The Startup Factory
334 Blackwell St Suite B-005, Durham, North Carolina, 27701, United States
Overview
The Startup Factory is an early stage venture fund that provides entrepreneurs capital and mentorship on steroids, including 3-day boot camps and a three month program customized for early stage startup companies. In the accelerator program, startups exchange 7.5% equity for$50,000 in seed capital, coaching, and access to its network of active angels, veteran startup founders, and experienced technology experts. Companies that successfully complete the accelerator are eligible for follow on funding.
- Total investments
- 2
- Lead investments
- 0
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 0
Sector focus
- B2B
- Database
- Enterprise Software
Investment portfolio
- CareLuLu
Participated · Seed · Nov 2014
CareLulu operates an online marketplace connecting parents with local preschools and child care programs, letting users search by budget, hours, age, allergies and other criteria. The platform includes listings from small home-based daycares to larger centers and chains, and names KinderCare as a customer. The service is free for parents and uses a freemium model for providers, who can list for free or pay monthly for additional exposure. Founded in 2013 by Patrick Matos and Evgeniya Usmanov, with co-founder and CTO Gabriel Marques, CareLulu has been live in the Washington, D.C. metro area for about a year. In D.C. the company reports that 25% of area providers — “thousands” — have joined the platform, and it also maintains a nationwide directory of over 200,000 child care centers. With the new funding, the company plans to expand to new markets outside of D.C., beginning with Los Angeles.
- Jinni Media
Participated · Equity · Jan 2010
Jinni offers a personalized recommendation service for movies and TV shows, letting users search by mood, plot, genres, time/period, place, audience and praise. The product is built to improve the entertainment experience across consumer platforms. Belgacom will leverage Jinni’s service for its Internet, mobile and TV consumer offerings in Belgium. The company raised $5 million in a Series B to further development of the product. CEO Yosi Click said completing the Series B funding allows the company to focus on developing an innovative product to fundamentally improve the entertainment experience. Jinni previously raised a $1.6 million Series A a year earlier. Jinni is a Yehud, Israel–based content discovery engine that helps users find movies and TV programs. Its engine provides a personalized way of locating favorite content as viewing shifts from linear programming to video-on-demand catalogs, PVR recordings, and web-based videos. The company was founded by Yosi Glick and Izik Ben‑Zaken and is led by CEO Mike Pohl. Jinni aims to adapt its offering to large VOD catalogs and changing consumption habits. The company secured additional capital to support the next stage of its growth and development. Management stated the funds will be used to advance the company’s growth plans.
Team
No current team members are available.