Startup Investing

The Democratization of Investing: OurCrowd’s 2015 Year In Review [Infographic]

The Democratization of Investing: OurCrowd’s 2015 Year In Review [Infographic]

Jan 13, 2016 | ,

In 2015, OurCrowd achieved groundbreaking figures investing in Israeli and global startups. OurCrowd has effectively disrupted and democratized the venture-capital space, offering accredited investors the chance to partake in the lucrative industry. As we continue to build on the strong foundation we set down just three years ago, OurCrowd managed to shatter (even its own) records and rise even higher as a leader on the equity crowdfunding scene, setting the bar high for other investment crowdfunding platforms. OurCrowd stands at the forefront of the key trends revealed in the report. This year we have surpassed raising $200M for 91 startups making us the single largest investor in the Israeli tech ecosystem. We are driving the democratization of venture capital, opening the door to tens of thousands of accredited investors who want  a shot at the enormous riches now coming from investing in private companies, and bringing the hotbed of Israeli and global innovation and entrepreneurial activity to our investors through the power of the crowd.” ~ Jon Medved, OurCrowd Founder & CEO To capture the scope of these amazing achievements, OurCrowd created...

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WEBINAR: How experienced investors evaluate – and invest through – online equity platforms

WEBINAR: How experienced investors evaluate – and invest through – online equity platforms

Jan 5, 2016 | , ,

In an industry barely a few years old and growing quickly, angel investors are faced with multiple choices when deciding if they should try an accredited investor equity platform for startup investments. It can be exciting and daunting as the platforms themselves differ greatly in their business model, deal types, and possible outcomes. Join Rany Raviv, VP Business Development and M&A Iberdrola Renewables, Sarit Rozycki, President at SLR Associates in NYC, Shai Magzimof, CEO & Co-Founder of NextPeer, and Jonathan Medved, CEO of OurCrowd, for a 60-minute webinar with Angel Capital Association exploring the various online equity platforms for startup investing. Investor Experiences with Online Equity Platforms Wednesday, January 13th, 2016 (7:00 PM Israel / 12:00 PM NYC / 3:00 PM San Francisco) In this webinar, you will: Learn from two experienced angel investors who’ve each invested through several different platforms. Learn how they evaluate platforms, including differences in experience, term sheets and, of course, deal flow. >> Reserve your seat on the webinar Moderator: Bill Carleton, Attorney with McNaul Ebel Nawrot & Helgren. Bill is a key member of the ACA public policy...

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Internet of Things: The next big thing in Israeli tech [Infographic]

Internet of Things: The next big thing in Israeli tech [Infographic]

Jan 4, 2016 | , ,

Bigger? Better? Try ‘smarter’! If you haven’t heard the term by now, Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the growing trend of machine-to-machine connectivity, where Internet-enabled “dumb” devices have a network connection to collect and utilize actionable intelligence about everyday life. The growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) industry has been one of the biggest trends in tech in recent years and especially during 2015, where new innovation is disrupting traditional industries across the board.” – Forbes Over the past recent months, there has been a growing amount of impressive IoT activity coming out of Israel. To help visualize this new wave of Israeli innovation, a Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv early-stage venture capital firm — solely backed by Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt — Innovation Endeavors, mapped the 2015 Israeli Internet of Things Landscape. SEE ALSO: Beyond tech: Why investors are bullish about internet startups According to their study, there are 330 Israeli IoT companies across five verticals and 23 sub-verticals, from the seed stages all the way to revenue growth. Out of the featured IoT startups operating in Israel, 11 are...

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The Startup Nation crème de la crème: Notable awards, influencers, technologies, and more

The Startup Nation crème de la crème: Notable awards, influencers, technologies, and more

Dec 31, 2015 | , ,

Not for nothing is Israel the #2 startup ecosystem in the world: it has more high-tech startups and a larger venture capital industry per capita than any other country. Silicon Wadi has become a world leader in startup success, and its numerous achievements have not gone unnoticed by the global community. Over the last month, Israeli startups have received a lot of recognition for their innovative accomplishments — from prestigious awards to competitions, and from top ranking entrepreneurs to international reports — in a variety of fields and in the broader startup ecosystem. These recent achievements reflect what turned out to be a stellar year for the Startup Nation in terms of investments, M&As, and technological breakthroughs. Here is a quick recap of some notable awards, influencers, technologies, and more from the past month: Eight Israeli companies included on KPMG/H2Ventures ‘2015 Fintech 100 List’ Investment firm H2 Ventures and KPMG recently published its second annual Fintech 100 report, spotlighting the leading global Fintech innovators. This list featured eight Israeli companies considered some of the most exciting startups reshaping financial services industry: OurCrowd, its portfolio company BioCatch, eToro, BLender,...

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4 Things to Know About the Future of Retail

4 Things to Know About the Future of Retail

Dec 29, 2015 |

E-commerce has become a market segment with a number of multi-billion dollar companies in just a few short years. With holiday season retail sales reports coming in and largely showing pure play e-commerce sites accounting for billions in sales, it’s easy to forget how young e-commerce is. Here are four things about the state and future of retail – pertaining to e-commerce’s rapid growth – as considered by our Investment Team over recent months: 1. We’re only through the first part of retail’s online shift It would surprise many to hear that substantially less than 10% of all retail happens through online channels. So, in spite of headlines like these, the vast majority of consumer purchases still happen through traditional channels. Additionally, this “first leg” of e-commerce’s growth is best described as a shift of retail expenditure to online channels. Overall retail spending has grown in the past 15 years, but e-commerce has not been a primary driver for the pie increasing in size. In spite of the ease e-commerce has brought selling and buying, the ability to transact digitally isn’t...

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