Month: March 2012

Angel Investment Network’s Weekly Funding Roundup

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

  • Embed.ly, which creates embedded content for any URL on the Web, has received a $320000 seed round of debt funding
  • SimpleRegistry, an online service that allows you to create a single gift registry that draws from several retailers, lands seed funding
  • Tracelytics, a performance analysis and diagnostic service for web applications, raises $5.2 million funding led by Bain Capital Ventures
  • RainingClouds, whose flagship product AppSurfer provides multiple-platform access to android apps, raises Rs 1 crore seed funding
  • Bonusbox, which offers local restaurants, spas, entertainment, etc, raises an initial round of funding in a deal led by Wellington Partners
  • iimjobs, a job portal run by Delhi-based Highorbit Career Pvt Ltd and focused on mid-to-senior level placements, has raised angel funding
  • Social media analytics startup Campalyst has raised a new seed round (undisclosed size) from Amsterdam-based venture capital firm HENQ
  • tweetTV, the real-time social TV guide that groups TV-based conversations happening on Twitter, wins $750,000 from angel investor Joe Kalfa
  • Mob Science, a social games developer and Zynga Platform partner, has received $1 million in seed funding from angel investors
  • Cambridge (UK) green lighting company, iSotera has closed a £1.1m funding round led by Qi3 Accelerator
  • TiEQuest 2011 winner Rna Diagnostics Inc has secured funding worth $$925,000 as part of a four-angel network investment deal
  • Applied Isotope Technologies, who creates new technologies, products & services for environmental & biological analyses, lands $1.5 million
  • London-based HyperBees has won the Get Discovered Android mobile game contest with a quiz game that will land the startup a funding deal
  • MediaPass™ (www.mediapass.com), a leading subscription solution for websites, has raised a $1.75 million Series B round of funding
  • Mobile web and ad optimization startup AppStack has just closed a $1.5 million seed round from venture capital firms and angel investors
  • YogiPlay, a Menlo Park, CA-based developer and provider of a mobile application platform for families, has raised $1 million seed funding
  • Famigo, a start-up dedicated to creating a better mobile experience for families, closes $1 million seed funding led by Silverton Partners

To get regular updates, come follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/angel__network or register for our blog at https://www.angelinvestmentnetwork.netwp-login.php?action=register.

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

Or are you looking to raise funding?  Send me a summary of your project at mike@angelinvestmentnetwork.co.uk and we’ll try to help.

 

“As an angel investor, revenue trumps no revenue,” says Jonathan Mellinger, successful entrepreneur and member at Robin Hood Ventures

Jonathan Melllinger has experience on both sides of the investment ecosystem, first as a successful entrepreneur and now as a member at Robin Hood Ventures.

Mellinger told an audience of entrepreneurs and angel investors at the Science Center’s Angel Education event that he uses instinct and experience to choose companies to invest in, but he also laid out his model for making early stage investments Tuesday.

The programming is part of an ongoing effort from the University City life sciences research park to broaden its mission and the awareness of regional investors to smaller, more consumer-facing ventures.

First, when Mellinger is looking at a company, he looks at the management team.

“I like to see some experience from the management team in the space they’re going after,” said Mellinger, as he explained why he decided to invest in Onetwosee, which provides TV companion content for mobile devices.

Competition is another important factor. Mellinger looks to see that a company has a “a valid and proven revenue model” that approaches the competition in a new way.

“What I did like about OneTwoSee is when I looked at the competition in general they were attacking their market with the revenue model right up front,” said Mellinger. “Tim Geithner, at some point said, plan trumps no plan. And as an angel investor, revenue trumps no revenue”

Lastly, Mellinger said that having a product that works and is easy to use is an important factor as well.

“What I need to know from a company is what their customers consider a successful product,” said Mellinger.

Companies that can’t answer that question effectively get a pass, he says.

