Posts

Truro vineyard ventures into rum trade

Truro vineyard ventures into rum trade
For now, the family expects rum-making to be a small part of their overall business. The 2,000 square-foot distillery, situated in a restored carriage house next to the winery, will produce only 400 cases of rum. The initial batch will include the …
Read more on Wicked Local Orleans

The Pay Zone: Oil Price, Chariot Oil and Gas, Sound Oil, San Leon Energy
I wrote a piece about BG in my early flash blog but now I have had a chance to speak to the company and put my thoughts in some sort of order I will add to those comments. The first thing to say is that while the announcement today … BG has no longer …
Read more on Proactive Investors UK

Casper Raises $1.6 Million from Investors Including Lerer Ventures and Norwest Venture Partners


New York, NY (PRWEB) February 25, 2014

Casper, the company delivering a better sleep experience with better designed mattresses and a superior delivery system, today announces the close of a $ 1.6 million dollar seed round. Led by Lerer Ventures, the round also includes investments from Norwest Venture Partners, Crosslink Partners, Vaizra Investments, and Correlation Ventures.

Casper’s founding team is a mix of e-commerce professionals and design engineers who share a vision to boost creativity, productivity, and health through an improved sleep experience. Philip Krim, co-founder and CEO, sold over 40,000 beds online through an e-commerce company he started as a sophomore at the University of Texas. Jeff Chapin, co-founder and product lead, worked on R&D and design for Sealy while at IDEO in Boston.

Casper, launching in late Spring, will initially offer a single mattress construction. The mattress is designed and engineered with comfort in mind: it contours to the body, reduces pressure, eliminates sinking in and overheating, but also provides excellent bounce-back – a welcome addition for mattress activities other than sleep. By eliminating costs associated with retail partnerships, distribution, and storage, Casper is able to reinvest in the product.

“We’ve made a concerted effort to focus on the elements that actually affect sleep – you would be shocked at the games retailers and manufacturers play solely for marketing purposes with no added benefit to the consumer,” says Krim. “It’s a liberating opportunity to make a bed from scratch, solely on our own terms.”

“I have been sleeping on a Casper for the last couple of months and I can only say that the sleep is awesome,” says Ben Lerer, Managing Director at Lerer Ventures. “The entire team is perfectly suited to take their vision of what people need for a better night’s sleep and transform the entire category.”

“Mattress shopping is a viewed by a large percentage of the market as one of the more difficult and frustrating shopping experiences, only surpassed by the experience of buying a used car,” said Josh Goldman, general partner at Norwest Venture Partners. “Casper is focused on fixing this archaic process that consumers endure today by bringing a high quality product to the $ 12.4B mattress market at an extremely disruptive price point. We have the utmost confidence that the leadership and design expertise of this team will deliver some much-needed transparency to the sleep industry.”

Casper products will be available in the coming months at http://www.caspersleep.com. The company is currently accepting applicants for their beta testing program.

About Casper

Casper is rewriting the rules of the mattress industry by providing a universally comfortable sleep experience. With better sleep comes more productivity and creativity. Casper’s mattress is a responsive one – designed to contour to your body, reduce pressure, ensure you won’t sink in or overheat, but also provide excellent bounce-back – perfect for mattress activities other than sleep. By eliminating storage and retail partners, Casper’s superior mattresses cost a third of the closest retail equivalent. Please visit http://www.caspersleep.com/ and follow us on Twitter @caspersleep.

About Lerer Ventures

Lerer Ventures is a New York-based, seed stage venture capital fund led by managing directors Kenneth Lerer, Eric Hippeau, Ben Lerer and Jordan Cooper. LV invests in founders in the earliest stages of a startup’s life, seeking out entrepreneurs with product vision, consumer insight, focused execution, and unwavering ambition. Its portfolio includes BuzzFeed, Warby Parker, Thrillist, Birchbox, Percolate, Sailthru, Fullscreen, Songza, Chartbeat, RebelMouse, Refinery29 and many more.

