• Ifeelgoods

  Participated · Equity · Jun 2016

  Ifeelgoods provides a digital promotion platform that allows brands to create, launch and monitor rewards promotions and programs, integrating shopper marketing, loyalty, employee benefits and engagement functionalities. The platform is used by 100+ global brands, including McDonald’s, L’Oréal, Samsung and Coca‑Cola, across more than 30 countries. It connects to 100+ integrated apps such as Mailchimp, Salesforce, SurveyMonkey, PayPal and Zendesk, and delivers gifts from a catalog of over 100,000 items (movies, songs, games, apps, subscriptions, gift cards). The company is led by CEO Michael Amar and VP Europe Dimitri Ducourtieux. Financially, Ifeelgoods completed a $6M funding round that includes a strategic distribution-and-investment component with UP Group aimed at expanding in employee benefits and rewards. The UP Group arrangement combines capital and market access through an exclusive French employee benefits distribution agreement. Ifeelgoods operates a platform that enables retailers to provide Facebook Credits and other digital goods as marketing incentives in online stores. The company positions digital credits for virtual goods as alternatives to discounts, coupon codes, or gifts to make online promotions more effective and less expensive for sellers. Since launching in September 2010, Ifeelgoods has signed more than 20 customers, including 1-800-Flowers.com, Ice.com, Shopping.com and La Redoute. Reported use cases include incentives for purchases, online advertising, Facebook fan acquisition, email signups and Twitter marketing. The startup is described as French/American and was founded by Michael Amar, Scott Silverman and alumni from Google and PayPal. Ifeelgoods said it will use new capital to expand its digital goods incentives solutions to better serve existing customers and reach new vertical and international markets.

• CoverHound

  Participated · Series B · Mar 2015

  CoverHound operates a digital P&C insurance distribution platform for consumers and businesses, enabling customers to compare and buy policies from multiple U.S. carriers. Led by CEO Keith Moore, the company also operates CyberPolicy, a subsidiary focused on cyber insurance for SMBs. CoverHound has sold more than 200,000 policies since launch and has raised over $112M in total capital. The company partners with major carriers including Chubb, Hiscox, Progressive, Liberty Mutual, biBERK, Safeco, Nationwide, Mercury and Hartford Steam Boiler. Recent commercial activity includes CyberPolicy providing cyber options through Progressive and a May 2018 partnership with Hiscox to offer cyber insurance. CoverHound plans to continue developing CyberPolicy, expand offices beyond San Francisco and Westlake Village to Charlotte, NC, and grow internationally into Japan and other markets while strengthening partnerships with banks, large insurers and technology providers. CoverHound operates a vertical marketplace that lets consumers search for, compare and buy auto and property insurance through its own site and via Google’s insurance search. Unlike some aggregators, CoverHound offers fulfilment — aftercare and claims processing — which the company says generates an additional revenue stream equal to roughly 7–15% of the premium. The company has sold 50,000 policies in the last two years and grew 170% in the prior 12 months. Its core portal and auto insurance sales remain the biggest business drivers while the firm expands its comparison engine into other distribution partners. CoverHound is extending into business insurance for startups via partnerships with accelerators and incubators, with AngelPad named as the first partner. The company currently works with about 30 carriers in auto, home and umbrella insurance and plans to add several more. CoverHound operates an online platform that lets consumers get personalized quotes and quickly buy auto, homeowners, renters and motorcycle insurance from 21 carriers (17 focused on auto). Led by CEO Keith Moore, the company employs licensed insurance agents who assist customers and supports an insurance agency operations center in Southern California. Since launching in June 2012, CoverHound has sold more than 26,000 policies. The company plans to hire additional engineers in its San Francisco office and expand staff for its agency operations. CoverHound intends to use its new funding to grow carrier relationships and integrate with large marketing partnerships, including Google Compare, which is launching in select states in the months ahead. To date the company has raised over $20M in funding. CoverHound is a San Francisco–based startup that provides an online comparison-shopping platform and acts as an independent insurance agency for consumers. The platform surfaces instant, personalized rates from carriers like Travelers, GMAC, Safeco and Progressive and enables users to buy and manage policies directly. It offers ongoing service through an in-house team of insurance professionals who monitor and adapt policies, and it also provides a B2B2C “Storefront” product banks can embed via a snippet of code. The company has expanded into over 30 U.S. states and reports policies sold through the platform growing by over 60% month-over-month. CoverHound has begun adding homeowners and motorcycle insurance and plans to build support for other personal insurance products while pursuing brand partnerships and nationwide expansion. The startup declined to share detailed monetization figures beyond the customary percentage-of-premium agent payments. CoverHound is a car insurance comparison service based in San Francisco, CA. Led by CEO Basil Enan and launched one year earlier by a team of insurance industry veterans, the company operates in private beta. Its platform lets consumers calculate their personal insurance needs and receive objective, accurate and actionable comparison rates from top providers. CoverHound provides research and comparison-shopping tools to help users evaluate insurance options. The company intends to use the seed funding to accelerate growth of its engineering, marketing and sales teams and to continue building consumer awareness for the service.

