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Understanding the Types of Family Offices: A Guide for Family Businesses

Understanding the Types of Family Offices: A Guide for Family Businesses

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    Courtney Turich and Christie Barany describe using Shark Tank to help launch Monkey Mat

    Courtney Turich and Christie Barany met in Michigan where they both worked for Stryker, a medical device company.  They worked well together and decided to start their own business. They co-founded Monkey Mat after Christie unexpectedly got stuck at the airport for six hours and desperately wanted something to cover the floor – but had to be portable – for her children to play on during the layover.  Courtney wanted a similar solution for her active outdoor lifestyle.  After searching for solutions and surprisingly nothing existing on the market, the two decided to create their own product. When they started the business in 2012, they set as a top goal to go on Shark Tank. They submitted an application online and received a call from a producer for a phone interview.  This led to several rounds of more comprehensive application forms and video submissions, including a request from Shark Tank producers for a five minute video answering twenty questions.  Ultimately Courtney and Christie were invited to film in June. When they arrived at the studio, they met with ABC’s attorneys for hours to review the extensive legal aspects of being a part of Shark Tank. They also had to do a practice pitch to about 50 producers from which they received feedback on their presentation.   On the day of the show they sat in their trailer on-set all day after hair and makeup until it was their turn to film.  When they walked into the “Tank”, they saw the “Sharks” for the first time.   At the time they had $40K in annual revenue.  Within two weeks of the show’s airing, they nearly doubled their sales. You can see the pitch here! Shark Tank Video While going on Shark Tank gave them an initial boost in sales numbers, they then experienced a slight drop in sales after the initial “Shark Tank effect” had worn off.  The activity of Shark Tank can distract from building other sales channels.  Since penetrating a retail channel takes up to a year of advance planning before actually having product placed in stores, focused attention on the process is a must.  Given the post-Shark Tank whirlwind, the ability for such attention was delayed, so there was effectively a rebuilding period after the lull to ramp up retailer presence.   As for their Shark Tank investors, Lori Greiner helped them secure a feature on the talkshow “The View” and has assisted with their placement into key retail channels.  Mark Cuban and his team have also helped identify retail opportunities, co-presented the product live on TV shopping network ShopHQ, as well as provided backend support along the way, so the value of the investors has gone well beyond just funding. As a consumer product goods company, they sell primarily on Amazon and through retail chains.  According to Christie and Courtney, packaging that effectively conveys the product and it’s value to the customer is a key point for penetrating the in-store retail market.  Courtney and Christie first started with belly band packaging, but unfortunately it did not effectively show off the product, so they shifted to a shelf box format which allows customers to actually visualize the product itself.   Today, they are in Bed Bath & Beyond, buybuy Baby, The Container Store, Big 5 Sporting Goods, and more. They are now working on their next product line called Fur-eez, focused on portable and convenient solutions for pet owners.  The debut product is a portable pet sling for small dogs. Courtney and Christie advise to entrepreneurs You don’t know what you don’t know –  don’t get paralyzed by the fear of the unknown, you will learn plenty as you go! Ask a lot of questions – the more the better, and talk to anyone and everyone! Just do it – products and businesses will constantly evolve, so at a reasonable point you have to just get underway with the journey!  

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    The Top Ten AI Companies in Texas

