New Equity Crowdfunding Platform iAngels.co Raises $2.25 Million Seed Round from Accredited Investors Who Want to Invest Alongside the Experts

iAngels became the 15^th company to successfully raise funds through the iAngels equity crowdfunding site, raising $1.25 million from some of Israel’s most successful super angel investors

By Robert Hoskins

Tel Aviv, Israel – iAngels is a leading equity crowdfunding platform that enables private investors to co-invest with Startup Nation’s leading angels and gain access to exclusive early-stage opportunities. The iAngels site recently announced that it has raised a $2.25 million Seed Round led by Roman Abramovich’s fund, Millhouse Capital.

iAngels is a leading equity crowdfunding platform that enables private investors to co-invest with Startup Nation’s leading angels and gain access to exclusive early-stage opportunities

iAngels became the 15^th company to successfully raise funds through the iAngels online platform, raising $1.25 million from some of Israel’s most successful angels, and an additional $1 million from its global community of investors within two days.

“We are very confident in the elite angels we’ve identified and their ability to spot the winners,” said Shelly Hod Moyal, Founding Partner at iAngels. “In fact, we’ve structured our business model to take the same risk that investors take when they invest in Israeli startups through the iAngels platform.”

“With iAngels, gone are the days when the crowdfunding platform could make money without the angels themselves succeeding,” added Mor Assia, Founding Partner at iAngels. “High-Net-Worth Individuals are choosing to co-invest with leading Israeli angels through the iAngels platform because they appreciate our unique ability to find and engage Israel’s top performing angels and analyze their investment opportunities to make sound recommendations to our angel community.”

Israel’s elite angels and Roman Abramovich’s fund, Millhouse Capital, subscribe to Assia and Hod Moyal’s rationale. Angel Investors who participated in the Seed Round led by Millhouse Capital include Marc Lasry, Boaz Weinstein, Alex Waislitz, Drew Schaefer, Gigi Levy, David Assia, Daniel Recanati, Yanki Margalit and Marcy Simon.

“iAngels provides unparalleled access to Israel’s best deal flow,” noted Gigi Levy Weiss, iAngels Advisor and one of Israel’s most successful angel investors. “The company’s unique model of investing alongside Israel’s top angels guarantees the quality of the selected companies and helps accredited investors worldwide beat the odds and make money from this coveted asset class.”

The year-old iAngels has already connected its investor community to a robust pipeline of high potential Israeli companies. In 2014, 15 Israeli companies successfully raised capital through the platform, led by the conviction of Israel’s top Angel investors and validated by the wisdom of the iAngels crowd. The iAngels investment portfolio includes promising companies such as TravelersBox, Hello Doctor, Webyclip, Nanorep, Drippler and Biscience.

“We cherry pick only the most promising Israeli startups, selecting only 5% of the investment opportunities we evaluate, said Assia. “Private investors around the world benefit from the due diligence performed by both iAngels and Israel’s top performing angel investors. We expect significant growth in 2015.”

iAngels is an angel investing equity crowdfunding platform that provides accredited investors around the world access to exclusive deals backed by Israel’s top performing early-stage investors under the terms they negotiated.

iAngels founders Mor Assia and Shelly Hod Moyal leverage analytics, visibility and relationships with angels and entrepreneurs to open a closed network of professional investors to the investing public.

By combining the proven experience of professional angel investors with due diligence and analysis, iAngels offers investors the most attractive early-stage investment opportunities in “Startup Nation.” 

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Israel is Now the Most Likely Place for People to Start a Tech Firm, States a Recent Economist Article Featuring a World Startup Report

Upround Ventures Announces First Series A/B Mentor Exchange and Upcoming Innovation Summit Events to Help Startups Cross the Series A Investment Chasm 

 By Robert Hoskins

Tel Aviv, Israel – Upround Ventures announcing two new events, Mentor Exchange and Innovation Summit, that will be held in Israel. Upround Ventures targets the gaps that exist after startups graduate accelerator programs or are initially funded with crowdfunding or angel sources. The firm engages qualified Israeli-based technology startups with a broad spectrum of financial and strategic capital from Europe, Asia, The United States, and Russia, helping to build relationships, create long-term value and grow networks worldwide.

Upround Ventures engages qualified, premium start-ups with active, global investors — to help address the Series A crunch.

“There is a chasm in the ecosystem today for Series A — the new Series B startups that are outside the Silicon Valley cocoon. Upround Ventures was launched based on feedback from both high-caliber entrepreneurs seeking more choices for capital globally, as well as investors in various parts of the world, who have been asking for smarter ways to reach new premium deal flow,” said Esther Loewy, founder and CEO, Upround Ventures. “It’s about democratizing the playing field and providing a continuum of process, funding and guidance.”

With an estimated 375 startups per million inhabitants, versus 190 in America, Israel is now the most likely place for people to start a tech firm, states a recent Economist article featuring a World Startup Report. Upround Ventures has already begun to identify and cultivate the game-changing technologies born in this region, then pair promising entrepreneurs with a network of VCs and other strategic investors who can fuel their sustained growth, and in turn, a thriving innovation economy globally.

Series A/B Mentor Exchange
A first-of-its-kind, Upround Venture’s Series A/B Mentor Exchange offers a network of experienced serial entrepreneurs and veteran executives to guide innovative early-stage technology companies in getting to the next stage. Mentors include Bruce Haymes of Nielsen, Ornit Shinar of Citi, Zohar Levkovitz of Amobee, and Ben Enosh of Plymedia, among others, who bring expertise spanning sales and marketing to financing and patents, to qualified post-seed-stage companies in the Network. The Mentor Exchange is the first of several initiatives to be kicked off this year that further reinforce the value proposition for Series-A-ready startups, as well as partners and investors.

“After startups graduate from incubators and accelerators they are often left in a ‘black hole’ without the support or expert advice they had while incubating. Upround’s Mentor Exchange provides entrepreneurs with an added edge at this critical stage; expert resources needed to hone their product, gain traction, build awareness, and network with global investors and partners,” commented Stephan Paternot, CEO of Slated, Inc. and advisor to Upround Ventures.

Upround Innovation Summit (Twitter #UproundSummit2014)
On May 19th, Upround Ventures will gather many of the world’s rising startups with global investors and corporate development executives looking for high-value, pre-screened companies.

To be held at IBM’s Innovation Center in Israel, the Upround Innovation Summit will feature:

• Globally renowned speakers from Silicon Valley, Hong Kong, France and other regions (see Agenda)
• The hottest technology startups in Israel, with innovations in mobile, media, big data, and Internet of Things, seeking strategic partnerships and global investment
• Active investors from the U.S., Europe and Asia, including Runa Capital, Benhamou Global Ventures, Alsop Louie, Culturecom Holdings, BMW i Ventures, Alcatel-Lucent, Honda, H-Farm & Orange Capital
• Sponsors and partners, including InvestHK, IBM, Herzog Fox & Neeman, Plymedia, CICC, TEICC, and StarTAU

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