Month: February 2013

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:

  • Real-world shopping analytics firm Euclid, has secured $17.3 million Series B funding to serve its growing customer base
  • Graduway, a provider of alumni networking platforms, has raised $1.1m in seed funding
  • Wedding Party, a mobile app that allows wedding guests to contribute to a shared digital album, has raised $1 million seed funding
  • Grishin Robotics, a Russian VC group, has dropped an unnamed sum into Bolt, a hardware incubator in Boston
  • Mach 1 Development, a company focused on tagging, tracking, & locating documents, cargo, people & media, closes $500k angel funding
  • Mindflash, a web platform for companies to easily share knowledge and train employees, has raised $3.5 million in funding
  • adizio, a self serve ad buying platform for smaller agencies and marketers to run online and mobile campaigns, gets £250,000 angel funding
  • Medikly, the leading software-as-a-service technology provider for pharmaceutical brands and agencies, lands $1.2M Series A funding
  • Scope 5, a cloud-based SaaS company that helps companies measure & benchmark sustainability data, closes about $500,000 Series A funding
  • Sanguine Biosciences, a startup developing a service around blood sample collection for R&D, has closed seed funding
  • Warply, a mobile marketing toolbox that powers up monetization, loyalty & engagement, has raised a $500,000 round of early-stage funding
  • ScootPad, the leading online learning platform for elementary grades, lands $600k in seed funding
  • Vengo, the maker of mini vending machines for bars, restaurants and offices, has raised $1 million in seed funding
  • uBank, a mobile payment service that currently targets Russia and the wider CIS region, raises $8M Series A funding from Runa Capital
  • CircleCI, a continuous integration platform for web application developers, announces $1.5M seed funding
  • Polar, developer of an app that allows users to create and vote on great-looking photo polls, has raised $1.2M seed funding
  • JustAskBoo, an e-newsletter business where readers can post questions seeking referrals and offer recommendations, closes $200,000 funding
  • Mobilewalla, the premier search and analytics tool for everything mobile applications, lands an undisclosed investment
  • EatStreet, a company with an online ordering system for restaurants, has a raised $2 million funding round
  • Thinkful, an online education company, has raised $1 million seed funding from RRE Ventures, Quotidian Ventures & FF Angel
  • Quandora, a question-and-answer for enterprise knowledge management vendor, has secured $150k seed funding from Kima Ventures.
  • OpenMarkets, which bands hospitals together and negotiates discounts on equipment, raises Series A funds from Texo Ventures
  • Gild, a startup that helps companies evaluate and hire software developers, has raised $8M seed funding
  • VendorStack, an online enterprise vendor comparison platform, has closed its seed funding round

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.

 

Angel Investment Network’s Weekly Twitter Roundup

Angel Investment News:  

Business Plans & Pitching:

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.

Paul Singh of 500 Startups Discusses the Series A Crunch

It’s no secret that a Series A crunch is happening, as 500 Startups‘ partner Paul Singh reminded the audience during a presentation he gave at Betamore on Feb. 11.

“The Series A crunch is a fact,” Singh said. “There are a lot of overfunded early-stage companies now.”

The number of deals undertaken by angel investors has ballooned in recent years, with no proportional increase in the number of later-stage deals. According to CB Insights, the crunch will leave more than 1,000 startups “orphaned.”

For startups, this means two things, as Singh said: don’t run out of money in Q4 of 2013, and don’t run out of money in Q1 of 2014. In other words, “raise 12 to 18 months of funding,” he said.

Watch Paul Singh discuss the Series A crunch during his presentation at Betamore:

Why You Should Beware of Investment Opportunities Promoted by Social Media

Investment opportunities are an excellent way to make your presence known in the financial world, and you can find these opportunities in a plethora of ways. However, when you see ones that are promoted on social media, why should you have a sceptical eye?

Nature of Investments
You probably see advertisements for products like soda, cleaning supplies, snacks and so forth on a regular basis. However, investments are not usually as highly advertised. If a company has decided to go to social media, this could be a sign that it is struggling. While this statement is not true of all investments that appear on social media outlets, you need to do some further research for your own protection in financial matters.

Who is Promoting?
When it comes to Facebook, many companies and businesses will often have a person who is in charge of the promotional work. This statement is true for other types of social media sites as well. The individuals in charge of these campaigns are often interns or new hires, and they might not yet understand all of the complexities of the business. As a result, you are looking at advertisements that are not really of the most professional caliber. Once again, this is not a hard and fast rule, but you need to make sure the promises of the ad actually match up with what the company is really offering.

Is it Legitimate?
On the Internet, it is easy to be fooled. Basically, everyone and anyone has access to an array of web-designing options, and they can see how professional advertisements are constructed. Therefore, it is easy for scam artists to create something that looks real and professional. As a result of this ease and accessibility, anyone could create a page on a social media outlet and make it look like as though the entity is offering an investment opportunity. Instead, this group could just be out to take your money. It’s always wise to look into more information about such opportunities.

No Physical Location
Another problem that you might find with investment opportunities promoted by social media outlets is that they do not seem to have any physical location. You want the company with which you are working to have such a location. A real location helps to prove that it is, indeed, a real industry and not just some Internet scam. Furthermore, a location should exist to which you send your money. Be wary of the payment methods that the opportunity requires you to use. If you are unsure about the situation, speak with your accountant or financial planner to find out in which direction you should go.