About Norwest Venture Partners

Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) is a multi-stage venture capital and growth equity investment firm that has partnered with entrepreneurs to build great businesses for more than 50 years. The firm manages over $ 3.7 billion in capital and has funded more than 500 companies since inception. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., NVP has subsidiaries in Mumbai and Bengaluru, India and Herzelia, Israel. NVP makes early to late-stage venture and growth equity investments across a wide range of sectors including: technology, information services, business services, financial services, consumer products/services and healthcare. For more information, please visit http://www.nvp.com and follow NVP on Twitter @NorwestVP.







Ventures Interviews: Opeyemi Adeyemi Talks Social Media And Business In Africa

Ventures Interviews: Opeyemi Adeyemi Talks Social Media And Business In Africa
In what ways have Social Media fostered business growth in Africa? O.J.: Social media is … Some of the brands I have promoted online are; Savethechildren, PATHS2, United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), National Identity Card Management …
Read more on Ventures Africa

Joe Field at Flying Colors Comics. (Photo: Brant Ward/The Chronicle)
The proprietor of Flying Colors Comics in Concord and comics retailing innovator was a co-founder of WonderCon (then known as the Wonderful World of Comics convention) and started Free Comic Book Day — which has grown in 13 years to hand out millions …
Read more on SFGate (blog)

– Venture Capital – James Robinson of RRE Ventures

- Venture Capital - James Robinson of RRE Ventures

Still in NYC, Mark Suster is back interviewing another big name in the East Coast Venture Capital world, James Robinson of RRE Ventures. Watch as the two dis…
Video Rating: 5 / 5

Clip from Bitcoins major price drop in early 2013. And the most expensive diamond and painting were sold at auction this week — but are they really the most…

Elevate Ventures Partners with Southwest Indiana Region Community Stakeholders to Launch Regional Entrepreneurship Action Plan


Indianapolis, IN (PRWEB) July 12, 2013

Elevate Ventures, a private venture development organization that assists and invests in high-growth, high-potential early and second-stage companies, announced a partnership with key community stakeholders to launch the Elevate Ventures Regional Entrepreneurship Action Plan (REAP) in Southwest Indiana. The first phase, also known as Quick Start, will provide local entrepreneurial resources and access to the firm’s funds under management. Elevate Ventures manages over $ 80 million in funds through its 21st Century Research & Technology Fund, its Indiana Angel Network Fund, its Community Development Fund and its recently launched Diversity Fund.

The introduction of this program will make several vital resources available to the region’s entrepreneurial community, including investment capital for high-potential, high-growth companies, the local placement of Elevate Ventures Entrepreneurs-In-Residence, participation in a statewide investor network, and the offering of Economic Gardening services to local second-stage companies.

First launched in October 2011 in Northern Indiana, the REAP is a four-year program designed to stimulate economic activity and to facilitate the emergence and development of high-potential companies into high-performing businesses. Through the REAP, Elevate Ventures staff, in partnership with local business leaders, economic development organizations, and other local stakeholders, will provide assistance and capital to identified early-stage and second-stage companies that have the intent and capacity to grow their business.

“Through REAP, Elevate Ventures will provide a fast track for entrepreneurs in this region by offering key services such as business analysis, advisory services and resources to succeed long-term and help companies move past many of the initial challenges they might face,” stated Carl Chapman, Vectren Corporation’s President and CEO. “Our region has been steadily building a network of stakeholders and partners to provide the foundation for growth environments just as it has with many other regional initiatives; and, we are ready to launch REAP to provide momentum in helping the businesses located here to arrive at success sooner,” stated Becky Skillman, President of Radius Indiana.    Vectren Corporation and Radius Indiana are REAP funding stakeholders.

Bob Myer, an Evansville area resident, angel investor, and a director at Elevate Ventures, will be an acting Entrepreneur-in-Residence in the region. Elevate Ventures plans on hiring two additional Entrepreneurs-In-Residence.

