Startup Investing

Making the Rounds: What investors need to know about the different stages of startup funding

Making the Rounds: What investors need to know about the different stages of startup funding

Apr 10, 2014 | ,

Facebook’s $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp last month marked the largest recorded deal for a venture-capital-backed company in history. While the unprecedented price tag of the purchase was certainly a story in and of itself, what really garnered attention among venture capitalists was that Sequoia Capital was WhatsApp’s lone VC investor.  Although sources differ on the exact stage at which Sequoia first invested in WhatsApp, as well as the exact amount of the initial investment, the general consensus is that the company will reap a return of approximately 50x on an investment made as early as a Series A round of funding. How is it that Sequoia managed to emerge from this deal with profits estimated to be in excess of $3 billion? The answer, though undoubtedly a combination of a variety of factors, is largely based on timing. Jumping back almost three years to April 2011, when WhatsApp had just secured an $8 million investment from Sequoia, the newly-founded messaging service had all of 4,050 reviews for its Blackberry app. To put that into perspective, the Blackberry app now...

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OurCrowd Launches The Investor’s Ultimate Playbook to Crowdfunding

OurCrowd Launches The Investor’s Ultimate Playbook to Crowdfunding

Mar 31, 2014 | , , ,

Crowdfunding is booming. The industry has come a long way since the first crowdfunding projects surfaced a few years ago. Specifically, the equity crowdfunding market has experienced some serious growth, raising $204 million in 2013 alone, proving to be a truly disruptive model for investing in startups. Young companies all across the globe are now taking advantage of this new-found accessibility to early stage capital to assist them in growing into profitable, scale-able companies. The potential returns from investing in the next Apple or Google can be huge, but so are the risks. Here at OurCrowd, we wanted to share the knowledge and experience we’ve gained from being involved in the industry to help others looking for ways to profit from the equity crowdfunding revolution, but are wondering how to go about it. We’ve interviewed more than thirty of the world’s top industry thought leaders and experts – including Barbara Corcoran, Tim Draper, Steve Dresner, Douglas Ellenoff, Ronald Kleverlaan, Charles Luzar, Tanya Prive, Richard Swart, and Senator Mark Warner – to bring you the best tips and insights on equity crowdfunding. Download our new ebook below which is intended...

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The OurCrowd Equity Crowdfunding Report [Infographic]

The OurCrowd Equity Crowdfunding Report [Infographic]

Mar 26, 2014 | , , ,

The crowd is getting bigger–and backing more startups than ever. Over the last few years, the crowdfunding industry has tripled in size. In addition to reward-based crowdfunding campaigns on platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo,  equity crowdfunding is becoming more and more commonplace, gaining popularity as an investment model for angels and institutional investors alike. To capture the scope of equity crowdfunding, OurCrowd has created an inforgraphic showing the past and present accomplishments of the industry along with future projections. Check it out and share if you found it helpful!...

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Crowdfunding, the Statue of Liberty and the Future of Finance

Crowdfunding, the Statue of Liberty and the Future of Finance

Mar 24, 2014 | , ,

Crowdfunding is booming. The industry has come a long way since the first crowdfunding projects surfaced a few years ago. Going forward, crowdfunding is likely to take on many forms, expand globally and become the preferred model for investment. Given the recent surge in its activity and popularity, here is a quick beginner’s guide discussing the origins and different types of crowdfunding platforms available for investment today. What Is Crowdfunding? Crowdfunding is the pooling of resources to create or maintain an initiative from a large number of backers—the “crowd.” Projects supported through crowdfunding, usually online by means of a web platform, can range from nonprofit or charity organizations, political campaigns, creative projects (i.e.- supporting an artist, gallery, director, film etc.) or a financing campaign to fund a startup company. The Oxford dictionary definition for crowdfunding reads: [Noun] The practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet. History of Crowdfunding Crowdfunding has a long and rich history with roots going back hundreds of years. Crowdfunding originates in the concept of crowdsourcing,...

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6 Tips on How You Can Invest in the Next Billion Dollar Exit

6 Tips on How You Can Invest in the Next Billion Dollar Exit

Mar 16, 2014 | , ,

2013 was a record year for the Israeli high-tech sector as the value of M&A deals and IPOs reached an eight-year high of $7.6 billion. Although there were several exits in the hundreds of millions of dollars (the average exit was for $170 million, the highest in decades), most of that sum was for a small number of mega-exits in high-tech. Of the 45 Israeli exits last year, Google’s acquisition of popular social driving app Waze for about $1 billion made the most headlines. Why Waze was valued over $1 billion What was the big deal about Waze? Well, for starters, it’s not every day you hear about titans like Google and Facebook going head to head in a race to buy out a company. Furthermore, the lucrative deal is one of the largest high-tech acquisitions in Israeli history. Google’s acquisition of Waze put Israeli technology back on the front stage of the international startup scene, signaling new growth for Israeli high tech that was clearly evident in the months following the deal. Until recently, most investors thought it would be impossible to build a billion dollar consumer company in Israel. The Google-Waze deal opened...

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