    With artificial intelligence on the rise, it’s no surprise that Austin is home to some of the top companies! The top ten AI companies in Texas include CognitiveScale, Continuum Analytics, Omni Ai, Inc., NarrativeDx, UnaliWear, NEXD, Cerebri Ai, Querium Corporation, Convessa and Panamplify. Company Name Description Headquarters Location CognitiveScale CognitiveScale provides industry-specific enterprise cognitive cloud software. Austin , Texas  Continuum Analytics Anaconda is an open data science platform powered by Python, with more than 11 million downloads to date. Austin , Texas Omni Ai, Inc. The first Unsupervised Artificial Intelligent Self Learning Engine with Deep Learning Capabilities. Ai Dallas , Texas  NarrativeDx NarrativeDx is the AI platform for patient experience. Hear the voice of your patients. Austin , Texas  UnaliWear UnaliWear is a wearable technology that provides assistance for falls, medication reminders, and GPS location for its clients. Austin , Texas NEXD  NEXD brings AI (artificial intelligence) to sales professionals. Austin, Texas Cerebri Ai Cerebri AI provides AI and machine learning driven solutions to help enterprises grow revenue through better understanding of their data. Austin, Texas Querium Corporation Querium licenses artificial intelligence technology used for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education applications. Austin, Texas Convessa Convessa is an AI platform that powers connected, voice-controlled products. Our software lets companies build virtual assistants. Austin, Texas Panamplify Panamplify eliminates the time consuming and expensive grunt work marketing agencies have when creating reports for their clients. Dallas, Texas  

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    The Top Ten Fintech Investors in Texas

    The top ten fin-tech investors in Texas include Austin Ventures, Seven Rosen Funds, Houston Angel Network, Mercury Fund, Mark Cuban, Silverton Partners,TPG (formerly Texas Pacific Group), Texas Venture Labs, Maverick Capital and Capital Factory. These companies have invested in over 1,362 deals collectively. Company Name Number of Investments Headquarters Location Austin Ventures 363 Austin , Texas  Sevin Rosen Funds 205 Dallas , Texas Houston Angel Network 185 Houston , Texas Mercury Fund 120 Houston , Texas Mark Cuban 90 Dallas , Texas  Silverton Partners 85 Austin, Texas TPG (formerly Texas Pacific Group) 84 Austin, Texas Texas Venture Labs 81 Austin, Texas Maverick Capital 75 Dallas, Texas Capital Factory 74 Austin, Texas Total 1,362      

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    Top 5 Virtual Reality Companies in Texas

    Check out the top 5 Texas Virtual Reality companies to raise funding in 2016! These Texas companies raised over $27M in 2016. Merge Labs led the field with the most funding at $10M followed by Virtuix, and Owlchemy Labs.   The top 5 have raised over $36M in total funding since inception of their companies. Company Name Description Last Funding Date Last Funding Amount Total Funding Amount Virtuix Virtuix is the developer of the Virtuix Omni, a virtual reality platform that enable users to walk, run, and jump in 360 degrees in VR. 8/1/2016 $7,699,129 $16,079,129 Owlchemy Labs Owlchemy Labs is a creative game studio with a passion for polished and unique games and VR experiences. 8/3/2016 $5,000,000 $5,000,000 TheWaveVR TheWave​ is a cross-platform virtual reality experience. 8/4/2016 $2,500,000 $2,500,000 Merge Labs Merge VR is creating system that will make virtual reality accessible from your favorite smartphone. 4/24/2016 $10,112,801 $11,212,801 Tixsee Tixsee’s mobile platform provides an all-inclusive approach to deploying mobile apps that fans love. 6/1/2016 $1,750,000 $1,750,000

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    Top Companies Founded by Texas A&M Alumni