Angel Investment Network’s Weekly Twitter Roundup

Angel Investment News:  

  • A second round of funding to lure venture capitalists to Ireland has been announced by the Government: https://ow.ly/9JzAQ
  • Missouri entrepreneurial activity ranks among nation’s highest for 2011: https://ow.ly/9MK2F
  • Ravi Kiran and Shravan Shroff launch an angel-backed start-up accelerator in India called VentureNursery: https://ow.ly/9NshL
  • Crowd-funding bill, which will make it easier for regular people to invest in a start-up business, passes Senate: https://ow.ly/9PI0j

Business Plans & Pitching:

Fund Raising:

Marketing & Social Media:

Start-Up & Entrepreneurship:

  • Infographic: The Startup Ecosystem – Predator vs. Prey. If Startups Were Fish, What Kind Would You Be? https://ow.ly/9OebW
  • 9 Startup Lessons From The Founders Of Gilt Groupe: https://ow.ly/9LcDw
  • The Top 30 Reasons to Be an Online Entrepreneur: https://ow.ly/9ObVo
  • Seven common mistakes have led to the demise of thousands of startups, says Mashable’s Ben Parr. Here’s what not to do: https://ow.ly/9OcE0

To stay updated, come follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/angel__network or register for our blog at https://www.angelinvestmentnetwork.netwp-login.php?action=register.

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

Or are you looking to raise funding?  Send me a summary of your project at mike@angelinvestmentnetwork.co.uk and we’ll try to help.

 

Angel Investment Network’s Weekly Funding Roundup

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

  • Koding, a developer community & cloud development environment where developers come together and code in the browser, has raised $2m funding
  • InGamer Fantasy, which produces what it calls “real-time second screen gaming” for sports publishers, wins funding from five angel investors
  • OpenTable for hair stylists and other salon professionals StyleSeat grabs $775,000 angel funding from A-Grade and actress Sophia Bush
  • PixyKids, an interactive and immersive social media platform for kids aged 6-12, has raised $3 million from ATA Ventures and angel investors
  • SkillKindle, an online content marketplace for students and teachers, has raised angel funding from i3 Consulting
  • InBed.me, an Airbnb for hostel Hoppers, lands a $1.2m seed round to push social integration and mobile services from VC’s & angel investors
  • Retrofit, who offer data-driven weight-loss programs with one-on-one coaching from fitness experts, raises $2m venture capital funding
  • Richard Branson & Jerry Murdock put $1m into MySocialCloud, a web application that allows you to manage your online life in one simple cloud
  • Stormpath, who is building an identity access control service for cloud and enterprise applications, has raised $1.5 million in seed funding
  • Kaptur, maker of a social discovery platform for photos, has raised $2 million Series A financing from angel investors & Green Hat Partners
  • Slated, a site that connects independent film producers with investors, has raised $2 million in a Series B round of funding
  • ClearStory Data, a startup focused on bringing big data technology to the masses, has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding
  • Dog Vacay, the online marketplace that matches dog owners with qualified pet caregivers, raises $1 million in seed funding
  • KnowledgeMill, a company that has developed a cloud-based email management software platform, lands £1.5m growth capital investment
  • Edutor, which designs develops & markets technology-based educational products, raises Rs.2 Crore seed funding from Hyderabad Angels
  • Gridtest Systems, developer of measurement tools for the electric vehicle market, wins seed funding from Pasadena Angels & Tech Coast Angels
  • Tripbirds, which lets users pick up travel recommendations from friends via other social networks, lands a seed round of $740,000
  • Grand Cru, a start-up game developer based in Helsinki, secures $2 million in seed funding to develop cross-platform mobile adventure games
  • JobSync, which matches candidates to the jobs that fit them best, lands $1.6M funding from Pasadena Angels, Tech Coast Angels & other angels
  • fruux, a startup that develops a sync and backup solution for contacts, calendars and to-dos through the cloud, has raised seed funding

To get regular updates, come follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/angel__network or register for our blog at https://www.angelinvestmentnetwork.netwp-login.php?action=register.

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

Or are you looking to raise funding?  Send me a summary of your project at mike@angelinvestmentnetwork.co.uk and we’ll try to help.

Infographic: A Very Short Introduction To Crowdfunding

The so-called “crowd funding” amendment has passed the U.S. Senate and is expected to pass the House and be signed by the president.

The proposal expands access to capital for start-ups and small businesses by allowing investors — large and small — to put money forward via social media or the Internet.

White House officials issued a statement Thursday saying they were pleased with the measure.

“The President is grateful that the Senate acted in a bipartisan way to … help our small businesses and startups access capital they need to grow and create jobs.”

Infographic: The Startup Ecosystem – Predator vs. Prey. If Startups Were Fish, What Kind Would You Be?

