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8 Tech Startups Highlight City’s Potential as East Coast Innovation Hub

NVP’s Demo Day at The Newark Museum Showcases Founders from Across the Country

January 16, 2019/in Events, News /by Admin NVP

 

8 Tech Startups Highlight City’s Potential as East Coast Innovation Hub

A New Chapter in Newark’s History: 8 Tech Startups Highlight City’s Potential as East Coast Innovation Hub

Newark, NJ (January 15, 2019) – Newark Venture Partners celebrated the completion of its  5th-ever NVP Labs cohort at “Demo Day,” at the Newark Museum with a crowd of nearly 400 investors, founders, and community stakeholders.  The event featured presentations from the founding teams of all eight companies that completed the 3-month bridge-to-seed program: Ejenta, Exempt Me Now, Floss Bar, RankMiner, StackSource, Upsider, Talentegy and Team Mobot. Together, the cohort represents the industries of HRTech, Voice, Consumerization of Healthcare, HealthTech, Robotics and FinTech, with founders joining the Newark community from across the northeast, as well as North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and California.

For play-by-play of the event including photos, visit our twitter page @NewarkVC

“NVP is part of a larger ecosystem that’s contributing to Newark’s turnaround,” said Don Katz, Audible founder and CEO, and the founder of NVP. “These startups have had access to the incredible domain expertise of Audible employees and our corporate partners, and I’m excited to see how this class of amazing companies contributes to our efforts to tether Newark to the elements of the economy that are creating jobs and taxable revenue and validates the profound business case for this city.”

As Newark’s reputation as a hub for east coast technology grows, NVP, its corporate partners and its community of founders are leading the charge to recast the city as home for innovators. For the first time Demo Day was held in the historic Newark Museum, celebrating Newark’s return to its roots as center of invention and the startups that hope to write its next chapter.

“This was a cohort of game-changing tech and allstar founders.  We are proud to have put our stamp on these startups and look forward to helping each of them continue to grow and disrupt how the world does business – starting right here in Newark, New Jersey,” said  Tom Wisniewski, Managing Partner at Newark Venture Partners.

This cohort marked a year of growth for the NVP Labs program. The 3-month bridge-to-seed accelerator program targets B2B tech companies with proven market traction looking to raise an institution seed round.  It is now responsible for investments in 43 different startups, 70 percent of which have gone on to raise an institutions seed round. NVP’s complete portfolio, including its direct investment arm, totals 55 companies, 31 of which maintain a presence within NVP’s Newark coworking space. Cumulatively they have raised over $200M in capital.

“We select our founders based on pain points that our corporate partners identify within their own markets,” said Dan Borok, Managing Partner at Newark Venture Partners. “Once they complete the program, we get to to see their solutions reshape industries and reimagine how everyday operations can or should be done.”

NVP Labs invests an initial $120,000, with an additional $100,000 at the close of the program, and potential investment from NVP’s direct investment arm of up to $1 million in subsequent funding rounds. Companies also get space within NVP’s coworking offices housed in the same building as Audible and Rutgers Business School, as well as guidance from a robust mentorship and growth team.  The fund’s corporate partners, Audible (an Amazon Company), Dun & Bradstreet, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, Panasonic Corporation of North America, Prudential Financial, RWJBarnabas, TD Bank through the TD Charitable Foundation, Fidelco Realty Group, and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority also regularly interact with NVP Labs companies, providing market-based insight, technology assistance, and high level networking opportunities.

“NVP Labs has been invaluable to Team Mobot’s growth. Because every company is different, rather than simply providing advice, NVP Labs provided 1-on-1 resources for each company around sales, marketing, design, finance and more. As a newer company, this was exactly what we needed,” said Eden Full Goh, Founder and CEO of Team Mobot.

The selected companies were chosen from a pool of over 1,800 companies, more than 3 times the number of applicants for past cohorts.  Notably, this cohort includes 6 female founders or co-founders, 4 of which are also the company’s CEO.

