• Sermo

  Led · Debt Financing · Feb 2011

  Sermo is a Cambridge, MA-based online physician community founded in 2005 by CEO Daniel Palestrant. The company operates a platform that allows clients to aggregate information, tap into peer-to-peer insight, gain market intelligence and increase brand awareness. Sermo has developed research platforms that enable clients to conduct real-time qualitative and quantitative research. It currently services over 300 clients, including pharmaceutical companies, healthcare institutions, financial services firms and government agencies. The company recently secured a $5M debt facility and intends to use the proceeds to continue expanding its physician community. Sermo operates an invitation‑only social network whose membership is comprised primarily of licensed physicians and which validates physician credentials. The platform gives physicians access to clinical information and lets them earn money by writing or voting for postings; the company says physician opinions on the site do not constitute malpractice. Sermo recently partnered with Pfizer to provide physicians easier access to Pfizer’s clinical information. The company is based in Cambridge, Mass., and has about 26,000 licensed physicians participating. Sermo raised $27 million in a Series C funding round last month and has to date raised $39.5 million; it will use the funding to hire more employees and increase website capacity, planning to add 25–50 employees in 2008. The U.S. FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health also has access to the social network.

• Beyond the Rack

  Led · Debt Financing · Feb 2011

  Beyond the Rack operates a flash-sale e-commerce site that launches roughly 8,000 new items daily and runs over 180 new sales events each week across categories including ladies' and men's fashions, home and decor, consumer electronics, furniture, footwear, children's toys and apparel, and accessories. The company was co-founded and is led by CEO Yona Shtern and has grown to more than 13 million consumer members in Canada and the United States and over 5,000 brand partners since first launching in 2009. Beyond the Rack maintains offices in Montreal, Toronto, New York and Las Vegas. The business secured a US$10M debt and banking facility to support ongoing operations. Management says the funds will be used to continue investing in growth. The company's core proposition remains focused on limited-time sales and high product turnover to drive member engagement. Beyond the Rack is a Montreal-based e-commerce platform offering designer brand apparel, accessories, beauty and home decor at discounted prices. Products are sold in the context of limited-quantity events, with members seeing up to 30 new events each day. The company reports over 10 million consumer members and 5,000 brand partnerships. It operates in both Canada and the United States with offices in Montreal, Toronto, New York and Las Vegas. The executive team includes CEO Yona Shtern, COO Mike Bhaskaran and President/Chief Merchandising Officer Jim Weinberg. The company says it will use the proceeds of the new funding to further expand operations. Beyond The Rack is a Montreal-based online shopping club that offers fashion, accessories, beauty and home décor at discounted prices via limited-quantity events (up to 15 new events each day). Led by Co-Founder and CEO Yona Shtern, the company operates a membership-based flash-sale model and has over 7.5 million members and relationships with more than 3,000 brands. It employs 400 full-time people in Montreal and New York. The company received a $10M venture debt financing from Wellington Financial LP and intends to use the proceeds to grow across North America. Beyond The Rack is backed by venture capital firms including BDC Venture Capital, Export Development Canada, Highland Capital Partners, iNovia Capital, Panorama Capital, Rho Canada and Tandem Expansion Fund. Recent reported financings include $36.6M in November 2011, $12M in July 2010 and $2M in January 2010. Beyond The Rack is a members-only flash-sales shopping site similar to Gilt Groupe that offers steep discounts (50–70%) on designer clothing, accessories, home decor and other goods. The site reports 5 million members, up from 1.5 million in July 2010. It has raised more than $50 million in total funding to date. Beyond The Rack plans to use new capital to enhance logistics and distribution and to accelerate growth. The company is competing in a crowded flash-sales market alongside players such as Gilt, Ideeli, One Kings Lane and Lot18. The site’s product focus and rapid member growth are central to its expansion strategy. Beyond the Rack is a Montreal-based members-only private shopping club offering moderate to luxury merchandise at up to 70% off retail. The company runs up to 18 private sales events per day across categories including ladies' and men's apparel, accessories, footwear, homeware, watches, jewelry, cosmetics and kids' items. It operates an office in New York and employs 200 full-time staff. Beyond the Rack reports over three million North American members. The company has raised $16.5M in venture capital to date and recently received a $3M loan from MMV Financial. Management, led by CEO Yona Shtern, intends to use the MMV proceeds to expand operations.