    The top 10 companies founded by Baylor Alumni include Sunnova, Roku, Turin Networks, Spiceworks, and others who have collectively raised over $1.76B in equity funding. Check out our full list of the top companies founded by Texas A&M Alumni. Company Name Headquarters Location Sectors Last Funding Amount Total Equity Funding Amount Sunnova Houston, Texas, United States Natural Resources, Energy, Sustainability $775,000,000 $805,000,000 Roku Los Gatos, California, United States Hardware, Media and Entertainment, Consumer Electronics, Advertising $45,500,000 $208,609,000 Turin Networks Petaluma, California, United States Hardware, Internet Services, Mobile $52,500,000 $204,500,000 Spiceworks Austin, Texas, United States Media and Entertainment, Information Technology, Community and Lifestyle, Software, Professional Services, Internet Services $57,000,000 $111,000,000 MediaMath New York, New York, United States Media and Entertainment, Sales and Marketing, Internet Services, Advertising $105,000,000 $100,000,000 Enphase Energy Petaluma, California, United States Natural Resources, Energy, Sustainability $14,000,000 $76,500,000 Sensity Systems Sunnyvale, California, United States Energy, Hardware, Sustainability $10,000,000 $74,000,000 Troux Technologies Austin, Texas, United States Software, Professional Services $10,000,000 $63,377,000 WellAware San Antonio, Texas, United States Natural Resources, Energy, Data and Analytics, Software $16,000,000 $61,000,000 WiQuest Communications Allen, Texas, United States Hardware, Consumer Electronics, Software $28,000,000 $59,000,000 Standard Renewable Energy San Antonio, Texas, United States Natural Resources, Energy, Sustainability $10,000,000 $51,503,944 Lineagen Salt Lake City, Utah, United States Biotechnology, Science and Engineering, Health Care $12,170,000 $48,270,000 Spinal Restoration Austin, Texas, United States Biotechnology, Science and Engineering, Health Care $5,000,000 $45,999,999 Axtria Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, United States Data and Analytics, Software, Financial Services, Lending and Investments $30,000,000 $44,741,834 OrderWithMe Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Software, Financial Services $37,000,000 Mashery San Francisco, California, United States Data and Analytics, Software $10,000,000 $34,700,000 OutboundEngine Austin, Texas, United States Media and Entertainment, Software, Sales and Marketing, Internet Services, Advertising $16,000,000 $33,800,000 Macheen Austin, Texas, United States Software, Internet Services $1,400,000 $32,994,995 ecoATM San Diego, California, United States Hardware, Sustainability, Consumer Electronics $40,000,000 $31,400,000 Zignal Labs San Francisco, California, United States Data and Analytics, Software, Sports, Sales and Marketing, Internet Services, Financial Services $15,000,000 $29,900,000 Geodynamics Milton, New South Wales, Australia Natural Resources, Energy, Sustainability $90,000,000 $29,400,000 Zyngenia Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States Biotechnology, Science and Engineering, Software, Health Care $25,000,000 $25,000,000 Optimal Blue Plano, Texas, United States Hardware, Consumer Electronics, Software, Sales and Marketing $22,400,000 3Scan San Francisco, California, United States Biotechnology, Science and Engineering, Health Care $14,000,000 $20,713,012 Appconomy Austin, Texas, United States Apps, Hardware, Commerce and Shopping, Software, Mobile $1,061,860 $20,500,000 RigUp Austin, Texas, United States Energy, Commerce and Shopping, Software $15,000,000 $18,000,000 Rackspace San Antonio, Texas, United States Information Technology, Software, Internet Services $11,500,000 $17,800,000 Veros Systems College Station, Texas, United States Manufacturing, Science and Engineering, Energy, Sustainability, Software $3,000,000 $17,500,000 Parade Technologies Sunnyvale, California, United States Apps, Science and Engineering, Hardware, Media and Entertainment, Software, Video $3,000,000 $17,500,000 HomeLight San Francisco, California, United States Commerce and Shopping, Real Estate, Professional Services $11,000,000 $15,500,000 Vuv Analytics Austin, Texas, United States Biotechnology, Natural Resources, Science and Engineering $6,500,000 $15,500,000 CoreTrace Austin, Texas, United States Software, Privacy and Security $3,600,844 $15,301,400 Accsys Technologies Lancaster, Lancashire, United Kingdom Real Estate ?