The graduating companies are:

  • Ejenta: Founded by Rachna Dhamija and Maarten Sierhuis in San Francisco, CA: The future of healthcare is care at home, an $18B market opportunity for remote health monitoring. Ejenta gathers data from wearable and IoT devices and from electronic medical records to create AI-driven analytics that help health providers to detect and predict which patients need care, resulting in reduced readmissions and increased patient satisfaction. Ejenta’s technology is exclusively licensed from NASA where the founder developed AI to monitor astronauts in space.
  • Exempt Me Now: Founded by Sevetri Wilson New Orleans, LA: The number of nonprofits being created in the U.S. each year has more than quadrupled over the last decade.  ExemptMeNow seeks to reduce the hassle it takes to become tax-exempt, and connect the dots between grantees and grantors by providing a SaaS solution that simplifies the creation, maintenance and compliance processes for non-profit organizations. ExemptMeNow currently counts over 5,000 nonprofits as customers, but it is planning on deploying an enterprise software solution more widely in 2019. As part of this pivot, the company will also be rebranding as Resilia in 2019.
  • Floss Bar: Founded by Eva Sadej in New York, New York: Floss Bar is making in-office dental care the newest Future of Work Trend by eliminating inconveniences like wait and travel time, along with pressure and pain often associated with dental visits.  With a model flexible enough to work with clients of any size, they provide dental services on site for employees, members, and tenants. For anything non-routine, they have a referral network of dental offices vetted and compliant with the company’s ethical standards. Floss Bar turns dental care into a key workplace wellness initiative that everyone can appreciate.
  • RankMiner: Founded by Preston Faykus in St. Petersburg, Florida: Voice analytics is growing at a CAGR of 28.82%, expected to be $3.69B by 2023. However, a missing element for companies is to automatically predict agent and customer behavior. RankMiner does exactly this by analyzing 383 signals to extract the emotions and behaviors expressed in phone conversations that lead to business outcomes. RankMiner’s national and international clients have realized business improvements of up to 200% using the RankMiner solution.
  • StackSource: Founded by Tim Milazzo and Nathan Wall in New York City: The $3 trillion commercial loan market is currently run by brokers who are more motivated by commission than by transparency. StackSource’s digital marketplace provides a superior solution: immediate lender matching, data system integration for instant diligence, and a platform to manage the underwriting process end-to-end. StackSource has underwritten hundreds of millions in commercial lending as of today with 200+ lenders actively involved on the platform.
  • Talentegy:  Founded by Shawna Berthold, Dwaine Maltais and Stephanie Ralston in Dover, Delaware: Over 50% of candidates will sever a business relationship with a company due to a poor candidate experience and over half will abandon an application process because of a technical issue. That poor candidate experience has bottom line business impacts and can cost companies millions of dollars each year in lost revenue or brand loyalty. Talentegy solves this problem by applying AI enhanced talent analytics and engagement technology that continuously monitors the candidate journey to provide data-driven insights for improvements.
  • Team Mobot: Founded by Eden Full Goh in New York City: As a former Product Manager in the data, medical and energy software industries, founder Eden Full Goh became tired of flawed automation approaches to QA (quality assurance), which often rely on slower, costly, manual testing. To address this $10B industry, Team Mobot deploys teams of robots powered by computer vision to test software across different devices, use cases and integrations. As a solution for the enterprise, Team Mobot aims to cut QA costs in half and deliver test results on demand.
  • Upsider: Founded by Josh McBride and Xuan Smith in Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ: Talent acquisition professionals spend over 60% of their time on ineffective job boards and manual search tools, trying to identify relevant candidates to engage for their open roles.  Upsider turns sourcing into a science, by leveraging AI technology to identify a comprehensive set of candidates which align with their business and role requirements, resulting in a more strategic understanding of the best possible talent for the job. Upsider also offers a set of communication tools to engage candidates. Current clients have found that talent pipelines are filled 5x faster, and they are able to execute a more predictable, data-driven recruiting strategy.

The event included presentations from Colin Newman Vice President of Public Policy at Audible; Joe Scott, Executive Vice President, Office of Health Care Transformation at RWJ Barnabas Health; and Dele Oladapo, Chief Technology Architect and Innovation Officer, Prudential Financial, all part of the NVP network of corporate partners. The event had more than 450 RSVPs, including top east coast investors, founders from across the country, and decision makers from corporate players in New York/New Jersey region.

