Venture Funds

What Babe Ruth could teach about maximizing returns on your startup investments

What Babe Ruth could teach about maximizing returns on your startup investments

Jan 5, 2017 | ,

It’s seems a waste to talk about startup investing without sharing some of the most awe-inspiring successes. We could start with Accel, the VC that invested $12.7 million in Facebook’s series A to buy 11% – back in 2005 – in a deal that was widely ridiculed for the valuation that Accel was willing to pay. Of course, Accel had the last laugh. In 2012, at IPO, Facebook’s market cap was over $100 billion, meaning that Accel eventually realized a return of 800 times its principal investment. Or else we could have a look at Bessemer Venture Partners’ $6 million series A for Intucell in 2011, which purchased them nearly half of the Israeli startup. Two years later – with no additional funding – Intucell was acquired by Cisco for nearly $500 million. Bessemer’s stake of about 50% returned over 25-30 times their principal investment. It goes without saying that these are the sorts of stories you generally don’t find outside of the VC space, in other asset classes – and it’s the magnetic pull that draws investors to startups. At...

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OurCrowd First named Israel’s most active micro VC fund in 2015

OurCrowd First named Israel’s most active micro VC fund in 2015

Feb 11, 2016 | ,

Turns out, 2015 was a great year for OurCrowd’s first fund! We are proud to announce that OurCrowd First, our seed fund for investing in early-stage Israeli and global ventures, has been named Israel’s most active micro venture capital fund in 2015, according to the latest IVC-APM report by the IVC Research Center and APM & Co. Law Firm. Managed by serial entrepreneurs Eduardo Shoval and Yori Nelken, OurCrowd First takes a hands-on investment approach, leveraging the rich startup experience of its General Partners to provide meaningful, substantial guidance to our portfolio companies. We are delighted that OurCrowd First has, in its first year of operation, become the most active micro VC in Israel. This highlights our commitment to providing seed capital to the growing cohort of Israeli entrepreneurs.” ~  OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved The report analyzed the most active venture capital funds according to the number of early stage investments made in Israeli companies during 2015. OurCrowd First topped the list with seven first investments from its 2015 $10M fund. To date, OurCrowd First has built a highly diversified portfolio...

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The road already traveled: Why invest in startup follow-on rounds?

The road already traveled: Why invest in startup follow-on rounds?

Feb 10, 2016 | , ,

Today, access to quality investment opportunities are no longer a luxury reserved for the well-connected. Everything from startups to real estate development projects are now available to the masses for investment. This access has garnered lots of attention from prominent investment thought leaders. One of the biggest issues they’re grappling with is how to educate the public to make sure they are investing responsibly in these new, often risky asset classes. In this post, we’re going to talk about what Brad Feld refers to as a new, official trend in the world of venture capital. The Opportunity What’s this new trend we speak of? In January 2011, Union Square Ventures launched their first “Opportunity Fund.” The fund was formed to invest exclusively in USV portfolio companies raising follow-on rounds of investment. This investment strategy was born out of the realization that a majority of returns in a fund are generated by a small number of the portfolio companies. Fred Wilson, USV’s founder and managing partner described the rationale behind launching the fund in 4 basic points: “This fund is meant to...

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Introducing OurCrowd Continuity Fund (OC²): A new investment offering

Introducing OurCrowd Continuity Fund (OC²): A new investment offering

Feb 3, 2016 | ,

OurCrowd is proud to announce the launch of its OurCrowd Continuity Fund (OC2), a special opportunities fund devised to take advantage of preemptive rights in select follow-on rounds for portfolio companies. OC2 has an automated investing process, only investing in follow-on, up-rounds led by top venture capital and strategic investors. The dynamics of startup growth and venture investing is such that preemptive rights are a critically valuable asset for being able to invest in breakout stars, and OC2 is structured to give its investors first access to unexercised preemptive rights. Four reasons why we’re excited about launching OC2 Access to otherwise limited opportunities: As an investor, one of your most valuable assets is gaining a seat at the table to invest in the follow-on rounds of your companies that emerge to be the biggest winners. Pro rata rights are not about downside protection, they are about guaranteeing you the right not to be crowded out of highly competitive future financing rounds for your companies. OC2 is opportunistically leveraging OurCrowd’s pro rata rights across its 90+ portfolio companies to gain access to...

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Introducing the new OurCrowd First website

Introducing the new OurCrowd First website

Jan 24, 2016 | ,

We are excited to announce the release of the newly designed OurCrowd First website. OurCrowd First is OurCrowd’s first-ever venture fund that was raised from more than 100 individual investors on the OurCrowd website in June 2015. Managed by serial entrepreneurs Eduardo Shoval and Yori Nelken, OurCrowd First takes a hands-on investment approach, leveraging the rich startup experience of its General Partners to provide meaningful, substantial guidance to our portfolio companies. OurCrowd First gives our investors access to even earlier-stage investment opportunities from the StartUp Nation. The fund has reached exciting milestones since launch – making several new investments, some with leading co-investors, entering partnerships with world-class institutions such as Credit Suisse, and most recently, co-hosting Israel’s premier startup competition with Poalim Bank and Keshet Broadcasting. The new OurCrowd First website presents the fund to both prospective investors interested in learning more about investing in Israel’s premier seed-stage fund, and to prospective entrepreneurs seeking funding and looking to discover what OurCrowd First is all about. Live now at www.OurCrowdFirst.com, you’ll find the following pages: Home Page: Introduces the OurCrowd First fund, its...

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