your Pitch for CNNMoney? https://cnnmon.ie/p0dRKM

Fund Raising

• “What Bad Economy? Three Big Silicon Valley VCs Poised to Haul in $2B in New FundRaising.” – https://dthin.gs/o2W9nF
• Why Entrepreneurs Should Never Meet VC’s Unless They’re Formally Pitching – https://perfor.ms/q0U8yI

Marketing & Social Media

• A great free tool for all social entrepreneurs – “Social Investment Manual” final version – https://wef.ch/SIM11

Start-Up & Entrepreneurship

• President @BarackObama laid out the American Jobs Act, but what does it mean for small business owners and entrepreneurs?https://ow.ly/6pYRd
• “Entrepreneurs hold the key to a bright economic future.” https://ar.gy/aDb
• Scott Gerber talks about the 10 things he learned from failing. https://ow.ly/6oVvY
• Interesting research based on Linkedin Profiles: 10 Best Business Schools For Aspiring Entrepreneurs https://goo.gl/U0bok

 

To stay updated, come follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/angel__network or visit our blog at https://www.angelinvestmentnetwork.net.

Read anything interesting? Feel free to add links to any articles or resources you’d like to share with the angel community.

 

Here’s a roundup of some of the recent seed-stage and angel deals from around the world: 

• Business angels are pumping £550,000 seed funding into MiiCard, a software firm that is developing a “digital passport” for online shopping.
• Ortho-tag, who is looking to electronically tag surgical implants, has closed on $1.6 million from six different angel investors
• Goodsie, which lets anyone create a custom online storefront, has closed a $3 million round of funding from angel investors
• Aver Informatics, a start-up that has created software to help insurers spot errors in medical claims, has raised $1.3 in angel capital
• RobotDough Software, who provides a portfolio of online screening, research, and analysis tools to investors, has closed seed funding
• AppSumo, a daily deals site focused on web applications and other technology related offerings, lands angel funding from Andrew Chen
• Honest Discounts, who aims to cut prescription costs down, has received an investment of $375,000 from Angel investors
• Discovery Bay Games, known for board games such as Saturday Night Live: The Game and Call-it!, has completed a round of angel funding
• Topicmarks, a web service that helps information workers summarize heaps of cloud documents around their own interests, closed seed funding
• Wibbitz, a new service that functions as sort of a “play button” for the Web, has just raised a seed round of approximately half a million
• AppFirst, the next generation application problem resolution system, has landed $4 million Series A funding
• Lanyrd, a social conference directory, has raised $1.4 million seed funding from Index Ventures Seed, PROfounders & some high profile angels
• Los Angeles-based Chill, the online video discussion website headed by Brian Norgard, has raised $1.5M in angel funding
• Locu, a data-focused startup founded by MIT graduates & computer science researchers, closes over $600,000 seed funding from angel investors
• Daily Deals for Moms, a social couponing site for moms & families looking for and sharing deals, lands angel funding from Victor Lazzaro Jr
• Affinity China, a New York & Shanghai private loyalty, reward & lifestyle network for Chinese traveling overseas, closes $600k seed funding

To get regular updates, come follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/angel__network.

Have you managed to raise capital for your company?  We always love to hear from entrepreneurs who manage to get funded.

Angel Investment News 

• A group of angel investors is urging state legislators to offer tax credits on investments: https://ow.ly/6flrO
• Women investors are slowly changing the face of venture and angel capital: https://ow.ly/6hngV
• The Case for a Massachusetts Investment Tax Credit for Angel Investments: https://ow.ly/6i6Te
• Ireland’s unemployment at 14.3 percent – where are the entrepreneurs? https://ow.ly/6iqZu
• Ron Conway, Yuri Milner, Accel and Sequoia Jump To Invest In Chinese Incubator: https://ow.ly/6jwrB

Business Plans & Pitching

• 9 Tips for Developing a Solid Elevator Pitch: https://ow.ly/6fm0z
• 7 of the Best Business Plan Programs Online (plus 2 template sites!): https://ow.ly/6gjrc
• 10 Simple Ways to Maximize Business Plan Impact: https://ow.ly/6gkpt
• Write A Business Plan In Four Easy Steps: https://ow.ly/6i6Gp

Fund Raising

• 10 Funding Quotes Every Entrepreneur Should Skip: https://ow.ly/6gjnN
• Dave McClure: The Art of Angel Funding: https://ow.ly/6i6uA