œ12,000,000 $14,967,072 MediaPhy San Jose, California, United States Software, Administrative Services, Privacy and Security, Design $7,000,000 $13,000,000 KLD Energy Technologies Austin, Texas, United States Energy, Sustainability, Transportation $601,700 $12,316,678 b8ta San Francisco, California, United States Hardware, Commerce and Shopping, Software $8,000,000 $11,500,000 Traxo Dallas, Texas, United States Travel and Tourism, Media and Entertainment, Software, Sales and Marketing, Internet Services $5,200,000 $10,940,000 marketRx Newtonville, New Jersey, United States Data and Analytics, Software, Professional Services $10,250,000 $10,250,000 Ecovent Boston, Massachusetts, United States Energy, Hardware, Sustainability, Consumer Electronics, Real Estate $6,900,000 $9,998,000 Biscotti Mckinney, Texas, United States Hardware, Media and Entertainment, Software, Video $500,000 $9,019,109 ShopSavvy San Francisco, California, United States Commerce and Shopping, Mobile $5,000,000 $8,700,000 Visualase Houston, Texas, United States Biotechnology, Manufacturing, Science and Engineering, Health Care $5,200,000 $8,700,000 Net Orange Dallas, Texas, United States Biotechnology, Science and Engineering, Health Care, Financial Services $3,000,000 $8,000,000 Terapio Austin, Texas, United States Biotechnology, Science and Engineering $780,000 $7,480,000 EpiBiome South San Francisco, California, United States Biotechnology, Science and Engineering, Health Care $1,000,000 $6,100,000 Indeed Austin, Texas, United States Sales and Marketing, Professional Services, Internet Services, Advertising $5,000,000 $5,000,000 Shape Memory Therapeutics Santa Clara, California, United States Health Care $4,000,000 $4,616,484 ModoPayments Richardson, Texas, United States Software, Payments, Financial Services, Mobile $2,000,000 $4,000,000 MitoGenetics Ames, Iowa, United States Biotechnology, Science and Engineering, Data and Analytics, Health Care, Design $2,481,000 $3,966,000 mPath Palo Alto, California, United States Financial Services, Mobile $3,650,000 $3,650,000 Infinite io Austin, Texas, United States Hardware, Information Technology, Consumer Electronics, Internet Services $3,400,000 $3,400,000 Basket Arlington, Virginia, United States Commerce and Shopping, Internet Services, Mobile $3,304,810 $3,304,810 Zero Emission Energy Plants (ZEEP) Austin, Texas, United States Natural Resources, Energy, Sustainability $2,803,788 $2,803,788 Allbound Phoenix, Arizona, United States Information Technology, Software, Sales and Marketing, Mobile $1,050,000 $2,750,000 ThisWay Global Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom Information Technology, Data and Analytics, Software, Professional Services, Mobile ?œ1,600,000 $2,723,331 Atomic Dog Publishing Mason, Ohio, United States Media and Entertainment, Content and Publishing $1,000,000 $2,650,000 Loopd San Francisco, California, United States Hardware, Information Technology, Data and Analytics, Software, Sales and Marketing $1,500,000 $2,500,000 Art Craft Entertainment Austin, Texas, United States Gaming, Media and Entertainment $150,000 $2,500,000 CashBet Oakland, California, United States Gaming, Software, Mobile $2,245,000 $2,445,000 AGERpoint Orlando, Florida, United States Agriculture and Farming, Science and Engineering, Hardware, Information Technology, Software $1,200,000 $2,391,698 Bearch Austin, Texas, United States Internet Services $2,100,000 $2,380,000 GameWisp Nashville, Tennessee, United States Gaming, Media and Entertainment, Sports, Video, Content and Publishing, Financial Services $1,309,981 $2,273,461 Lucidity Consulting Group Richardson, Texas, United States Information Technology, Education $2,250,000 $2,250,000 TeamLINKS Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States Biotechnology, Science and Engineering, Health Care $2,238,920 $2,238,920 Plum Austin, Texas, United States Hardware, Consumer Electronics, Real Estate, Software, Internet Services, Mobile $1,980,000 Libboo Watertown, Massachusetts, United States Media and Entertainment, Content and Publishing, Financial Services $242,499 $1,921,477 Bone Solutions Dallas, Texas, United States Health Care $1,700,000 $1,915,000 Iterate Studio Mountain View, California, United States Manufacturing, Energy, Commerce and Shopping, Transportation, Internet Services $700,000 $1,650,000 MyCrowd Corte Madera, California, United