 

NVP Labs is now accepting applications for its Spring 2019 program. 

 

http://newarkventurepartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/IMG_0565-1.jpg 3024 4032 Admin NVP http://newarkventurepartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Logos_MASTER_NewarkVenturePartners-300x200.png Admin NVP2019-01-16 16:40:232019-01-16 16:42:42NVP's Demo Day at The Newark Museum Showcases Founders from Across the Country

NVP Labs Launches Fall 2018 Cohort, Welcomes 8 New Tech Startups to Newark

September 21, 2018/in News /by Admin NVP

Startups Receive Investment of $220,000, Newark-Based Work Space & Access to Corporate Partners, Audible, Panasonic, Prudential and more

Newark, NJ (September 24, 2018) – Newark Venture Partners (NVP), a leading East Coast early-stage venture fund, today announced the start of its Fall 2018 NVP Labs program.   The newest cohort of 8 startups is made up of companies hailing from the northeast, as well as North Carolina, Florida and California, and represent the industries of HRTech, Voice, Consumerization of Healthcare, HealthTech, Robotics and FinTech.

“Moving to Newark is one of the best decisions Audible has made, and I’m excited for NVP’s fall class companies to discover how energizing it is to be here,” said Don Katz, Audible founder and CEO, and the founder of NVP. “These startups will have access to the incredible domain expertise of Audible employees and our amazing corporate partners, which will help them get to the next level and, in turn, catalyze Newark’s historic comeback by generating jobs and taxable revenue.”

“The competition to be selected for this cohort was fierce – and we are confident that this group of startups are game changers.  The momentum at NVP is palpable and we are excited to help these companies put down roots and grow here in Newark,” said Tom Wisniewski, Managing Partner at Newark Venture Partners.

The selected companies were chosen from a pool of over 1,800 companies, more than 3 times the number of applicants for past cohorts.  Notably, this cohort includes 6 female founders or co-founders, 4 of which are also the company’s CEO.

Selected companies are:

  • Ejenta: Founded by Rachna Dhamija and Maarten Sierhuis in San Francisco, CA.

The future of healthcare is care at home, an $18B market opportunity for remote health monitoring. Ejenta gathers data from wearable and IoT devices and from electronic medical records to create AI-driven analytics that help health providers to detect and predict which patients need care, resulting in reduced readmissions and increased patient satisfaction. Ejenta’s technology is exclusively licensed from NASA where the founder developed AI to monitor astronauts in space.

  • Exempt Me Now: Founded by Sevetri Wilson New Orleans, LA.

The number of nonprofits being created in the U.S. each year has more than quadrupled over the last decade.  ExemptMeNow seeks to be the glue that brings together a fragmented market by drastically reducing the hassle it takes to become tax-exempt, and connecting the dots between grantees and grantors to drive impact.  ExemptMeNow does this by providing a SaaS solution that simplifies the creation, maintenance and compliance processes for startup and existing non-profit organizations. It also has an Enterprise software that targets customers that deploy capital (think cities, private foundations and corporations) overseeing compliance, providing technical assistance on-demand, and driving data and information exchange.

  • Floss Bar: Founded by Eva Sadej in New York, New York.

With a window into the consumerization of healthcare and a door to tap for top-notch dental hygienists in the ever growing gig economy, Floss Bar might just be the future of dentistry. As the first preventive brand for oral health care, they offer high quality, routine dental care at thoughtful prices and a location of your choosing. With a model flexible enough to work with clients of any size, they provide dental services on site for employees, members, and tenants. For anything non-routine, they have a referral network of dental offices vetted and compliant with the company’s ethical standards. Floss Bar turns dental care into a key workplace wellness initiative that everyone can appreciate.

  • RankMiner: Founded by Preston Faykus in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Voice analytics is growing at a CAGR of 28.82%, expected to be $3.69B by 2023. However, a missing element for companies is to automatically predict agent and customer behavior. RankMiner does exactly this by analyzing 383 signals to extract the emotions and behaviors expressed in phone conversations that lead to business outcomes. RankMiner is currently applying their patented technology to the call center industry.  RankMiner’s national and international clients have realized business improvements of up to 200% using the RankMiner solution.