Marketing & Social Media

• Compilation of Google+ Must Follow Lists: 231 Google+ Users: https://ow.ly/6fmoE
• How Social Media Affects SEO: https://ow.ly/6gjuc
• 15 Ways To Build Up Your Startup’s Reputation: https://ow.ly/6hnFP
• The right combination can make your business social media efforts shine: https://ow.ly/6ls1S

Start-Up & Entrepreneurship

• The number one cause of startup failure: Premature scaling: https://ow.ly/6hnxP
• What Every Entrepreneur Can Learn From Facebook’s Early Years: https://ow.ly/6hnm7
• Navigate Your Startup To Success With The Startup Genome Compass: https://ow.ly/6hnHi
• Do You Have What it Takes to Be an Entrepreneur? https://ow.ly/6ir4c
• INFOGRAPHIC: LinkedIn Inspects Data To Find Origins Of Startup Founders: https://ow.ly/6jxv2

To stay updated, come follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/angel__network.

Read anything interesting? Feel free to add links to any articles or resources you’d like to share with the angel community.

Here’s a roundup of some of the recent seed-stage and angel deals from around the world: 

• Flash sales site Lot18 has raised $1 million funding from Quidsi founders, Marc Lore and Vinit Bharar, and a few other angel investors.
• Tinypay.me, a Dutch online payment startup that’s moving headquarters to San Fran, raised $1m venture funding from Aksoy Internet Ventures
• InOpen, an educational service provider, has raised $500,000 in seed funding from VenturEast
• Vizibility Inc., a proactive personal branding platform for individuals and companies, has closed an oversubscribed $1.3m seed funding round
• WorkSmart Labs, a company that makes fitness programs for users of Android-powered devices, has completed a seed round of funding
• Flashgroup, who are developing technology that will connect people based on a real-time intent, has closed on $800,000 in seed funding
• DoughMain, a startup that combines family coordination & financial education into a simple gamified platform, lands $5m from angel investors
• AliveCor, Inc., developer of a breakthrough mobile electrocardiogram recorder, has secured $3 million in Series A financing
• Previstar, a web-based emergency planning software service, has secured $2.6 million seed funding from five investors
• The Google of the application world, Quixey, has raised $3.8 million in its first financing round
• Tapit, a new NFC (near field communication) mobile advertising startup, has raised seed funding from Sydney Angels
• RiverWired, a media company with a network of sites and blogs devoted to helping people make the world a greener place, lands seed funding
• Skyword, an intermediary between freelance writers and media properties seeking content, completes an angel round of funding
• Energy efficiency identification & qualification platform Retroficiency gets seed funding from World Energy Solutions and angel investors
• Bubble Gum Interactive, a developer of children’s online games, has received a $200k investment from the Sydney Angels Sidecar Fund
• Viableware, a startup working on technology to prevent credit card fraud in restaurants and bars, has raised $1 million from angel investors

To get regular updates, come follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/angel__network or visit our blog at https://www.angelinvestmentnetwork.net.

Have you managed to raise capital for your company?  We always love to hear from entrepreneurs who manage to get funded.

Eureka! is the International Business plan competition organized by IIT Bombay. It aims to create value in the ecosystem as per its belief that entrepreneurs are the ones who will take India and the world to the next level.   

With a total prizes worth INR 2.4 million, legal and financial consultancy services, intensive mentoring and an online platform to provide solutions to participants’ queries, Eureka! promotes the best business ideas through various incentives. It’s not just a business plan competition, wherein people only submit their business plans and take away the prize money. It is an entrepreneur’s journey from an executive summary to an actual start-up. The competition is open to all and sees participants from different strata like working professionals, B-schools, Technological Institutes, IITs, NITs and even Medical & Law schools.

The first phase is conducted online wherein an executive summary of B-Plan has to be submitted (facilitated by a questionnaire), which then goes through a transparent judging process for screening. This screening process is then followed by mentoring of the selected teams, and the submission of the refined B-Plans. After further screening, the top 8 entries are given a chance to pitch their further refined B-Plans in front of our expert judging panel and are also the recipients of the prizes.

Eureka! Social (For Social Ventures):
The B-Plans which cater to BoP’ s (Bottom of Pyramid) and/or environment are participating separately this year. The revenue model should be self sustainable.

The mentors, judges and resources in Eureka! Social will be specific to Social Ventures, with the timeline being the same as Eureka!.The top 3 winners will get direct entry to Dell Social Innovation Competition, organized jointly by The University of Texas and Dell. Apart from that, there could be offers of incubation to the finalists from leading Social Business supporting bodies like Villgro and UnLtd India. In addition to all the above, there shall also be funding opportunities at Grameen Creative Labs for the winners.

For more info, visit https://ecell.in/eureka/.