Startup Investing

What We’re Investing In: Current investment opportunities on OurCrowd (January 2015)

OurCrowd’s portfolio growth is expanding: this month, featured opportunities include innovative companies in the medical technology and cyber security spaces. Stay tuned – there are more deals to be announced before the end of the month; bookmark this post to view the next deals. TheraCoat: Hydrogel-based drug delivery A major pain point for pharmacologists when developing drugs is finding a substance that can efficiently deliver the needed medication before the body’s natural fluids wash it away. TheraCoat’s Intracavity Drug Retention System (ICDR) was created to solve that very problem. Their patent-protected substance liquefies when in cool temperatures and hardens in hot temperatures. The ICDR is mixed with the necessary drug and taken in liquid form. When the liquid reaches the cavity, body heat causes the substance to harden and stick to the walls of the cavity. This enables the drug to be emitted at a slow, consistent rate, without being washed away by the body’s fluid. So far, TheraCoat has experienced significant early traction, conducting a number of successful test trials and securing regulatory clearance in a number of...

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OurCrowd’s smart investor’s guide to successful startup investing

Disruption is the hallmark of a startup serious about success. In the last few decades, nearly every major global industry has undergone a renaissance thanks to at least one innovative entrepreneur’s vision to solve a problem. It turns out, venture capital investing is no exception to this phenomenon. Before OurCrowd and other equity crowdfunding platforms came along, only people willing to write big checks and those well-connected professionals could get access to competitive, vetted deals. Now, individual angel investors can access the same deal flow as top tier venture capital firms, giving them the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the next big thing. This new, broadened access, however, comes with responsibility. In order to succeed and see the huge returns we so often read about, investors need to get self-educated on best practices and strategies for how to decipher the winners from the losers. The investment professionals at OurCrowd put together the following comprehensive guide to help empower you with the knowledge needed to become an independent venture capitalist. Download this free eBook to get: Startups...

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Innovation takes center stage: OurCrowd at International CES 2015

The 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (International CES) kicked off earlier today and is poised to be a record-breaking show with more than 3,600 exhibitors across the largest show floor in history with more than 2.2 million net square feet of exhibit space. The International CES is the world’s gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. Held in Las Vegas every year, it has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies for more than 40 years—the global stage where next-generation innovations are introduced to the marketplace. This year, OurCrowd has extensive representation on the ground at CES 2015, with our various team members, investors from our community, and several of our portfolio companies (some of which are finalists in various competitions!). Here is an overview of the who, where, and the highlights: Where innovators gather: OurCrowd’s portfolio companies at CES 2015 CES 2015 participants can catch a glimpse of the following innovative companies on the stage (hopefully) and expo area: Consumer Physics Consumer Physics has developed SCiO, an advanced optical spectrometer that allows users...

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Lenders, Keepers: An Investor’s Guide to the Online Lending Opportunity

Something old, something new, something borrowed… is a big opportunity in the online lending market.    In December 2014, investors with a keen eye on the world of fintech witnessed history in the making. First, Lending Club, an online peer-to-peer lending marketplace for unsecured consumer debt, began trading on the NYSE and within the month, had a valuation of over $9 billion. OnDeck, a web-based small business lender, followed suit with their IPO on December 17th, with a valuation at $1.5 billion. Shortly after, KPMG released its recent ranking of the best, most disruptive financial service tech companies. Not surprisingly, Lending Club and OnDeck ranked high in their 50 Best Fintech Innovators Report, at #6 and #7, respectively. That’s just the beginning of the story; there are a lot of reasons why the relatively young online lending industry heated up at the end of 2014 and will power investment opportunities through 2015. Before we go any further, let’s take a step back and understand what today’s online lending market fully entails. The Good, the Big, and the Ugly: A...

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Going Up: OurCrowd’s 2014 Year In Review [Infographic]

In 2014, OurCrowd reached new heights investing in Israeli and global startups. As we continue to build on the strong foundation we set down just two years ago, OurCrowd managed to shatter records and rise even higher as a leader on the equity crowdfunding scene. To name a few: With ReWalk, we celebrated the first equity crowdfunding-backed IPO We kicked off the largest investment round in the history of equity crowdfunding Members from the OurCrowd investor community now hail from 94 countries worldwide Our deal flow team has seen a total of 3,000 startups from across the globe Check out the full OurCrowd Year in Review below – and join us as we continue to climb throughout 2015 by signing up at...

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