• Cuff

  Participated · Series A · Jan 2015

  Cuff builds fashion-forward wearable jewelry that embeds its CuffLinc Bluetooth low-energy technology into necklaces, bracelets, earrings and other fine jewelry. The tech enables functions such as turning off house lights, alerting security about a break-in, and health and fitness tracking. Cuff has implemented fitness tracking and is pursuing integrations with at least five fitness apps, including Apple Health. The company is expanding from lower-end fashion jewelry into fine jewelry through a partnership with Richline, a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary, to supply its technology to major retailers such as Tiffany’s, QVC and Macy’s. Cuff is also pursuing licensing opportunities to let designers and retailers implement the technology across their own lines. Co-branded products from Richline retailers are expected to ship soon and will carry “Powered by Cuff.” Cuff sells bracelets, necklaces and key chains that house a removable rectangular module called the CuffLinc, which acts as an alert system. The CuffLinc connects to a phone via Bluetooth and the startup’s app; squeezing or tapping the Cuff sends alerts to a designated network. If contacts in the network wear a Cuff their device vibrates; others receive a push notification with the sender’s location. The app stores personal and medical information and allows users to program different tap patterns for different contacts. Cuff says the CuffLinc does not need to be charged and must be replaced once a year, and the company plans to license the CuffLinc to other fashion retailers and designers. The startup is positioning additional smart functions (including voice recording) beyond safety alerts, though it currently lacks fitness and sleep-tracking features. Founder Deepa Sood, previously VP of Product Development at Restoration Hardware, is leading the product and pre-order launch.

• Kenna Security

  Participated · Series A · Oct 2014

  Kenna Security is a San Francisco, CA–based provider of enterprise risk-based vulnerability management solutions that helps organizations determine and remediate cyber risks. The company’s platform leverages Cyber Risk Context Technology™ to track and predict real-world exploitations and focus security teams on what matters most. Kenna has integrated its vulnerability risk intelligence into VMware’s AppDefense (part of the VMware vSphere Platinum offering). Led by CEO Karim Toubba, the company counts many Fortune 100 customers and serves nearly every major vertical. Kenna intends to use the new funding to accelerate international expansion and drive further innovation. The Series D increases the company’s total capital raised to $98M. Kenna Security is a San Francisco, CA–based provider of a predictive cyber risk platform that enables organizations to prioritize and remediate security vulnerabilities. Led by CEO Karim Toubba, the company leverages its Cyber Risk Context Technology™ to track and predict real-world exploitations and focus security teams on what matters most. Kenna's platform supports cross-functional workflows for determining and remediating cyber risks. The company counts many Fortune 100 customers across nearly every major vertical. Financially, Kenna has raised a total of $50M to date following a $25M Series C. It plans to use the latest funding to attract new talent, expand sales capabilities, and continue driving innovation. Risk I/O provides a SaaS-based vulnerability threat management platform that matches vulnerability scan data with Internet breach traffic from threat intelligence feeds such as Dell, Verisign, AlienVault and 6Scan. The platform monitors, measures and prioritizes vulnerability remediation across an organization’s IT environment and processes over 2.5 billion security vulnerabilities each day. The company has expanded its offering with two features: Threat Trends, which visualizes and analyzes real-time attack volume, and Risk Meter, which gives a real-time view of vulnerability and exploit risk for asset groups. Led by CEO Karim Toubba and headquartered in Chicago, Risk I/O plans to use the financing to expand sales and marketing efforts. The article does not disclose revenue or user counts. Risk I/O is a SaaS "vulnerability intelligence" platform co-founded in 2010 by Ed Bellis, the former chief of security at Orbitz. The platform aggregates data from the top 20 security assessment technologies — including Qualys, Rapid7, HP and IBM — and serves that information through a single dashboard. It enables teams to track vulnerabilities through their lifecycle, integrate with bug-fix and ticketing systems, and use workflow tools to support collaboration between engineers and security teams. Risk I/O has processed over six million security vulnerabilities for more than 400 businesses. The company plans to ramp up sales and marketing to go after what it describes as a fractured enterprise market. By integrating with existing tools and offering prioritization capabilities, Risk I/O aims to simplify vulnerability management and reduce onboarding costs.

