Author: wp_archive_user

The Marker on OurCrowd: “one of the startup investment bodies with the highest female presence”

Jun 6, 2013 | ,

Leading Israeli business journal, The Marker, covered OurCrowd’s hire of Evelyn Rubin and Danna Mann as partners on June 4th. Excerpt from the article (translated from Hebrew): OurCrowd, the VC-crowdfunding platform founded by Jon Medved, announced today that it has appointed Evelyn Rubin as Business Development Partner and Danna Mann as Business Strategies Partner. In total there are now three women partners on the OurCrowd team – making it one of the startup investment bodies with the highest female presence. Read more at The Marker (Hebrew)   [xyz-ihs...

Read More
From Beijing to Jerusalem: Why I chose an internship in Israel

From Beijing to Jerusalem: Why I chose an internship in Israel

Jun 3, 2013 | , ,

There’s a Chinese saying that goes, “行千里路，胜读万卷书。” (“Traveling a thousand miles trumps reading ten thousand scrolls.”) I’m happy to say I’ve fulfilled the first part of the saying by travelling 7,125 kilometers to Jerusalem, Israel for my internship at OurCrowd. Who am I? My name is Amy Sheng. I’m originally from Beijing, China, but I currently reside in New Haven, Connecticut, where I am a rising sophomore at Yale University. I devoted most of my freshman year to a year-long Humanities program called Directed Studies. I haven’t yet declared a major, but I’m considering a double major in Math & Philosophy and Computer Science. I’ve been a globe-trotter since I was young, moving from China to the US at the tender age of 5, then bouncing up and down the Eastern seaboard each year, returning to China at the age of 10, attending a youth conference in Norway, then making my way back to the States for college. My newest destination? Jerusalem, Israel. Why Israel? To explain how I made my way to Israel’s startup scene, I have to...

Read More
Whimsical Thoughts About a Waze Acquisition — What an Investor Needs to Know

Whimsical Thoughts About a Waze Acquisition — What an Investor Needs to Know

May 30, 2013 | , ,

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. This hasn’t exactly been the case with Waze, the social navigation app. It’s been rumored to have at least a couple big players knocking down its door. The latest news in the Waze buyout saga says that the Facebook-Waze talks are on the fritz, due to the fact that Waze is opposed to moving its Israel-based operations to Facebook’s HQ in California. Whether the buyout will happen or not, there is no doubt that Waze — the technology — has changed the way we travel from point A to point B. So, for this blog, we’ve created a road map describing the origin and meteoric rise of Waze. I’ve been living in a cave for 5 years, what is Waze exactly? Waze is a GPS with a twist. Unlike a standard GPS that just displays a map (if you’re really fancy, it also pulls satellite data to optimize your planned route), Waze rallies all its users...

Read More
US venture capitalists bullish on equity crowdfunding

US venture capitalists bullish on equity crowdfunding

May 26, 2013 | , ,

By all accounts, crowdfunding is still in its infancy. For the unfamiliar, crowdfunding is where individuals join together to raise capital online. Crowdfunding, as we know it now, comes in two flavors: donation-based crowdfunding: Individuals band together to fund projects, events, and social causes. In return, individuals donating via crowdfunding receive the pleasure of doing good and frequently, there’s some type of prize associated with giving levels (not unlike general charitable giving campaigns). equity-based crowdfunding: In this type of crowdfunding, individuals don’t donate money —  they invest it. Typically, funding is restricted to accredited investors (who meet certain net-worth and/or income levels) who receive an equity share in a company in return for their money.  The JOBS Act in 2012 set the stage to open equity crowdfunding to the non-accredited investor audience (read, everyone else), though in reality, guidelines have not yet been set. How traditional VCs view crowdfunding Clearly, equity based crowdfunding (and crowdfunding, in general) has the potential to really change the way we invest in private companies. I think there will always be room (and money)...

Read More
Zula receives funding from OurCrowd

Zula receives funding from OurCrowd

May 22, 2013 | , , , ,

OurCrowd is happy to announce the funding of its latest portfolio company, Zula. Zula provides an innovative cloud-based mobile collaboration platform for teams. Zula was founded by Jeff Pulver, pioneer of VoIP, social media master and early-stage investor in companies like Twitter and foursquare, and by Jacob Ner-David, a 3-time entrepreneur who took Delta Three through IPO. Zula  co-founder Jeff Pulver said, “I am excited about the value that OurCrowd brings to early stage investors who  invest in  startup companies. Not only did we raise our seed round online in less than a week, but we had people from all over the world invest in Zula thanks to this platform.” This is OurCrowd’s 18th completed funding round, while 3 additional companies are still actively funding. If you’re an accredited investor and like to find out more please visit OurCrowd.   [xyz-ihs...

Read More