If you have ever worked in a startup before, you will get a huge laugh at some of these different fish and how they’re described in the startup fish ecosystem. Some of my favorites include:

  • Tech Blogger, prey includes venture capitalists, founders, and CEO’s. It’s predators: Apple. – Hilarious since we do cover quite a bit of tech news ourselves, I have seen news sites and tech bloggers take down some of the biggest companies and their products with bad reviews or snarky commentary, so this one is completely on point.
  • Angel Investors are dolphins, Venture Capitalists are sharks – Pretty funny, and somewhat true. Angel investors tend to be nicer and closer to the product when investing in ideas founders come up with, while VC’s tend to be a tad bit more brutal and are mostly in it for the returns when the company exits.
  • The eco system includes the Attention-Deprived Significant Other, portrayed by an angler fish – For those who don’t know, female angler fish and male angler fish mate and then the male dies. Slightly gender bias, but hilarious none the less.

Angel Investment Network’s Weekly Twitter Roundup

Angel Investment News:  

  • Halo Report (which provides data affecting early stage entrepreneurs and investors) illuminates Angel Investor trends: https://ow.ly/9AcHm
  • Angel groups invest $118M in New England in 2011:https://ow.ly/9Acif. That’s 13.5% of the total angel investment across the country
  • Brian Cohen, the first investor in Pinterest, explains why he backed it:https://ow.ly/9C46E
  • Bloomberg’s Scarlet Fu reports on which industries have the most entrepreneurs applying for Angel Funding: https://ow.ly/9Eb39
  • Maryland governor announces $84M raised for venture capital fund known as InvestMaryland: https://ow.ly/9H2dR

Business Plans & Pitching:

  • Here is the first investor pitch deck from Airbnb, who has raised more than $112 million at a $1.3 billion valuation: https://ow.ly/9DhGL
  • When you know where your business is going, it’s easier to reach your goals. Here’s a business plan that works: https://ow.ly/9GjbQ

Fund Raising:

Marketing & Social Media:

Start-Up & Entrepreneurship:

To stay updated, come follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/angel__network or even better register for our blog at https://www.angelinvestmentnetwork.netwp-login.php?action=register.

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

Or are you looking to raise funding?  Send me a summary of your project at mike@angelinvestmentnetwork.co.uk and we’ll try to help.

 

Angel Investment Network’s Weekly Funding Roundup

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

  • BrandYourself.com, the first do-it-yourself platform to help people control their own Search results, lands $1.2 million Series A funding
  • Cerahelix, who’s developing a DNA-based way to produce advanced nanofiltration membranes for water re-use & recycling, wins $255,000 funding
  • PlayMob, which develops technology allowing charities to fundraise through in-game micropayments, nets £500,000 of expansion capital
  • Spotflux, a free application that lets consumers connect to the Internet with privacy protection, raises $1 million in new funding
  • ContactMonkey, which lets you easily share your contact details via a link in your email signature, lands $800,000 in seed funding
  • Oxtex, an early stage medical device specialist that manufactures anisotropic self-inflating tissue expanders, lands a £150k funding round
  • Drawn to Scale, creators of Spire, which provides a real-time Big Data Platform-as-a-Service, lands $925,000 in seed funding
  • Crowdsourced news platform NewsiT.net (founded by longtime journalist Melinda Wittstock) has raised $500,000 in seed funding
  • eEvent, which honors guests as event ambassadors to share, recommend & invite others to events, wins $250,000 seed funding from TechColumbus
  • Tracky, a social collaboration platform that bridges the gap between your personal & professional circles, receives $1 million seed funding
  • Weddingful has just raised $500,000 from the Business Development Bank of Canada for its online wedding packages startup
  • Adaptive Lighting, a developer of LED lighting systems, has secured a €50,000 equity investment from the AIB Seed Capital Fund
  • Bitbar, a company that provides an Android app testing suite, has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding
  • Tap.Me, a startup whose technology platform lets brands advertise within mobile games, has raised $3.2 million in venture capital
  • StayZilla.com, a hotel booking site which offers value-stays in any district across India, raises funding from Indian Angel Network
  • Web radio app startup Aurality Technologies Pvt Ltd has secured $300,000 (~Rs 1.5 crore) in seed funding from a group of angel investors
  • ShoutOmatic, a startup that enables Facebookers & Twitterers to “Shout” to their friends & fans, gets funding from Long Island Angel Network
  • Adelphic Mobile lands $2 million seed funding from Matrix Partners to improve the ability for advertisers to target users on mobile devices
  • NextPrinciples, a cloud-based social CRM company, has received $1M in seed funding from a group of senior executives and angel investors

To get regular updates, come follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/angel__network or register for our blog at https://www.angelinvestmentnetwork.netwp-login.php?action=register.