  • StackSource: Founded by Tim Milazzo and Nathan Wall in New York City.

The $3 trillion commercial loan market is currently run by brokers who are more motivated by commission than by transparency. StackSource’s digital marketplace provides a superior solution: immediate lender matching, data system integration for instant diligence, and a platform to manage the underwriting process end-to-end. StackSource has underwritten hundreds of millions in commercial lending as of today with 200+ lenders actively involved on the platform.

  • Talentegy:  Founded by Shawna Berthold, Dwaine Maltais and Stephanie Ralston in Dover, Delaware

Over 50% of candidates will sever a business relationship with a company due to a poor candidate experience and over half will abandon an application process because of a technical issue. That poor candidate experience has bottom line business impacts and can cost companies millions of dollars each year in lost revenue or brand loyalty. Talentegy solves this problem by applying AI enhanced talent analytics and engagement technology that continuously monitors the candidate journey to provide data-driven insights for improvements. Current clients include RWJBarnabas Health,  Service Master, Charter and G4S. Prior to Talentegy, the founding team worked together and had multiple successful exits in the HR technology space.

  • Team Mobot: Founded by Eden Full Goh in New York City.

As a former Product Manager in the data, medical and energy software industries, founder Eden Full Goh became tired of flawed automation approaches to QA (quality assurance), which often rely on slower, costly, manual testing. To address this $10B industry, Team Mobot deploys teams of robots powered by computer vision to test software across different devices, use cases and integrations. As a solution for the enterprise, Team Mobot aims to cut QA costs in half and deliver test results on demand.

  • Upsider: Founded by Josh McBride and Xuan Smith in Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ.

Talent acquisition professionals spend over 60% of their time on ineffective job boards and manual search tools, trying to identify relevant candidates to engage for their open roles.  Upsider allows recruiters to leverage AI technology to identify a comprehensive set of candidates which align with their business and role requirements, resulting in a more strategic understanding of the best possible talent for the job. Upsider also offers a set of communication tools to engage candidates. Current clients have found that talent pipelines are filled 5x faster, and they are able to execute a more predictable, data-driven recruiting strategy.

NVP Labs invests an initial $120,000, with an additional $100,000 at the close of the program, and potential investment from NVP’s direct investment arm of up to $1 million in subsequent funding rounds. Companies also get space within NVP’s coworking offices housed in the same building as Audible and Rutgers Business School, as well as guidance from a robust mentorship and growth team.  The fund’s corporate partners, Audible (an Amazon Company), Dun & Bradstreet, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, Panasonic, Prudential Financial, RWJBarnabas, TD Bank through the TD Charitable Foundation, and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority also regularly interact with NVP Labs companies, providing market-based insight, technology assistance, and high level networking opportunities.

“Each of the selected startups address an industry pain point that our corporate partners have either identified or confirmed in their own unique markets.  With that market validation as a starting point NVP is then able to help our founders execute on their sales and marketing strategy to quickly get to scale,” said Dan Borok, Managing Partner at Newark Venture Partners.

“NVP serves as a fantastic catalyst for the growth of Newark as an innovation hub and enables our employees to engage with a premier venture capital firm. They provide us with direct access to a world-class talent pool and allow us to leverage their growing portfolio of enterprise-ready solutions to drive our business goals.” said Dele Oladapo, Chief Technology Architect and Innovation Officer, Prudential Financial.

The program aims to guide the companies to achieve in-depth strategic plans and scalable marketing and sales operations.  The NVP mission is to help innovative entrepreneurs build distinctive technology companies while catalyzing development of the technology ecosystem in the City of Newark. This is the fifth time NVP has run the accelerator program since its inception in 2014.

“An investment from NVP Labs includes high powered connections, expert support and a community of growth-minded mentors,” said Allison Williams, Director of NVP Labs.  “This cohort of founders is not only prepared to take these resources and run with them but also poised to be market leaders in the B2B space.”

