Tag Archives: funding
Empty Walls Got You Down? TurningArt Nabs $1.5M For Its Netflix-Style Art Rental Service
Paddle8, Artsy, Zazzle, and Art.com are all part of a growing contingent of startups that are on a mission to democratize the purchase, discovery, and enjoyment of art by bringing it online.
In August 2010, Boston-based TurningArt joined this cadre of art industry disruptors, launching its own unique spin on the democratization of art commerce with a Netflix-esque model that allows any and all to "rent" and enjoy contemporary art. To support its mission to transform the way people buy artwork, the startups is today announcing that it has raised $1.5 million in funding from a number of institutional and angel investors.
Mobile Security Provider Appthority Raises $6.25 Million From Venrock and US Venture Partners
Earlier this morning, San Francisco-based mobile app security provider Appthority announced that it has raised $6.25 million in a Series A financing round led by Venrock and US Venture Partners. Gunderson Dettmer also participated in this round. Venrock's Ray Rothrock and US Venture Partners' Steve Krausz will join the Appthority board.
The company's product helps businesses manage the risks involved in having their employees bring their own mobile devices to work. Appthority specifically focuses on the apps installed on these devices and screens them for malware and other security threats.
42Floors’ PDA: The War For Talent Among Startups Needs A New Approach. Here’s Why
Startups do the darndest things. As you may or may not have seen, Y Combinator startup 42Floors made a bold and fairly unprecedented move today -- as hiring goes, in any case. 42Floors Co-founder Jason Freedman had been following the work of UPenn sophomore Dan Shipper on Hacker News. The two had chatted a few times by phone and on Twitter, and Freedman was so impressed by the quality of Shipper's programming, design skills, and smarts, that he decided to publicly offer the sophomore a job -- via the company blog.
Why? Well, first off, it was likely to turn into publicity both for Shipper and for 42Floors. So there's that. It was also done somewhat with an ulterior motive. As Freedman says in his post, the team believes that "hiring is dead." And he has a point: If you're looking to hire the kind of talent that is out there actually building products, companies, etc. (and who isn't?), those men and women likely aren't filling out job applications. So if you want them, you have to court them.
42Floors’ PDA: The War For Talent Among Startups Needs A New Approach. Here’s Why
Startups do the darndest things. As you may or may not have seen, Y Combinator startup 42Floors made a bold and fairly unprecedented move today -- as hiring goes, in any case. 42Floors Co-founder Jason Freedman had been following the work of UPenn sophomore Dan Shipper on Hacker News. The two had chatted a few times by phone and on Twitter, and Freedman was so impressed by the quality of Shipper's programming, design skills, and smarts, that he decided to publicly offer the sophomore a job -- via the company blog.
Why? Well, first off, it was likely to turn into publicity both for Shipper and for 42Floors. So there's that. It was also done somewhat with an ulterior motive. As Freedman says in his post, the team believes that "hiring is dead." And he has a point: If you're looking to hire the kind of talent that is out there actually building products, companies, etc. (and who isn't?), those men and women likely aren't filling out job applications. So if you want them, you have to court them.
Panels Are A Waste Of Time, But They Don’t Have To Be
Two years ago, when I first co-founded Earbits, I started frequenting various startup events like so many other first-time founders. Some of them were mixers, others were pitch competitions, and many were topic-focused panels and discussions meant to provide sage advice to budding entrepreneurs. I had reasonable experience on the ground floor of various startups but raising capital was a mystery to me. Naturally, I went to more than a few panel discussions about fundraising in preparation for doing that at my new company.
Every panel I ever went to about fundraising was filled with prominent Angel investors and VC's telling us about how to put together a good deck, how to get their attention through a warm intro, what kinds of things make a company invest-able, and other very common fundraising advice. After having read all of the same advice on Both Sides of the Table and Venture Hacks, I found that most fundraising panels were a complete waste of time.
BranchOut Hits 25 Million Users, Nabs $25M In Series C Funding
BranchOut is officially going for the big time. The company, which makes a professional social network that runs on top of Facebook, is announcing today it has closed on $25 million in new funding, bringing its total venture capital investment to $49 million. This latest batch of money, which serves as BranchOut's Series C round, was led by the Mayfield Fund with the participation of previous investors Accel Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and Redpoint Ventures. The money will be used mainly for hiring more employees to add to BranchOut's current full-time staff of 45, founder and CEO Rick Marini said in an interview, which you can watch in full in the video embedded above.
At less than two years old, BranchOut certainly seems to be on a fast track when it comes to funding. But according to Marini, the money is only following the company's very real growth. BranchOut now has more than 25 million registered users, more than half of which -- 13.5 million -- are active on the app each month. To put those numbers into context, more than three new users are joining BranchOut every second. When BranchOut first debuted in July 2010, it was often characterized as a "LinkedIn for Facebook" -- but it's becoming apparent that BranchOut is carving out a very clear identity of its own.
Non-profit ISP focused on privacy raises over $43,000 in one day
Nicholas Merrill’s crowd-funded Internet Service Provider raised more than $43,000 in donations in less than 24 hours, CNET reported on Thursday. “I had no idea that the crowd funding would take off as much as it has in such a short time,” Merrill told the news source. “I hope that people will continue to spread the word and help Calyx reach its funding goal so this plan can come to fruition sooner rather than later.” Merrill’s new company, The Calyx Institute, aims to be a “non-profit telecommunications provider dedicated to privacy, using ubiquitous encryption,” and intends to sell Internet access for as little as $20 per month. The company is seeking $1 million in donation-based funding for a “bare-bones launch,” or
Flower Subscription Service H.Bloom Raises $10 Million
Subscription flower delivery Service H.Bloom, which once described itself as the 'Netflix of Flowers,' raised a $10 million Series B funding round today. The investment was lead by Shasta Ventures with the participation of a number of existing VC funds and angel investors, including Battery Ventures, Thomas Lehrman of Gerson Lerhman Group, and ShoeDazzle's Brian Lee. Shasta's Sean Flynn is also joining the H.Bloom board. In total, including this round, H.Bloom has now raised $18 million.
Flower Subscription Service H.Bloom Raises $10 Million
Subscription flower delivery Service H.Bloom, which once described itself as the 'Netflix of Flowers,' raised a $10 million Series B funding round today. The investment was lead by Shasta Ventures with the participation of a number of existing VC funds and angel investors, including Battery Ventures, Thomas Lehrman of Gerson Lerhman Group, and ShoeDazzle's Brian Lee. Shasta's Sean Flynn is also joining the H.Bloom board. In total, including this round, H.Bloom has now raised $18 million.
[Excerpt] Fundraising: From $1,000 To $1,000,000
Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from Onswipe CEO Jason L. Baptiste's new book The Ultralight Startup: Launching a Business Without Clout or Capital.
If you pay attention to the headlines about startups getting millions of dollars of funding from investors, venture capitalists, or partnerships, you might think the fund-raising process happens overnight. It all sounds so easy: Some entrepreneur with a thousand dollars in his pocket creates a great PowerPoint investor presentation, secures a few meetings with important people, and bam! A handshake, some signatures, and the deal is done.
The reality is a little trickier. Fund-raising is a process, and although the right pitch might come in handy, in this chapter I’ll discuss the practical start-to-finish way to think about fund-raising that will get you the money you want in the end.