• Aria Systems

  Participated · Equity · Nov 2013

  Aria Systems provides a cloud-agnostic monetization platform that helps enterprises grow subscription and usage-based revenue through configurable billing and usage-based models. The platform is top-ranked by leading research firms and emphasizes scalability and configurability to support large blue-chip clients. Customers named in the announcement include Adobe, Allstate, Comcast, Subaru, and Telstra, with recent wins at Liberty Latin America, Oxford University Press, and GTT Infrastructure. Aria has expanded partnerships with ServiceNow, Stripe, and Worldline and introduced an industry-first real-time data streaming feature on its platform. The company plans to accelerate global expansion and deepen penetration in telecommunications, technology, financial services, and media and publishing. To support these plans, Aria secured growth capital from an institutional investor as described in the financing announcement. Aria Systems offers a cloud-based monetization platform that enables large enterprises to launch and manage subscription- and usage-based revenue models. The platform is designed to coexist with legacy on-premise systems and newer cloud systems, allowing customers to roll out new monetization models without overhauling back-office infrastructure. Aria serves a roster of blue-chip customers including Adobe, NETGEAR, Philips, Pitney Bowes, Subaru, VMware, Allstate, Audi, Comcast, Telstra and Twitter, and it has developed vertical-specific offerings such as the Aria Media and Publishing Suite. The company reported being on track for 60% growth in 2018 and a 110% net retention rate for the year. Aria said the new capital will support further investments in strategic areas and help penetrate a global addressable market the company cited as projected to reach $20 billion, while solidifying its path to being cash-flow positive with continued strong growth in 2019. Aria Systems is a San Francisco-based provider of a cloud-based billing and monetization platform that helps enterprises grow subscription- and usage-based revenue. Led by Tom Dibble, President & CEO, the company enables customers to test and iterate on pricing across various monetization models to maximize customer value and recurring revenue. Customers include Audi, Generac, Italiaonline, Merrill Corp, Philips, Sungard Availability Services, Subaru, Adobe and Pitney Bowes. The company has raised $150m in total funding and announced a new $18m financing. The round was led by Madison Bay Capital with participation from Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, InterWest Partners and Venrock, and includes board appointments of Steve Reale and Drew Harman. Aria said it will use the capital to continue to grow its business reach. Aria Systems provides a billing platform that powers recurring payments for enterprises. The company serves customers across verticals including automotive, entertainment, high tech, medical, telecommunications, and IoT. Aria said investor interest was fueled by its continued enterprise success across those verticals. The company announced last week that it closed a $50 million investment. Its prior funding round was in 2013, led by Bain Capital Ventures and followed by VMware, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, and Interwest Partners. To date Aria Systems has raised at least $133 million in funds. Aria Systems offers a cloud-based billing and subscription management platform that automates the subscriber lifecycle for recurring revenue models. Led by CEO Tom Dibble, the company serves customers including Disney, DreamWorks, VMware, Adobe, Deutsche Telekom, Hootsuite and others. The company recently opened an international office in London. Aria intends to use new funding to further invest in advancing its cloud solution and to expand globally. The business has raised $83M to date following this latest round. In conjunction with the financing, Bain Capital Ventures’ Salil Deshpande joined Aria Systems.

No current team members are available.