Newark Venture Partners was founded by Don Katz, Audible founder and CEO, to grow Newark as a hub for east coast technology and recast the city as a pioneering innovation zone and ultra-bandwidth tech center. With billions of dollars earmarked for construction projects, affordable housing, new retail development, and 21st century work spaces, Newark’s community of entrepreneurs and young talent is growing, as they look to reach New York City’s resources without its legendary cost of living and doing business.

Interviews available by request: Jennifer@Newark.vc

###

About Newark Venture Partners

Newark Venture Partners is a leading early stage venture capital firm with a Limited Partner base that includes top corporate investors Audible (an Amazon Company), Dun & Bradstreet, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, Panasonic, Prudential Financial, RWJBarnabas, TD Bank, and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.  We help innovative entrepreneurs build distinctive business focused technology companies while catalyzing development of the ecosystem in the City of Newark. Newark Venture Partners includes a direct investment arm, investing up to $1 million in Seed and Series A companies, and our bridge-to-seed accelerator arm, NVP Labs, which invests in up to 10 companies twice a year. For more information visit Newark.VC

http://newarkventurepartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/nvp.jpg 490 490 Admin NVP http://newarkventurepartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Logos_MASTER_NewarkVenturePartners-300x200.png Admin NVP2018-09-21 01:03:302018-09-21 01:05:49NVP Labs Launches Fall 2018 Cohort, Welcomes 8 New Tech Startups to Newark

NVP Labs Alum ClassTag Featured in Marketwatch

July 27, 2018/in News, Portfolio media /by Admin NVP

Excerpt from Marketwatch, July 25, 2018

These teachers are spending their own money to help improve their classes

“…teachers often need more resources to pay for classroom needs, and are trying alternatives to meet those needs. One parent, Vlada Lotkina, co-founded ClassTag, an app that rewards teachers for parent-teacher communication and engagement. Classrooms will earn ClassTag coins when teachers and parents talk with one another, or when parents volunteer or attend events (like parent-teacher conference).”

Read the full article here:

https://secure.marketwatch.com/story/teachers-spend-hundreds-sometimes-thousands-of-dollars-of-their-own-money-on-students-2018-07-24

http://newarkventurepartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/classtagg-1.jpg 490 490 Admin NVP http://newarkventurepartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Logos_MASTER_NewarkVenturePartners-300x200.png Admin NVP2018-07-27 14:35:482018-08-29 14:10:51NVP Labs Alum ClassTag Featured in Marketwatch

Newark’s Best Bet: Investing in Problem Solving Startups

June 20, 2018/in News /by Admin NVP

By: Allison Williams, Director of NVP Labs

From the 7th floor of One Washington Park, it’s clear that the City of Newark is bubbling with potential. Whether you are looking out at the Newark Broad Street train station, just a 18-minute train ride from New York City, or inside one of the Newark Venture Partners’ (NVP) conference rooms adorned with hammocks, ping-pong and foosball tables, and even a Budha Booth – the energy percolating inside this building is palpable.

If you don’t believe it, talk with Emeka Oguh.  Emeka is a Newark native, having grown up on Sanford Ave in the Vailsburg section of Newark.  Today, after graduating from Rutgers and earning an MBA from Harvard Business School, he is the Founder and CEO of PeopleJoy, a tech startup selected for funding through the NVP Lab Program.  Did you know that a monthly contribution – as low as $50 – from an employer can reduce student loan payments by 1-3 years and help save the employee thousands of dollars in interest?  PeopleJoy is making it possible for businesses across industry sectors to support their employees in this way through a simple plug-and-play platform – and it all began here in Newark.

Yes, Newark has its issues.  Our public education system is in need of investment and upgrades.  We are behind curve on developing transit oriented and affordable/diverse housing. We need to do more to keep and grow job opportunities in growing markets and lift up the community through a stronger commitment to inclusion and equality.  Newark, like most cities, has work to do.

But who better to do that work than entrepreneurs like Emeka who are invested in the City’s future?  Any elected official can talk at length about Newark’s history as a capital of innovation, but a government incentive did not help Thomas Edison to invent the lightbulb, and no tax package could do what Audible has done for Newark since moving its headquarters here 10 years ago.  Audible is now the city’s fastest growing private employer, with deep ties to the local school system, pipelines to internships and employment, and incentives in place encouraging employees to live local, buy local and support the local economy.  Audible is a force driving Newark’s comeback story – not simply by giving (although they do that too) – but by growing, training, hiring and innovating.

