Startup Investing

Democratizing Innovation: The movement of problem solvers, misfit thinkers, & crazy dreamers

Democratizing Innovation: The movement of problem solvers, misfit thinkers, & crazy dreamers

Jul 12, 2015 | , ,

This guest post was written by Christian Cotichini, co-founder and CEO of HeroX, the world’s problem solver community. Christian has over 20 years of experience leading startup and high growth technology companies; he is an active angel investor and mentors startup entrepreneurs. Here we are, about two years into the HeroX experiment: what happens when we unleash the power of incentive challenges to everyone, anywhere, in the whole world? So far, I couldn’t be happier. I co-founded HeroX together with Peter Diamandis and Emily Fowler from the XPRIZE Foundation. Peter, of course, needs little introduction. Inspired by the original Orteig Prize, which took Charles Lindbergh across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927, Peter created the Ansari XPRIZE, a $10 million prize awarded to the first private reusable spacecraft to reach an altitude of 100 km, twice within two weeks. The prize was won in October 2004 by Scaled Composites, and the technology was licensed to create Virgin Galactic. Within the next few years, the general public will be able to get their astronaut wings. From this revolutionary beginning, the XPRIZE...

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Putting the ‘ad’ in venture: Why investors are excited about the AdTech market

Putting the ‘ad’ in venture: Why investors are excited about the AdTech market

Jul 9, 2015 | , ,

Have you ever been surprised to see an ad appear on your computer screen with exactly what you were looking for? Sometimes, it seems like the Internet can read our minds. It turns out that with the growing adtech industry, it can. Adtech platforms work to connect advertisers and consumers efficiently, by using sophisticated analytics to enable targeted advertising. The growing global adtech market is currently worth approximately $142 billion, with some estimates putting it at over $200 billion by 2018. Nearly 70% of these revenues come from mobile advertisement, which brings in about $100 million annually, according to emarketer. As the digital advertising industry expands, with revenues growing at 11% annually, it continues to make gains on the market share of traditional media outlets. But, what is adtech? When advertisers seek to place ads, they face the dual challenge of identifying their target audience and figuring out where to spend their money searching for it. Adtech companies solve these problems in one, by providing a means for advertisers to target the right people and know exactly where to...

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The First “Law” of Venture Capital

The First “Law” of Venture Capital

Jun 25, 2015 | , , ,

In technology, change tends to be revolutionary not evolutionary. So you need to force yourself to place big bets on the future. -Larry Page Power Law Curve There is a tendency among less experienced early stage investors to think that the distribution of venture returns is linear — portfolio companies have an equal opportunity of failing, plateauing or growing. In reality, however, venture returns are incredibly skewed within a fund’s portfolio (as well as across venture funds). As Peter Thiel and others have discussed at length, the actual distribution follows a power law, with a few winners accounting for more returns than all others combined. Understanding the power law curve is essential to being a good venture investor, a difficult task given that most of us are accustomed to thinking linearly in our daily lives. Thiel attributes this curve to the compounding power of exponential growth that is typical of successful venture investments: Successful businesses tend to have an exponential arc to them. Maybe they grow at 50% a year and it compounds for a number of years. It...

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Touchdown in Israel: NFL Hall of Famers get all-star demo of Startup Nation’s finest tech companies

Touchdown in Israel: NFL Hall of Famers get all-star demo of Startup Nation’s finest tech companies

Jun 23, 2015 | , ,

American football is making strides in the Startup Nation – but not only in the way you’d think. Earlier this week, OurCrowd, partnering with the Jerusalem Development Authority, hosted Robert Kraft – known Israel supporter and even more known football team owner – and his delegation of 19 NFL Hall of Famers who arrived in Israel last week. Along with the Jerusalem Development Authority, Jnext, Ambassador Ron Dermer, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, and a selection of Startup Nation’s finest tech companies changing the world, we welcomed our guests to become inspired by modern technology in Jerusalem – the heart of Startup Nation – in cooperation with the ancient stones of its historical Old City. As many of the players and Kraft expressed afterward – it was a breathtaking contrast. “I’m just so glad to be here and learn about the history of Israel and how things are moving forward,” said Hall of Famer Curley Culp. The goodwill trip to Israel, coined “Touchdown in Israel: Mission of Excellence,” was organized by New England Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft, in...

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What We’re Investing In: Current Investment Opportunities on OurCrowd (June 2015)

What We’re Investing In: Current Investment Opportunities on OurCrowd (June 2015)

Jun 16, 2015 | ,

Venture capital activity dropped in the first quarter of 2015. For the first time since 2011, under 900 deals received funding from venture capital firms. Equity crowdfunding, on the other hand, continues to see a steady, impressive rise in dollars invested. According to Crowdnetic’s Eric Smith, the young equity crowdfundung market is poised to double every year, as more and more individual investors learn about the opportunity. This June at OurCrowd, in addition to launching three new investment opportunities, we also launched our first early-stage fund. Check out highlights of all the currently funding OurCrowd companies in this month’s edition of “What We’re Investing In.” OurCrowd First Finding promising early stage investment opportunities is an art. To find the right companies, the OurCrowd investment team sifts through upwards of 150 startups per month. Often, due to the size of the round or the maturity of the company, they are forced to pass on great, early stage opportunities. To address this, for the first time on the OurCrowd platform, we are offering an opportunity to invest in a fund composed...

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