The program offered by Elevate Ventures has had great success in the northern regions of Indiana, where it was first implemented. Results include an increase in the number of funding applications from the region, a greater number of companies obtaining funding from Elevate Ventures and private investors, and significant increases in employment and revenue growth for participants in the Economic Gardening program.

Among many stakeholders who are eager to see these services come to the region, few are more enthused than Greg Wathen, President & CEO of the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana.

“We are in a position to catalyze the resources already existing in the region,” said Wathen, when asked about the potential impact of the REAP. “Elevate Ventures and the services its team offers will help us do that. We’ve already had several years of traction, and this is one of those critical steps that could truly ignite unprecedented growth in our community. We’re very excited to see how this program will benefit Southwest Indiana businesses.”

For more information on the programs and services offered by Elevate Ventures, visit http://www.elevateventures.com. To apply for funding or services, visit http://www.elevateventures.com/apply.

About Elevate Ventures

Elevate Ventures is a private venture development organization that nurtures and develops emerging and existing high-potential businesses into high-performing, Indiana-based companies. Elevate Ventures accomplishes this by providing access to capital, rigorous business analysis and robust advisory services that connect companies with the right mix of resources businesses need to succeed long-term. As a not-for-profit organization, Elevate Ventures is able to offer unbiased, in-depth perspective and recommendations. To learn more about Elevate Ventures, its team and its funds under management, visit http://www.elevateventures.com.

About the Southwest Region REAP Stakeholders

Southwest Region stakeholders who provided funding to support the REAP include Bingham Greenbaum Doll LLP, City of Evansville, Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana, Fifth Third Bank, Freedom Bank, German American Bancorp, Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Jasper Engines & Transmissions, Koch Enterprises, Memorial Hospital & Healthcare Center, Menke Charitable Foundation, Old National Bank, Radius Indiana, Regional Impact Fund, Ron Romain, Seufert Construction and Supply and Vectren Corporation.

Counties included in the Southwest Region REAP are Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Greene, Knox, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh and Warrick.







New business ventures reflect local women's passions

New business ventures reflect local women's passions
Boyden, who has a master's degree in nursing, has been using bioidentical hormone replacement therapy for about 10 years, treating not only women but also men and teenagers. Patients travel … So they started brainstorming business ideas. That's when …
Read more on Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal

Sunday conversation with … Amy Martin
A: The best compliment I get from people is when they say they had fun. My goal at … I've been completely supported by most of the men I've run into in the business. … A: They are pretty good bid callers but they are teenagers so they don't want to …
Read more on Atlanta Journal Constitution

Gengo Closes a New Round of Funding with Intel Capital, Atomico, Iris Capital, Infocomm Investments, NTT-IP Fund and STC Ventures

Tokyo (PRWEB) April 24, 2013

Gengo, the translation platform for global companies, announced that the company has recently closed a US$ 12M round of funding led by Intel Capital, along with participation from Iris Capital, Infocomm Investments, NTT-IP Fund and STC Ventures, and from returning investor Atomico.

Gengo provides an API and platform for fast, high-quality human translation for 33 languages, provided by a pool of over 7,500 tested and rated translators for global large and small-and-medium-sized companies as well as individuals. Currently, leading e-commerce, online travel, and community portals are powered by its translation platform.

With this new round of financing, Gengo will accelerate global expansion, while also improving the translation platform and increasing the speed of the translation process. Gengo recently partnered with YouTube, enabling video uploaders to order professional-quality translation for their captions. Leveraging Gengo’s translation platform, more and more of this kind of online communications will happen globally.

“The Gengo team is excited about working with investors from Asia, the USA, Europe, and the Middle East, lead by Intel Capital, because of their global experience and track record helping entrepreneurs,” said Robert Laing, CEO and co-founder of Gengo. “There’s a significant technology component to human translation at scale, so it’s great to work with a firm with the pedigree of Intel Capital,” added Matthew Romaine, CTO and co-founder of Gengo.