As we continue to write Newark’s next chapter, NVP is taking lessons learned at Audible and applying them to tech startups. By focusing on solution-driven, tech startups in the B2B space – all headquartered right here in Newark – we have the ability to revolutionize the city’s entire landscape.  Today, in our Labs program, we are funding companies transforming everything from background checks (Vetty) to small business lending (LendingFront).  We are betting on entrepreneurs like Vlada Lotkina who developed a better way for parents and teachers to collaborate (ClassTag), and Wole Coaxum who is reinventing the way minority communities access mainstream banking services (MoCaFi).  We believe in our companies’ ability to shake up entrenched industries – the way Designity is modernizing the traditional advertising agency model and access to creative talent. We are investing in entrepreneurs who have identified problems and deployed 21st century, tech-based solutions to challenge the status quo. [Learn more about the companies and entrepreneurs participating in our Labs program at our Demo Day presentation on June 27th from 12-4pm at the Prudential Center]

We aren’t alone.  Some of New Jersey’s biggest employers like Panasonic, Prudential, Dun & Bradstreet have partnered with us, providing mentorship and strategic opportunities for the companies we are supporting.   Even the New Jersey State government is starting to catch up, with the Murphy administration offering financial incentives to support entrepreneurship and boost the state’s innovation economy. NVP’s managing Partners Tom Wisniewski and Dan Borok have been advocates for an investment-based approach to revitalizing Newark, growing industry – and the community – from the inside out.  The right investments can offer new ways of doing business, enhanced ways to service customers, and grow a network and ecosystem built on productivity.

NVP Portfolio company Veritonic is another example of how innovation grows in the City of Newark and is nurtured by its neighbors.  Originally part of the second NVP Labs cohort, Veritonic is the audio effectiveness company–the first analytics platform built specifically to quantify the value of sound. Sharing a building and working with Audible, one of the most vanguard audio companies ever, Veritonic has been inspired to create a business that not only solves a problem for the market — the need to bring more data-driven decisions to the use of audio — but helps to transform it. The company is thriving with a team of 12 and plans to hire more following the successful close of a $2.5 million seed round.

Scott Simonelli, Founder and CEO of Veritonic said, “The City of Newark gave Veritonic roots.  It welcomed us in, gave us access to great minds and great mentors, and it became a space where we could grow.  We’re so excited for this city’s future.” Simonelli will participate in panel at this year’s Demo Day hosted at the Prudential Center on June 27th.  Register here to attend.

It’s true that Newark’s current tech ecosystem is still in its infancy, but with a steady diet of strategic investments and support from local stakeholders, it can grow to be our greatest asset.   If you doubt it, we encourage you to visit us on the 7th floor of One Washington Park, and you will see our tech community thriving, expanding, and developing the future.

 

http://newarkventurepartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Newark.jpg 554 1900 Admin NVP http://newarkventurepartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Logos_MASTER_NewarkVenturePartners-300x200.png Admin NVP2018-06-20 18:14:162018-06-20 18:25:38Newark’s Best Bet: Investing in Problem Solving Startups

Newark Venture Partners Portfolio Company Vydia Raises Series A Financing

May 14, 2018/4,001 Comments/in News /by Admin NVP

Vydia just scored one of the biggest music industry investment rounds in 2018.

In a simple, centralized platform, Vydia allows musicians, influencers, and brands to manage their content.  Now, the digital rights management and monetization startup has announced that it has raised $7 million in a Series A financing round.

This comes on the heels of significant user growth.  The company now has over 200,000 users that create, distribute, monetize, store, protect, and measure their content on the Vydia platform.

Vocap Investment Partners led the Series A Round of funding, with participation from Newark Venture Partners.  Vocap’s Managing Director, Vinny Olmstead, will join Vydia’s Board of Directors.

According to Vydia, it will use the $7 million to institutionalize and ramp sales.  In addition, the startup will expand product and feature sales, and further integrate additional video, audio, and social platforms.