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    Top Companies Founded by Baylor Alumni

    The top 10 companies founded by Baylor Alumni include LifeLock, Formlabs, Nanosys, Integrated Diagnostics, and others who have collectively raised over $546M in equity funding. Check out our full list of the top 25 companies founded by Baylor Alumni. Name Headquarters Location Sectors Last Funding Amount Total Equity Funding Amount LifeLock Tempe, Arizona, United States Privacy and Security $201,340,000 Formlabs Somerville, Massachusetts, United States Manufacturing, Science and Engineering, Hardware, Software $35,000,000 $58,700,000 Nanosys Milpitas, California, United States Manufacturing, Science and Engineering, Energy $149,200,086 Integrated Diagnostics Seattle, Washington, United States Biotechnology, Science and Engineering, Health Care $6,100,000 $78,150,000 CloudCoreo Seattle, Washington, United States Hardware, Information Technology, Software, Internet Services, Privacy and Security $2,900,000 $2,900,000 TransVix United States, North America Commerce and Shopping, Transportation, Financial Services $2,000,000 $2,000,000 Boosterville Zionsville, Indiana, United States Sales and Marketing, Mobile $830,000 $926,000 Telligent Systems Dallas, Texas, United States Media and Entertainment, Software, Sales and Marketing, Internet Services, Content and Publishing $7,275,000 $29,000,000 Oso Technologies Urbana, Illinois, United States Hardware, Consumer Electronics, Internet Services $675,000 Oncolytics Biotech Calgary, Alberta, Canada Biotechnology, Science and Engineering, Health Care $24,000,000 $24,000,000 CerSci Therapeutics Dallas, Texas, United States $225,000 JamKazam, Inc. Austin, Texas, United States Commerce and Shopping, Media and Entertainment, Music and Audio, Software, Internet Services $260,000 $1,515,000 Giftiki San Francisco, California, United States Commerce and Shopping, Media and Entertainment, Internet Services $1,000,000 $1,020,000 Momentum Bioscience Reading, Reading, United Kingdom Biotechnology, Science and Engineering $357,060 MutualMind Addison, Texas, United States Media and Entertainment, Data and Analytics, Sales and Marketing, Internet Services $300,000 $450,000 Wondercide Austin, Texas, United States Sustainability, Community and Lifestyle, Consumer Goods $500,000 $500,000 Locate Special Diet Austin, Texas, United States Sustainability, Sports, Mobile $75,000 $75,000 BizBoards International, Inc. Atlanta, Georgia, United States Chaotic Moon Studios Austin, Texas, United States Platforms, Media and Entertainment, Information Technology, Software, Sales and Marketing, Design, Mobile CrateBind Dallas, Texas, United States DailyStory Dallas, Texas, United States Data and Analytics, Software, Sales and Marketing SandBox Commerce Austin, Texas, United States Platforms, Apps, Hardware, Commerce and Shopping, Software, Mobile Team Chaos LLC Austin, Texas, United States Gaming SalesTing Atlanta, Georgia, United States Data and Analytics, Software, Sales and Marketing PaidUp Austin, Texas, United States Sports, Payments, Financial Services

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    Top Companies Founded by UT Alumni

