Startup Investing

Advocate marketing anytime, anywhere: Q&A with Influitive CEO and founder Mark Organ

Advocate marketing anytime, anywhere: Q&A with Influitive CEO and founder Mark Organ

May 27, 2015 | ,

On an exploration of what makes advocate communities tick, we recently hosted an AMA (ask me anything) session with Mark Organ, CEO and founder of Influitive, a leading, B2B marketing software that allows companies to mobilize their customers into brand advocates. Influitive is a company that we know well. We’re not just investors, we’re also paying customers. OurCrowd has been using Influitive internally for the past few months to power employee advocacy and our investor community, Catalyst. OurCrowd’s investors and employees had the chance to ask Mark questions about his revolutionary advocate marketing platform, and the nascent advocate marketing industry in general. Advocacy Marketing Q&A with Mark Organ Zack: Where did the idea for Influitive come from? Mark: The idea for Influitive resulted from my experiences running Eloqua. We learned that advocacy was key to an efficient buying process and that referrals were 10xmore valuable than ordinary leads. But our initiatives to increase advocacy were not effective in generating a step increase in referrals, references and customer stories. Until one day when we created an awards ceremony and then we got...

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A pinch of salt and a dash of innovation: 6 great food tech startups from Israel

A pinch of salt and a dash of innovation: 6 great food tech startups from Israel

May 26, 2015 | , , ,

Not for nothing is Israel named the ‘Startup Nation’ — there are more high-tech startups and a larger venture capital industry per capita than any other country, ranking as the #2 startup ecosystem in the world, right after the Silicon Valley. The country’s thriving entrepreneur community is constantly thinking-up and producing innovative ideas, cutting-edge technologies, and business opportunities in a wide variety of industries. Investors worldwide look to Israel to find that next top trend that will turn heads and smash records. So what if that next big thing in tech… actually lands on your plate? Israelis are passionate about technology, but they are even more passionate about food, and when gastronomy meets technology, anything is possible. The rapidly growing foodtech sector is changing the way we find, order, ship, prepare, and consume food and drinks, and although Israel may have entered the industry after the US, thousands of food-related technologies are already being developed in the country. It’s no surprise that the Startup Nation is set to soon become a powerhouse for foodtech startups. Israel recently witnessed the launch of it’s 1st foodtech accelerator – alpha Strauss. The program,  part...

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Conquering the Term Sheet: Everything you need to know about deal terms (Part 2)

Conquering the Term Sheet: Everything you need to know about deal terms (Part 2)

May 21, 2015 | , ,

Yesterday, we held the 2nd installment of OurCrowd’s educational series on how professional investors analyze and construct terms and conditions for their investments. Missed Part 1? View it here. On this week’s Q&A session, we continue to explore the fundamentals of deal terms in startup investing, discussing how to: Understand the basics of deal terms, from full ratchet to anti-dilution Get an insider’s view of crafting deal terms in startup investing Learn what to look for in a term sheet from seed stage to pre-IPO ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: To view the 3rd and final installment of our 3 part educational series on deal terms, click here. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: To stay updated on future events and the best news from the Startup Nation, sign up for our newsletter, email us, and follow us on social media.   View the FULL program Download/view the presentation [xyz-ihs...

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All your questions, answered: 8 things to know about the medical cannabis industry [AMA with Dr. Morris Laster]

All your questions, answered: 8 things to know about the medical cannabis industry [AMA with Dr. Morris Laster]

May 20, 2015 | , ,

Medical cannabis is the next frontier of medtech investing, forecasted to become a $35 billion industry by 2020. How are the challenges of this industry being resolved? Your questions, answered: OurCrowd presents our first investor AMA (“ask me anything”) with medtech advisor, Venture Partner and 25-year industry veteran Dr. Morris Laster. Below, Dr. Laster addresses medical cannabis, providing answers and insight into the industry as well as the medtech advances made by Syqe Medical, developers of the world’s first meter-dosed botanical inhaler and OurCrowd’s current investment opportunity. Missed the live AMA? Have more queries about the medical cannabis industry? Don’t let your questions go unanswered!  Leave a comment below and we’ll answer them! —————- About Dr. Laster Dr. Laster is a physician with over 25 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and with expertise in identification, development and management of advanced biomedical drugs and technologies. Dr. Laster is the Venture Partner responsible for Medtech investments at OurCrowd; he has founded and/or managed six companies that have gone public in the US, UK and Israel. He invented a novel device to access the circulatory system through the bone...

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Bigger? Better? Try ‘Smarter’: Investing in the Internet of Things [Infographic]

Bigger? Better? Try ‘Smarter’: Investing in the Internet of Things [Infographic]

May 19, 2015 | , ,

Let’s talk impressive numbers: There are already more than 10 billion systems connected to the Internet (IDC) and by 2020 there will be nearly 26 billion devices on the Internet of Things (Gartner). If you haven’t heard the term by now, Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the climbing trend of connecting “dumb” devices through an internet connection to collect and utilize actionable intelligence about everyday life. Although the trend is still in its infancy, its potential is huge and the possibilities seem limitless. Given the growing ubiquity of the internet, lower-than-ever costs of connected devices, and a cross-sectorial trend towards increased connectedness, it is our belief that IoT is poised for enormous growth in the coming years. Inside the Internet of Things To capture the scope of this emerging world of connected devices, OurCrowd has created an inforgraphic to provide some insights into everything Internet of Things and location based technologies. Check it out and share if you found it...

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