“As the Internet breaks down the concept of national borders, we think Gengo’s service will vitalize communication for people around the world.” said Kaz Yoshida, President, Intel K.K. “It will help to break the language barrier and bring together the wisdom of the people to address global social challenges we are facing. Intel promotes innovation so that people can enjoy rich and fulfilling experiences.”

“Gengo is at the forefront of the crowd-sourced translation space,” said Sudheer Kuppam, Managing Director for Asia Pacific at Intel Capital. “Intel Capital welcomes Gengo to its portfolio. We look forward to working with the company to bring this unique service to more users worldwide.”

“Since our original investment, Gengo has proven it can scale its business across the world whilst growing its revenue fourfold,” said Hiro Tamura, Partner at Atomico. “We are excited to have Intel Capital, Infocomm and Orange all join the team as they share our core belief that the world is getting smaller, and that the most successful businesses of tomorrow will be truly global.”

“The 33 billion-dollar translation market is expected to experience a radical change and we believe that Gengo will play a crucial role in the change,” said Denis Barrier, Partner at Iris Capital. “We think it’s wonderful that Gengo has been based in both Asia and Silicon Valley since its establishment and is managed by visionary founders with global perspective”

“We are excited to join the team of truly global investors in helping Gengo with its expansion plans” said Kuo-Yi Lim, CEO of Infocomm Investments. “Singapore is well positioned – with a multicultural and multilingual environment, and diverse talent pool – as a base for Gengo’s growth into the rest of Asia.”

“Gengo provides crowd-sourced translation services utilizing a uniquely developed platform”, said Nobuyuki Akimoto, Executive Vice President & COO at DOCOMO Innovation Ventures. “They have been creating growing opportunities as a globally expanding start-up company and we look forward to their growth.”

About Gengo:

Gengo is the platform for global companies. A powerful API lets enterprise customers integrate professional-quality translation into their application, making it easy to build multi-language services. Gengo’s simple website also allows individuals and SMBs to order individual translations in a matter of seconds. Over 7,500 qualified translators work on jobs through the Gengo platform, in all timezones. This scale means Gengo can return simple translations in a matter of minutes, in 33 languages and at a quality level suited to each customer. Gengo’s platform takes care of quality control, job allocation and translation review. This means companies can focus on their business, while Gengo empowers them to go global. Gengo was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Tokyo.

About Intel Capital:

Intel Capital, Intel’s global investment and M&A organization, makes equity investments in innovative technology start-ups and companies worldwide. Intel Capital invests in a broad range of companies offering hardware, software, and services targeting enterprise, mobility, health, consumer Internet, digital media and semiconductor manufacturing. Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested more than US$ 10.8 billion in over 1,276 companies in 54 countries. In that timeframe, 201 portfolio companies have gone public on various exchanges around the world and 317 were acquired or participated in a merger. In 2012, Intel Capital invested US$ 352 million in 150 investments with approximately 57 percent of funds invested outside North America. For more information on Intel Capital and its differentiated advantages, visit http://www.intelcapital.com or follow @Intelcapital.

About Atomico:

Atomico is an international technology investment firm, focused on helping the world’s most disruptive technology companies reach their full potential on a global scale. Founded by Niklas Zennström, the co-founder of Skype, they have become the investor of choice for ambitious entrepreneurs due to our unique international network, and ability to help companies operationally, with offices in London, Beijing, São Paulo, Istanbul and Tokyo. Their investments include category leaders such as Rovio, Jawbone, Fab, Klarna and Skype. http://www.atomico.com

About Iris Capital:

