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From Bunker to Living Room: 10 Wartime Innovations That Transferred to Civilian Life

From Bunker to Living Room: 10 Wartime Innovations That Transferred to Civilian Life

Sep 3, 2015 |

What do a computer, a microwave, and duct tape have in common? All of these now indispensible items were originally developed for war. Military technology often has widespread applications for civilian life, and thus, it is not uncommon to see the transition from military to commercial use. Though war is no doubt ugly, the high stakes can propel technology forward to accomplish unimaginable feats. Some of the most important technology today was developed not because of desire, but because of necessity. Money, too, is a key reason why major tech breakthroughs occur in the military. With a $637 billion defense budget each year, the United States is able to allot approximately $63.3 billion a year on research, development, and testing. This large sum makes it possible to turn theories into products quickly, whereas low budget inventors may take years to accomplish the same thing. In fact, many military technologies were created when the defense establishment decided to take on projects that had been initiated decades earlier, but never had the proper funding or attention to actualize. Explore ten of...

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OurCrowd’s portfolio company ElMindA featured in the Times of Israel

Aug 21, 2015 | ,

OurCrowd portfolio company ElMindA was featured in The Times of Israel, an English-language news website covering Israel, the region & the Jewish world. ElMindA is the world’s first FDA-cleared neuronal functional assessment tool. ElMindA’s solution uniquely measures how different parts of the brain communicate by uploading measured neural activity into the cloud where proprietary algorithms map out neural association. Israeli biotechnology firm ElMindA – developers of the world’s first FDA-approved neural functional assessment tool to visualize serious brain trauma and illnesses – has been named one of the 49 most innovative start-ups in the world by the World Economic Forum. While most brain monitoring systems require the invasive insertion of a sensor inside the head, ElMindA’s BNA takes its measurements using a sensor-laden futuristic looking “helmet” that contains dozens of electrodes to measure activity through the skull. The sensors are able to measure the electronic activity of the brain at different points, with each sensor recording the activity associated with a specific brain function – thought, memory, activity, etc. . ElMindA raised $2,282,318 from OurCrowd investors in July 2015. Read more on The Times of...

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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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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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Who’s investing? Meet 457 Angel Investing Groups Worldwide

Who’s investing? Meet 457 Angel Investing Groups Worldwide

Jun 10, 2015 | , , ,

As the glitz and glamour of the startup scene dominates the stage, it’s sometimes all too easy to forget the unsung heroes of financing: angel investors. Typically, angel investors provide the capital to startups when the scope of the need is too big for friends & family, but too small for venture capital firms. What’s an angel investor? An angel investor is an affluent individual who provides capital for a startup in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity. Angels, as they’re often referred to, can also provide valuable management advice and important contacts to growing startups. Why engage in angel investing? Even though angels are investing at the most risky stage of a company’s life, make no mistake – many are extremely sophisticated, and are banking significant returns. Savvy angels have time-tested diligence processes, actively participate in the growth of companies, and have investment portfolios that are extremely valuable. What’s an angel group? Some angel investors organize themselves into groups in order to share research and pool their investment capital, as well as to advise companies in their portfolio....

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