    The top 10 companies founded by UT Alumni include HotelTonight, Icertis, Poshmark, ThoughtSpot, and others who have collectively raised over $389M in equity funding. Check out our list of the top 100 companies founded by UT Alumni.   Name Headquarters Location Sectors Last Funding Amount Total Equity Funding Amount HotelTonight San Francisco, California, United States Travel and Tourism, Mobile $37,000,000 $117,685,000 Icertis Bellevue, Washington, United States Information Technology, Software, Sales and Marketing, Transportation, Internet Services $25,000,000 $46,000,000 Poshmark Menlo Park, California, United States Commerce and Shopping, Community and Lifestyle, Internet Services, Design, Mobile $25,000,000 $65,500,000 ThoughtSpot Palo Alto, California, United States Data and Analytics, Software $90,700,000 Emotient San Diego, California, United States Science and Engineering, Media and Entertainment, Data and Analytics, Software, Video $6,000,000 $6,000,000 Ortho Kinematics Austin, Texas, United States Biotechnology, Science and Engineering, Health Care $18,600,000 $50,092,621 SparkCognition Austin, Texas, United States Information Technology, Data and Analytics, Software, Privacy and Security $6,000,000 $6,370,000 Clara Labs San Francisco, California, United States Information Technology, Software, Internet Services, Messaging and Telecommunications $5,000,000 $5,000,000 Experiment Engine Austin, Texas, United States Data and Analytics, Internet Services $1,000,000 $1,000,000 DecorMatters.com Milpitas, California, United States Hardware, Information Technology, Real Estate, Data and Analytics, Software, Design, Mobile $1,000,000 $1,500,000 Circle Pharma San Francisco, California, United States Biotechnology, Science and Engineering, Health Care $2,000,000 $6,500,000 Pocketmath Austin, Texas, United States Sales and Marketing, Mobile, Advertising $10,000,000 $20,000,000 Fuhu El Segundo, California, United States Apps, Hardware, Consumer Electronics, Software $26,999,982 $56,248,970 Honest Dollar Austin, Texas, United States Financial Services $3,000,000 $3,000,000 Shipbird.com San Mateo, California, United States Administrative Services, Transportation $200,000 $200,000 Cape Productions Redwood City, California, United States Hardware, Consumer Electronics, Consumer Goods $10,000,000 $10,000,000 CareMessage San Francisco, California, United States Information Technology, Health Care, Internet Services, Messaging and Telecommunications, Mobile $6,000,000 $7,000,000 Parlio Palo Alto, California, United States Media and Entertainment, Internet Services, Content and Publishing $1,675,000 $1,675,000 Patch San Francisco, California, United States Health Care, Financial Services $1,850,000 $2,175,000 Skills Fund Austin, Texas, United States Education, Financial Services, Lending and Investments $11,500,000 $11,500,000 Helios Towers Africa London, England, United Kingdom Hardware, Financial Services $363,000,000 $993,000,000 Xiu.com Shenzhen, Guangdong, China Commerce and Shopping, Design $30,000,000 $150,000,000 Liquid Light Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, United States Science and Engineering, Energy $2,573,000 $29,825,000 BlazingDB Austin, Texas, United States Data and Analytics, Software $118,000 $118,000 Green House Data Cheyenne, Wyoming, United States Software, Internet Services $3,225,556 $3,225,556 Anokion SA Ecublens, Vaud, Switzerland Biotechnology, Science and Engineering, Health Care $37,500,000 $37,500,000 Compass Datacenters Dallas, Texas, United States Information Technology, Real Estate, Internet Services $80,000,000 Solix Algredients Fort Collins, Colorado, United States Food and Beverage, Health Care $31,000,000 $68,800,000 iHeartMedia San Antonio, Texas, United States Media and Entertainment, Sales and Marketing, Video, Advertising NarrativeDx Austin, Texas, United States Information Technology, Data and Analytics, Software, Health Care $1,100,000 $1,800,000 WigWag Austin, Texas, United States Real Estate, Software, Internet Services $3,175,436 $4,275,436 Nuve Austin, Texas, United States Software, Internet Services, Privacy and Security $6,210,525 $15,129,525 OnceThere Inc Austin, Texas, United States Travel and