Making investments online is scary in many ways because you do not always know where your money is headed. Due to this problem, many people choose to make investments the old-fashioned way. It’s fine to perform some research on social media outlets and other websites, but be very careful about using them when you actually want to make the investment.

This is a guest post by Jason Harter, who has managed mutual fund portfolios for over 20 years. He obtained his masters degree from of the the 10 Best Online Master’s Degree Programs in Finance.

Tips for Protecting Your Bond Portfolio Against Interest Rate Risk

After acquiring a little bit of money, you’re probably look into different places to put it. One of the options that you may choose is a bond portfolio. When you make such a choice, it’s important to realize that an interest rate risk does exist. How can you protect yourself against this situation?

Discussions with Professionals
Every situation is going to be a little bit different from the next, and you want to be sure that you have a clear view of your personal circumstances. If you do not have an accountant or a financial planner, it’s time to get one. Discuss your concerns with this individual, figure out a plan to decide how you are going to monitor the problem and ask all of the questions that you need to. If you feel that the professional is not providing you with sound advice, be sure to find someone else with whom to work. Financial decisions always require the utmost care.

Maturation Times
The Ezine article “How to Protect Your Bond Portfolio Against Interest Rate Risks” by Chris Borg discusses the necessity of choosing different maturation times for the bond. Borg writes, “When you consider investing in bonds, you should strive to purchase bonds with staggered maturity dates. Some financial advisors refer to this as laddering your bonds. Essentially, what that means is that you would like to have your bonds mature in different years such as 2023, 2024, 2025 and so on. This tactic will give you protection against what is known as interest rate risk.” Ultimately, you can get more back at the end if you stagger these dates.

Studying the Trends
You also do not want to just dive into the field of bond portfolios without understanding what the trends have been in the last several years or decades. In fact, Neuberger Berman’s article “Protecting Bond Portfolios from Rising Rates” suggests that assessing the past “interest rate cycles” is extremely important for investors. For example, as the article indicates, the average 10 year change from August 1986 to January 2010 was 174.

Fixed Income Portfolios
Neuberger Berman also suggests looking into fixed income portfolios because these can help to protect you against the interest rate risk. As the name implies, the rates are fixed. When you have a variable interest rate, no matter what type of investment or loan you have, you are at a major risk. You could wind up paying so much more money than you ever intended to or that you can really afford. The article notes that “Actively managed fixed income portfolios…serve to reduce the interest rate risk in bonds,” clearly indicating that these are likely the types of portfolios in which you should invest your money.

Before you can make any final decisions regarding this matter, you really need to look into all of the different options are available. Carefully comb through them with your financial adviser, and you can develop a plan that works to bring the most benefits to you.

This is a guest post by Jason Harter, whoi has managed mutual fund portfolios for over 20 years. He obtained his masters degree from of the the 10 Best Online Master’s Degree Programs in Finance 

Infographic – How Sales Messaging Affects Conversion Rates

This infographic provides information for online sales and marketing tactics. It shows the different buttons on an internet shopping site and shows which messages and buttons produce more sales and which negatively effect sales. It shows the different tactics such as wording and button colour.

 that online sales sites use in order to produce the most sales on their sites.

 

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:  

  • Method, a Toronto-based CRM solution, has closed a $3 million investment round led by Klass Capital
  • Mambu, the microfinance technology provider, has secured around $2 million in Series A funding from Runa Capital and Point Nine Capital
  • Virool, a San Francisco-based video advertising startup, has closed on $6.62 million in funding from a long list of investors
  • Storenvy, the only store builder and marketplace in one, has raised $5 million Series A funding
  • Nasseo, a medical device and dental implant specialist, has received $520,000 in seed funding
  • Business of Fashion, a B2B blog that chronicles the ins and outs of the fashion industry, picks up $2.1M seed funding led by Index Ventures
  • Latin American logistics and shipping marketplace TransportarOnline has received an undisclosed amount of angel investment
  • Real estate portal Housing.co.in, which currently lists rental flats in Mumbai, has secured funding from a group of angel investors
  • Bluefields, a social platform and management tool for recreational sports teams, players and league organizers, wins $1M seed funding
  • Tutorspree, the best way to find high quality private tutors for every subject under the sun, has closed on $800K financing
  • Car-Fin, a Russian startup developing innovative solutions for online car brokers, has secured $400,000 in funding
  • Club W, the first company to offer a personalized and curated subscription model for wine has closed a $3.1M round of financing
  • Kwaab, a platform that lets you discover, collect and share your interests & likes with social peers, has raised angel funding
  • The Ivory Company, a home-decor company focused on quality home merchandise in white and ivory, has closed $525,000 in angel funding
  • 71lbs, a startup developing parcel shipping data analytics and cost recovery technology for small & medium businesses, lands seed funding
  • Stormpath, the first easy, secure user management and authentication service for developers, has closed $8.2M Series A financing
  • ShopSpot, a mobile shopping app makes selling and buying stuff as easy as sending a tweet, has raised S$779,000 funding
  • Cheers In, a startup that delivers some of the world’s most unique beers to the doorsteps of Shanghai residents, raises US$230,000 funding
  • Celly, which creates mobile social networks for friends, schools, communities, businesses and movements, has closed $1.4M funding
  • Artspace.com, an ecommerce platform that acts as an online marketplace for high-end art, raises $8.5M Series B funding

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