The company will also double down on its machine learning capabilities.  This, says Vydia, will help creators receive intuitive, actionable feedback.

Of course, the big fat problem is that artists and content owners aren’t getting paid.  And they really don’t know how to value and maximize their assets, especially on platforms like YouTube.  So here’s a company that wants to solve that.  “Content creators are leveraging the power of video across every social platform available, however, their insights and control over their own intellectual property are limited,” said Roy LaManna, Vydia’s founder.  “Vydia is empowering creators by solving this problem with a smart, universal application.”

“With the growth of streaming services, specifically within video, we feel there is a lot more room for growth.  This capital investment will help us enrich the careers of artists on an expedited timeline.”

LaManna added that with the investment, the company will expand and improve its proprietary technology.  This will help not only individual music content creators, but also content-focused brands.

Vydia On The Web :
Facebook
Twitter
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2018/02/20/vydia-raises-7-million-financing/
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AeroFarms has been named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2018

February 23, 2018/in News /by olivier

Of the thousands of companies evaluated, we are proud to be named one of the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Food.

AeroFarms is a vertical farming company that operates inside a converted steel warehouse in Newark, New Jersey. Its thousands of trays of seeds grow in a high-tech aeroponic growing system that does not require sunlight or soil. The 70,000-square-foot site will ultimately farm up to two million pounds of food per year that will then be sold in area grocery stores. Cofounder David Rosenberg hopes his system will eventually be a solution for food shortages.

Lists
2018: Food
Headquarters: Newark, NJ
AeroFarms On The Web :
Facebook
Twitter
www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2018/sectors/food
http://newarkventurepartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/0dgYYm4UAmyI3MAyG.jpeg 1200 1200 olivier http://newarkventurepartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Logos_MASTER_NewarkVenturePartners-300x200.png olivier2018-02-23 14:45:012018-04-09 23:45:38AeroFarms has been named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2018

Newark Venture Partners Portfolio Company, Inpensa, Named Top 5 Coolest Tech Company in NJ

January 30, 2018/in News /by olivier

While, the tech industry today is an ever-growing community that spans across the continent and beyond, New Jersey is not to be discounted as an area full of burgeoning tech companies specializing in a range of fields, from digital marketing to fintech.

Inpensa – Edison, NJ

At Inpensa they’re changing the way executives decide on project investment with their award-winning data driven capabilities and SaaS Technology. Inpensa’s focus is on strategic project portfolio planning, analysis of ROI, and realization of benefits.

The unique approach of this young business solves the permeating problem across mid- to large organizations that spend millions or more on investments each year. The wealth of data pushes forward timely, informed decisions, which saves their clients millions on new investments.

Inpensa is the better solution for managing the project investment lifecycle, which means no more spreadsheets and a smarter use of data. It is changing the way we’ll think about investments forevermore.

The purpose-built Enterprise Business Value Management suite includes significant capabilities that can be fully integrated or delivered independently, including Project Portfolio Strategic Planning, Business Case Management, and Tracking and Analytics.

You can learn more at their website: www.inpensa.com

www.njtechweekly.com/art/3500-opinion-the-5-coolest-tech-companies-in-new-jersey/

http://newarkventurepartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/170AugPQCLWmH6ed-vz32eg.png 733 2000 olivier http://newarkventurepartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Logos_MASTER_NewarkVenturePartners-300x200.png olivier2018-01-30 14:51:102018-04-09 23:45:38Newark Venture Partners Portfolio Company, Inpensa, Named Top 5 Coolest Tech Company in NJ

Amazon Names Newark and New York City as ‘HQ2’ Finalists

January 18, 2018/in News /by olivier

The New York metropolitan area picked up a one-two punch Thursday in the battle among North American cities hoping to become home to Amazon’s second headquarters, when both Newark and New York City landed on the retail giant’s shortlist.

The Seattle-based retailer had set off a frenzy among cities in the United States and Canada when it announced in September that it was looking for a location for its second headquarters, dangling promises of $5 billion in investment and as many as 50,000 jobs.