• Nistica

  Participated · Series D · Feb 2011

  Nistica supplies agile optical networking modules and has delivered thousands of its Telcordia‑certified FULL FLEDGE series wavelength selective switches to multiple customers. The company positions its products to simplify optical networks and enable colorless, directionless networks unconstrained by grids. Management is gearing up to expand manufacturing capacity and introduce a portfolio of new products aimed at simplifying optical networks. The recent financing is said to allow the company to scale without financial constraints. The company is responding to demand driven by proliferation of mobile devices and cloud computing for agile, high‑bandwidth optical modules. Nistica is based in Princeton, N.J. Nistica is a Bridgewater, NJ-based supplier of optical modules that automate and make affordable the delivery of high-bandwidth applications. Its core products are optical modules designed to simplify and lower the cost of transporting high-bandwidth traffic. The company said the new funding will enable it to introduce solutions that create "directionless networks" unconstrained by grids. Nistica closed a $6.5M Series C financing to support those efforts. The round was led by Battelle Ventures with participation from Novitas Capital, Technology Venture Partners, Fujikura and NTT Electronics Corporation. No operating metrics were disclosed in the article.

• Ooma

  Led · Debt Financing · Jan 2011

  Ooma sells the Telo handset for about $200 and provides domestic calling free for as long as customers own the product. The company also sells international calling plans starting at a penny a minute to about 60 countries. Ooma is roughly a 50-person Palo Alto‑based team. It raised another $17.3 million from existing investors and will use the funds to expand marketing. The company plans to reveal new product developments at CES. Total funding after this round stands at $83.3 million. Ooma offers a consumer electronics device that delivers HD-quality, free U.S. telephone calling and advanced telephony services to customers worldwide. The company recently launched the Ooma Mobile HD app, enabling U.S. and international calls from Android, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices. Its products are available at more than 4,000 leading retailers and online destinations. Ooma received an extended $3M in debt financing from MMV Financial. Founded in 2004 and based in Palo Alto, California, the company has emphasized expanding its marketing, sales and operations using the new funding, per President and CEO Eric Stang. Ooma launched two years ago as a consumer VoIP product that pairs relatively expensive hardware with a free voice service. The company’s business model initially proved confusing for consumers compared with competitors like Vonage, though customer reviews were very positive. Ooma has expanded retail distribution—Best Buy has been selling the devices and sales there are described as brisk. The company hired seasoned sales executive Rich Buchanan (previously at Sling Media) to boost go‑to‑market efforts. At CES the company announced a new handset called the Telo, which is not yet available for purchase. With fresh capital, management expects the company should reach profitability. Ooma is a Silicon Valley VoIP hardware startup that launched about fourteen months before the article and sells consumer VoIP devices. The company had been burning through its prior $26 million in funding and had lost some key executives. It tweaked its business model and expanded distribution beyond Amazon and its website into Best Buy stores. Ooma hired marketing executive Rich Buchanan from Sling Media and brought Tami Bhaumik on as VP Marketing to drive retail sales. There were earlier rumors the company took short‑term convertible debt from existing investors to stay afloat. The company is not yet profitable; the new funding is intended to provide runway to try to scale retail distribution and boost unit sales. Ooma is a secretive Palo Alto telecommunications company working on a home-focused product that reporting says would layer IP technology on top of a home’s existing phone network to let users access voice messages on any device. The company has labored for more than two years on the product while keeping its strategy largely confidential. According to reporting and a regulatory filing, Ooma has raised $12M of an $18M Series B round. Return backers include Worldview Technology Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Sean Parker of the Founders Fund invested last year and later took a board seat. The company previously raised about $7.8M in a first round roughly two years earlier. Ooma has also experienced leadership turnover—reporting notes it lost Michael Cerda and its head of engineering, Spero Koulouras—and founder Andrew Frame is reportedly back at the helm.

• Neoedge

  Led · Equity · Dec 2010

  NeoEdge makes a platform that lets publishers insert ads into social and web-based games, including 30-second video ads integrated into online games. The company serves more than $100 million video ad impressions per month and has partnerships with Yahoo Games, iWin, and Red Atom's Bar Society on Facebook. It has raised $3 million in venture funding from MMV Financial to expand its product offerings for monetizing social games. NeoEdge will use the funds to expand its national sales team and develop new products, including features that 'gamify' ads by adding game-like elements. The investment underscores that advertising remains a growing monetization channel alongside virtual goods. NeoEdge previously raised capital from Vanedge Capital and Jefferson Partners and is led by CEO Lesley Mansford following a merger last year with a game developer she headed.

No current team members are available.