Tourism, Community and Lifestyle, Internet Services $4,481,889 $5,556,889 MyEdu Austin, Texas, United States Information Technology, Professional Services, Education, Privacy and Security $10,000,000 $18,700,000 WiseWear San Antonio, Texas, United States Hardware, Consumer Electronics, Health Care $275,000 $3,700,000 Joyride Palo Alto, California, United States Media and Entertainment, Music and Audio, Transportation, Mobile $1,000,000 $1,000,000 RoverPass Austin, Texas, United States Travel and Tourism, Community and Lifestyle, Software $650,000 $1,150,000 1000museums.com New York, New York, United States Agriculture and Farming, Media and Entertainment $332,800 $5,314,772 Babble New York, New York, United States Media and Entertainment, Community and Lifestyle, Content and Publishing $3,000,000 $6,250,000 Veestro Los Angeles, California, United States Travel and Tourism, Food and Beverage $1,500,000 $1,875,000 Quaero Charlotte, North Carolina, United States Media and Entertainment, Data and Analytics $1,500,000 $4,100,000 HERO App Austin, Texas, United States Apps, Media and Entertainment, Events, Software, Transportation, Financial Services, Mobile, Advertising $100,000 $100,000 FreeWave Technologies Boulder, Colorado, United States Hardware, Information Technology, Community and Lifestyle, Professional Services, Mobile $113,000,000 $113,000,000 Bento Labs San Francisco, California, United States Apps, Software $2,000,000 $2,000,000 POLCO Madison, Wisconsin, United States Media and Entertainment, Government and Military, Internet Services $655,000 $705,000 Book. Stay. Go. San Francisco, California, United States Travel and Tourism, Commerce and Shopping, Mobile $1,000,000 $1,030,000 Makerarm Austin, Texas, United States Manufacturing, Science and Engineering, Hardware, Consumer Electronics, Software $85,000 $85,000 Right Relevance San Francisco, California, United States Data and Analytics, Software, Internet Services $730,000 $730,000 Green Seed Investments Phoenix, Arizona, United States Financial Services, Lending and Investments $2,500,000 $3,400,000 Astrapi Dallas, Texas, United States Hardware, Software $1,500,000 $1,500,000 Revolights Emeryville, California, United States Hardware, Software $1,000,000 Cursive Labs San Diego, California, United States Hardware, Consumer Electronics, Software $2,200,000 $2,200,000 Conceivable Austin, Texas, United States Health Care, Mobile $800,000 $800,000 Kazaana Menlo Park, California, United States Media and Entertainment, Software, Internet Services, Mobile $3,975,000 $7,575,000 Avenda Systems Santa Clara, California, United States Hardware, Information Technology, Privacy and Security, Mobile $5,000,000 $5,000,000 Carma San Francisco, California, United States Information Technology, Transportation $14,100,000 Serina Therapeutics Huntsville, Alabama, United States Biotechnology, Science and Engineering, Health Care $4,855,000 $27,505,080 Myndbee Inc. Irving, Texas, United States Media and Entertainment, Information Technology, Internet Services, Content and Publishing, Messaging and Telecommunications $2,500,000 $2,500,000 Prepify Austin, Texas, United States Data and Analytics, Sales and Marketing, Education $20,000 $20,000 Nanospectra Biosciences Houston, Texas, United States Biotechnology, Science and Engineering, Health Care $800,000 $1,325,000 Global BioDiagnostics Temple, Texas, United States Health Care $1,250,000 $3,219,352 reQwip Austin, Texas, United States Commerce and Shopping, Sports, Mobile $87,500 $137,500 LightArrow Austin, Texas, United States Apps, Information Technology, Data and Analytics, Software, Sales and Marketing, Mobile $1,000,000 $1,700,000 Capsenta Austin, Texas, United States Information Technology, Data and Analytics $40,000 $210,000 Nomly, Inc. Austin, Texas, United States Apps, Software, Internet Services, Mobile $55,000 $55,000 Eqlim Beirut, Beyrouth, Lebanon Data and Analytics $425,000 $425,000 NsGene Ballerup, Hovedstaden, Denmark Biotechnology, Science and Engineering $545,000 $5,140,000 SquishClip San Francisco, California, United States Apps, Media and Entertainment, Software, Internet Services $450,000 $750,000 Rapidscan Pharma Solutions Palo Alto, California, United States Health Care

