Participated · Seed · Dec 2014

ClientSuccess provides SaaS companies with a client retention and growth platform to manage, retain and grow existing customers. The platform offers actionable insights, rich customer analytics, and best practices to proactively manage success throughout the customer lifecycle. Led by CEO and founder Dave Blake, the company serves nearly 50 customers, including Findly, Lattice Engines, Instructure, Balihoo, Degreed, Social Dental, Panorama Education and Sparkcentral. The company raised an additional $2M in seed funding and plans to use the proceeds to continue to expand operations. Investors in the round include Techstars Ventures (co-lead and follow-on), Peak Ventures (co-lead and follow-on), Seven Peaks Ventures, Select Ventures, Bialla Venture Partners, Josh James, Scott Dorsey, Robb Kunz, Cory Reid, LaunchCapital and Service Provider Capital Fund. ClientSuccess is a SaaS customer success management platform that provides actionable insights, rich customer analytics, and best practices to manage the full customer lifecycle. The product is tailored for post-sales customer success teams and offers integrations such as Zendesk and Gmail. Founder Dave Blake, an industry veteran, built the platform to help SaaS companies reduce churn, increase revenue, and maximize customer lifetime value. The company says the new funding will accelerate product development and sales to help customers improve retention and growth. ClientSuccess positions itself as a single place for customer activity, engagement measurement, renewal tracking and executive intelligence.

Participated · Seed · Oct 2014

Keen Home produces Wi‑Fi‑connected air-conditioning vents that can be retrofitted into existing homes to control heating and cooling by room. The company came out of the NYU ACRE cleantech incubator and appeared on Shark Tank last year. Its smart vents have generated more than $2 million in sales. Keen Home has offered equity through crowdfunding, allowing retail investors to buy stakes in the company. To date, it has raised more than $7 million via equity crowdfunding campaigns. The article does not report other financial details such as institutional rounds, debt, or valuation. Keen Home builds Smart Vents that allow homeowners to control and close vents in individual rooms from a smartphone app. The vents can automatically adjust airflow when they sense a room is too hot or cold to keep the house more comfortable. The company first unveiled the product at Disrupt NY 2013 and is now moving to commercialize it. Keen Home announced partnerships with Lowe's, SmartThings and Wink to sell the Smart Vent beginning in Spring 2015. The company raised $1.52M in seed funding to bring the product to market. Smart Vent pricing has yet to be announced.

Participated · Equity · Oct 2014

Ello.co is an ad-free social network that launched into rapid growth while still in beta. The company filed in Delaware as a Public Benefit Corporation to legally prohibit ads, the sale of user data, or any acquirer from reversing that commitment. Ello requires members to follow common-sense conduct rules and supports the use of real or anonymous identities. The product is still incomplete in many areas: the site’s UI and search functionality are reported as janky or nonfunctional and Alexa traffic has fallen from peak hype. At its peak the service reportedly received around 40,000 invite requests per hour in September. To generate revenue without advertising, Ello plans to sell personalized features and other small-priced services through an online store inspired by the Apple App Store.

Participated · Seed · Oct 2014

Brewbot produces a personal beer-making machine that automates temperature, ingredient measurements, brewing duration, and volume and is controlled via a smartphone app. The machine supports multiple flavors and styles and can print custom labels for bottles. The company is developing a homebrewing community platform and "DNA of Beer" recipe cards to let users share and duplicate custom batches. Monetization plans include selling machines at $2,800 apiece and selling ingredients to recreate specific beers, and the startup already has a handful of local brewers signed up. Brewbot aims to make homemade beer as common as brewing a pot of coffee. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Belfast, Northern Ireland; it has raised $3 million to date.

Participated · Series A · Aug 2014

MobileDay is a provider of a mobile dialing app for conference calls. Its app allows users to access conference calls without dialing phone numbers, entering PINs, or pressing #; a big green button automatically appears when it’s time to join. The company is based in Boulder, Colorado. MobileDay secured over $6m in Series A funding. It intends to use the funds to expand operations and is hiring new people. The financing is intended to support operational expansion and team growth.