Iris Capital is a pan-European venture capital fund manager specializing in digital economy. Since its inception in 1986, the Iris Capital team has invested more than €900 million in more than 200 companies. Iris Capital targets opportunities in service or technology companies, seeking growth capital in order to realize their strategy. It provides active support to its portfolio companies on the basis of its strong sector specialization and experience, and has offices in Paris, Düsseldorf, San Francisco, Montreal, Riyadh, Dubai, Beijing and Tokyo. In 2012 Iris Capital has entered into a strategic partnership with Orange and Publicis to manage their

joint venture capital initiative. http://www.iriscapital.com

About Infocomm Investments

Infocomm Investments is the venture capital arm of Singapore government’s IT authority — IDA (Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore). Managing a fund of $ 200 million, Infocomm Investments invests alongside top-tier investors in growth stage technology companies and help startups around the world expand to Asian markets by leveraging Singapore’s top-class business infrastructure. For more information: http://www.infocomminvestments.com

About Docomo Innovation Ventures

DOCOMO Innovation Ventures, on behalf of NTT Group, play a proactive role in accelerating innovation for technologies and services by discovering, nurturing, and supporting venture businesses. We have just established 10-billion-yen (approximately 105 million USD) DOCOMO Innovation Fund, and have been operating 15-billion-yen (approximately 158 million USD) NTT Investment Partners Fund (NTT-IP Fund) since 2008. For more information: http://www.docomo-i-ventures.com/

About STC Ventures

STC Ventures is a venture capital fund, independently managed by Iris Capital, whose anchor investor is the Saudi Telecom Company. STC Ventures is focused on equity investments in the information technology, telecommunications, and digital media/entertainment sectors; seeking to support the development of innovative technology companies in Saudi Arabia, the GCC, Levant, North Africa and Turkey, in addition to funding globally minded international companies seeking capital and access to the MENA region. STC Group is the largest telecommunications company in MENA, ranked in the top 20 mobile networks in the world, and serving more than 160 million subscribers. http://www.stcventures.com

Gengo is trademark of Gengo Inc in the United States and other countries.
Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.
Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

Contact:

Gengo, Inc.

Seiya Vogt

TEL: +81-3-6447-0311

MAIL: seiya (at) gengo (dot) com







More Crowd Sourcing Press Releases

The Boss: Tom Morales on his new downtown ventures (Video)

The Boss: Tom Morales on his new downtown ventures (Video)
He's since turned food into a profession, starting with his catering company TomKats (which provides onsite catering to TV and movie sets), the Loveless Café and Saffire in Franklin. Recently, Morales has turned his attention downtown, opening The …
Read more on Nashville Business Journal (blog)

A Bittersweet Legacy
Back in 2007, many restaurants in Kabul owned by or catering to foreigners began apartheid-style service and would not serve Afghans, a practice that prompted minimal opposition. The stated rationale was that restaurants wanted to serve alcohol, and …
Read more on Foreign Policy (blog)

So who exactly will ride the Capital Wheel?
Ask anyone if they've ever been on a huge Ferris wheel like the one that will be installed in National Harbor this spring, and if the answer is yes, you can bet they probably did it while on vacation. Cities around the world have built, or are in the …
Read more on Washington Business Journal (blog)

Zenyatta Ventures Announces Filing of Technical Report

Zenyatta Ventures Announces Filing of Technical Report
This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements", which often, but not always, can be identified by the use of words such as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". … Forward …
Read more on SYS-CON Media (press release)

U.S. to Give Egypt .5B in Aid
If records are left with the carriers, the government may yet seek to extend the length of time those records are retained, either by means of voluntary agreements with phone companies or a new legislative mandate—a proposal privacy advocates have …
Read more on Daily Beast

Gallup and Operation HOPE Partnership Issues Findings for 2013 Gallup-HOPE
The findings show that almost half of all racial and ethnic minority students say they plan to start their own business, while older students were found less likely than younger ones to have entrepreneurial intentions. (Read the full study here …
Read more on SYS-CON Media (press release)

Investment in Early-Stage Venture Capital – Phil Black of True Ventures

SuperInvestor U.S. – http://www.informaglobalevents.com/ytsiusvidep Phil Black (Co-Founder, True Ventures) interviewed by Mark O’Hare (CEO, Preqin) at SuperI…