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    Company Spotlight: Ryan Austin of Synapse

    Check out our exclusive interview with Ryan Austin, Founder & CEO of Synapse. Where are you from originally? I am originally from Toronto, Canada. In 2015, I moved to Houston, TX to participate in SURGE Ventures to build our product with a few large enterprise clients. What university did you go to? I went to York University and The University of Western Ontario.  I actually dropped out in my third year after starting a successful online wholesale attire and travel e-commerce portal.   What is the idea behind your startup? Think “UX” but for creating learning / training programs.  When you hear about training or learning, people automatically think about how visually appealing the content looks. In reality, it takes a ton of research and planning to design the right experience.  Currently, this is a manual process filled with excel sheets and word templates.  We automate these manual efforts with our cloud-based learning design system. What need does it fulfill? For the two million learning designers whose job is to design learning experiences, we transition them from paper-based templates to an easy-to-use digital collaboration platform.   What exactly does it do? Learning designers can collaborate with stakeholders to define project needs, design learning experiences and create blueprints and prototypes that guide content authoring efforts. Who is it for? The platform is designed for learning designers who work within Corporate and Higher Education Organizations. What was the most challenging aspect of starting up? The most challenging aspect to starting any business is self-doubt.  Your mind tends to play tricks on you.  Luckily, I’ve been through the emotions before and know how to stay focused.  As an entrepreneur, you’re faced with challenges and have to stay strong-minded.  That’s also the fun of being self-employed. You get to solve big problems – from making resources available where they seem impossible to creating new products that help people. What is the next step for you and your business? We’ve found product market fit, so we’re currently maturing our platform and preparing the business for our growth curve. What advice do you have for entrepreneurs? Stay focused and stay strong.  As an entrepreneur, it’s easy to “kick down the sand castle”.   People can sometimes become their worst enemies.  Don’t be disruptive to your hard work. Patience is a virtue. It can take months or years to build a business – be patient – it’s very easy to “kick down” what you create because it feels like the right thing to do.  In most cases, you didn’t give it enough time. What resource have you found to be the most helpful and why? Mentors and advisors. Find great people who have “been there done that” and believe in you.  Put them around you to increase probability of success and reward them for their investment in you.

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    Company Spotlight: Jac Saltzgiver of Trago

    Check out our exclusive interview with Trago CEO, Jac Saltzgiver. Where are you from originally? Colorado Springs, CO What university did you go to? Wake Forest University – Go Deacs! What is the idea behind your startup? Two main ideas behind Trago: Hydration data is a valuable data set that is currently missing from the broader health equation  Personalized hydration is the next evolution of a $7 Billion reusable water bottle industry What need does it fulfill? Most of us know we should drink MORE water but have no idea how much we should or how much we do drink. We often forget. And although we generally know that hydration is a good thing, we have no data to help us understand how it effects our performance, energy, heart rate, metabolism and our sleep. What exactly does it do? Trago measures how much you drink and connects with devices like Fitbit and Apple Healthkit to understand your body type, local weather, and activity level to recommend the perfect amount to drink each day. Then, Trago’s free mobile app keeps you on pace throughout the day and adjust your fluid consumption goals based on your day to day weather and activity. Who is it for? Trago is for anyone looking to improve their peak performance – at work, in the gym, on the road, or on the field. We like to say, “people who sweat”. We are largely targeting the “Athliesure” and health and wellness markets, but Healthcare and Corporate Wellness are both solid markets for us as well. What was the most challenging aspect of starting up? Developing a market leading iOT product from skratch on a low budget. What is the next step for you and your business? Next steps are to open up a lot of distribution channels, innovate around our product offering, and SELL a TON of water bottles 🙂 What advice do you have for entrepreneurs? If you think you get to the top on your own, you probably have a very selective memory. What resource have you found to be the most helpful and why? Our mentors and our partners. Because no amount of reading, education, ideas or “plans” are a substitute for experience and relationships.

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