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

Or are you looking to raise funding?  Send me a summary of your project at mike@angelinvestmentnetwork.co.uk and we’ll try to help.

Infographic: 35 Startup Buzzwords Every Entrepreneur Should Know

Angel, freemium, MVP, value proposition — there are a lot of buzzwords that get thrown around in the startup world. As an entrepreneur, it’s your job to know, understand and sparingly use them.

Entitled “The Founder’s Dictionary,” and jammed packed with a ton of buzzwords I have heard in boardrooms and coffee shops, the infographic was created to uncover “the true meanings” of these terms.

Take this one with a grain — no, a tub — of salt, folks. This infographic isn’t what it seems to be at first sight. While it would be awesome to have a dictionary for these terms, this resource actually pokes fun at the mysterious origins and definitions of these oft-used buzzwords.

Yes, it is important to know what these buzzwords mean — and to know whennot to use them — but don’t source your definitions from this comedic infographic. You may, instead, want to check out Quora, where a thorough thread of annoying startup buzzwords can be found.

This production is, though, a comical glimpse into the world of entrepreneurial word play.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericaswallow/2012/03/14/startup-buzzwords-infographic/

Which startup buzzwords have you heard flying around the office? Share them in the comments below.

 

Infographic: Everything Your Employees Need to Know About Social Media

Who needs an expensive social media consultant when you can train your employees in Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn best practices yourself?

This Mindflash infographic breaks down the types of social media users you’ll find in your company — the digital native, savvy technologist, reluctant user, digital newby and digital contrarian — and how to approach training each of them.

This guide also highlights an important fact: 76% of companies do not have a clearly defined social media policy. Whether or not you have an explicit policy, make sure you’re aware of the way everyone in your company represents your brand.

What do you think its most important for companies to teach their employees about social media? Share your best practices in the comments.

Source: https://mashable.com/

Angel Investment Network is sponsoring Renergy 2012, an international renewable energy expo and conference in Chennai, India

EAI, on behalf of the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA), invites you to be a part of Renergy 2012 – a comprehensive international renewable energy expo and conference covering seven different areas of renewable energy/clean technology, to be held on the 12th and 13th of March in Chennai.

With elite panels featuring some of the biggest names in the business focusing on current issues plaguing the industries (Wind, Solar, Biomass, Waste-to-energy, Energy efficiency, Electric vehicles & Battery storage), Renergy 2012 aims to be a watershed for the growth of renewable energy and clean technology in the country.

Some illustrious luminaries expected to be present and feature on the panels at the event include Shri. G.B. Pradhan, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy; Mr.Robin Bromley-Martin, Director, Zynergy Projects and Services Pvt Ltd.; Mr. Satnam Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, Power Finance Corporation; Mr Ramesh Kymal, Chairman, Gamesa; Mr. Pashupathy Gopalan, Managing Director, Sunedison and MEMC South Asia and Mr. Christophe Inglin, Managing Director, Phoenix Solar Pte Ltd. More about the other speakers and sessions at https://www.renergy2012.com/speakers.html & https://www.renergy2012.com/conference.html

Apart from focusing on traditional areas of the industry, the conference at Renergy also brings delegates the unique opportunity to witness and be part of a first-of-its-kind VC panel discussion.

This session, bringing together the who’s who of the VC and PE industry in India, has been organized with the aim of fostering entrepreneurship in the renewable energy/clean technology industry. Divergence between investor expectations and entrepreneur vision can often be a huge deterrent to ventures gaining traction, especially in such a nascent industry.

It is with the hope of bridging this gap and proliferating the growth of entrepreneurial ventures in this domain that EAI along with TiE, Chennai have spared no effort in putting together this session.

This session is going to feature some prominent VC and PE players in India such as Sandeep Singhal (co-founder and MD of Nexus Partners) , Harsh Nanda (Executive Director, PE, Goldman Sachs) and representatives from the investee side such as Mr. Ashok Das (CEO and co-founder, SunMoksha) and Pinaki Bhattacharya (CFO, Green Infra). More about the session and the speakers at https://www.renergy2012.com/vc_panel_session.html .

We, at EAI and TEDA, feel that the session will be most productive when the participants, both panelists and the audience, are of the highest quality. We believe that it would certainly add immense value to the quality of delegates attending the conference if members of the Indian Investment network would be willing to participate in the event.

To stress the extent to which we want to go to have Indian Investment Network members attend the conference, TEDA and EAI have both agreed on a 50% discount for all members who would want to attend this event (making the fee a mere Rs. 1500 for one day and Rs. 2500 for both the days) .

Apart from being able to witness the exciting VC panel discussion that we’re putting together, you will also be able to get valuable inputs on the latest issues plaguing the renewable energy and clean technology industry in India.

If you are even remotely connected to the renewable energy and clean technology industry (and even if you want to be), this is one event you definitely do not want to miss. Interested members can mail Venu at venu@eai.in or call me at +91-98843-70945. Looking forward to seeing you at Renergy 2012.

Infographic: Highlights of angel investment activity and trends in North America

The Angel Resource Institute (ARI), Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and CB Insights today announced findings from the first Halo Report, a collaborative effort to raise awareness of early stage investment activities by angel investment groups.  The research series highlights angel investment activity and trends in North America and provides much sought after data that has not been previously available to entrepreneurs or early stage investors.

Halo Report Highlights:

  • Angel groups are active throughout the U.S. in 2011
    • California leads in deals and dollars among individual states
    • 79% of angel group investments were in companies outside of California
    • 70% of total funding was invested outside of California
    • Median angel group rounds size grew to $700,000, an increase of 40% over 2010
    • 58% of angel group investments were in healthcare and internet companies
      • 60% of healthcare investments were in medical device and equipment companies
      • The most active angel groups were Tech Coast Angels, Band of Angels, Golden Seeds, Central Texas Angel Network and Launchpad Venture Group

Angel investors, those who invest their own funds and expertise directly into startup companies, appear to be taking on an increasingly important role in driving entrepreneurship throughout the United States.  Their investments are in startups and young companies, which have been cited by the Kauffman Foundation as the key source of net new jobs in the country.  Nationwide, these angel group investments have opened up new opportunities for centers of innovation and entrepreneurship.  The Halo Report found that many deals are syndicated among investors.  As a result, companies needing larger investments have access to the additional capital they need to grow their businesses.

“The Halo Report is the first of its kind to systematically track investment and company formation at the earliest stage, providing a window into the future of innovation,” according to Allan May, Chairman of ARI. “Startup companies fuel economic growth and job creation and are the drivers of future U.S. competitiveness. This research is an important step in the promotion of startup investing, providing accurate data to help entrepreneurs, policy makers, and the public at large understand who angel investors are, how they operate, what their results are, and how angel investment impacts the economy.”

According to Greg Becker, President and CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, “Entrepreneurs and the investors who take a chance on them are fundamental to the innovation economy. By shedding more light on angel investment activity we’re helping young companies identify sources of capital and mentorship, ultimately leading to the development of innovative products and the next generation of exciting new companies.”

CB Insights CEO and Co-founder, Anand Sanwal, said, “In partnership with ARI and SVB,  we are happy to be part of an effort that highlights and brings a data-driven perspective to what is a very important, but historically opaque, part of our innovation economy.  We’re looking forward to seeing how investors and corporations use this data to understand emerging early-stage trends and to identify investment and M&A opportunities.”   CB Insights specializes in providing data on high growth private companies and their investors and acquirers.

The Halo Report includes aggregate analysis of investment activity by angels and angel groups and highlights trends in round sizes, location and industry preferences. The data is collected via survey and aggregation of public data using CB Insights innovative data analyses. The 2011 Halo Report data is based on 573 deals totaling $873.3 million dollars invested.   The transaction details are available in the CB Insights subscription database for users to review and analyze themselves.  Academics may also access some of the data through ARI.

Source: https://www.cbinsights.com/blog/angel-investment/angel-investment-data-2011-halo-report