More than 238 applications poured in to Amazon from cities and regions vying to become its “HQ2.” Amazon has narrowed the list to 20, with most finalists far from the tech-saturated hubs on the West Coast. Along with Newark and New York City, Boston, Atlanta, Denver and Nashville all made the cut.

“New York gets two bites of the apple,” said Patrick L. Anderson, of the Anderson Economic Group, which advises cities on economic development and had handicapped the Amazon sweepstakes.

Before Amazon released its list of finalists, some analysts had dismissed the chances of either New York City or Newark. New York City was considered too expensive, and Newark was seen as hampered by its reputation as a hardscrabble urban center.

But Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark, and Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, one of the city’s most prominent residents, seemed intent Thursday on trying to capitalize on that image by appealing to Amazon’s potential to be a game-changer for the state’s largest city.

“We have sites ready downtown, or on the waterfront. We have universities and fiber,” Mr. Baraka said. “Amazon could have a transformative effect on one of America’s oldest cities. This is an opportunity for Amazon to change the narrative about the company and where it’s headed.”

New York City is already home to a large Amazon distribution center in Staten Island and offices for more than 2,000 finance, sales and marketing workers in Manhattan. New Jersey has three Amazon distribution centers, including one 12 miles from Newark.

If Amazon finds housing and the cost of doing business too high in New York City, it could turn to Newark, which sits atop the fiber optic cable spine running along the Eastern Seaboard and is in the midst of a resurgence. Office and apartment rents are substantially lower and Amazon already has a subsidiary there, Audible.

Either way, Amazon could tap into a tech work force of nearly 300,000 people, far more than Chicago (138,813) or Los Angeles (166,234), two cities that also made Amazon’s shortlist. The impact of 50,000 new jobs would be felt throughout the metro area.

“Newark, New York City and Chicago all have very strong workforces,” Mr. Anderson said. “Newark has the advantage on cost of doing business, which is very important to Amazon.”

Mr. Anderson had put New York at the top of his list when he rated the competition last fall. Nearly three-quarters of his top 20 picks landed on Amazon’s shortlist.

But the eventual winner is by no means a foregone conclusion.

The Washington, D.C., metropolitan area presents a triple threat, with three areas — Northern Virginia, Montgomery County, Md., and the capital itself — making the list. Jeff Bezos, chairman of Amazon, has a home in Washington and owns the local newspaper, The Washington Post.

Still, there are 100,000 more tech workers in the New York region than in Washington and its suburbs.

Amazon’s finalist list hews closely to the criteria it established at the beginning of the contest: a metro area of more than a million residents; ease of transportation; a business-friendly environment; potential to attract and retain technical talent; and a strong university system.

“This is what Amazon said they wanted in a candidate,” Mr. Anderson said. “No incentives, silly sales pitches or talk of how cool their sports teams are.”

But at this stage of the contest, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, the subsidy packages that competing cities offer Amazon may influence the decision.

“Amazon, like most big companies, is dollars-and-cents oriented,” Mr. Zandi said. “Here’s where incentive packages may tip the scales.”

The state of New Jersey, which is backing Newark’s bid, has offered the biggest plum of all: $5 billion in tax breaks, grants and other subsidies. Newark officials have also discussed a supplementary subsidy package that could be worth as much as $2 billion.

“In the last decade, Newark has experienced unparalleled growth, paving the way for many new companies to call our city home. A Newark HQ2 would mean tens of thousands of local jobs, a boost to our regional economy and small businesses, and an opportunity for Amazon to take a tremendous stake in the continued transformation of our great city,” Mr. Booker said.

Critics contend that the Garden State is being overly generous with tax dollars.

“We remain wary of the steep price tag for taxpayers that state and local lawmakers have already put on this project,” said Jon Whiten, vice president of New Jersey Policy Perspective. “It has ensured that the returns will be minimized if Amazon were to ultimately choose the state.”

The administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio was less generous, announcing New York City would not offer any special subsidies or incentives for Amazon beyond the city’s existing programs. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo did say that the state would provide a benefit package for Amazon, although he did not disclose any details.

On the same day New York City submitted its bid to Amazon, Mr. de Blasio criticized the company for its destructive impact on local shop owners. But at this point, neither that criticism nor the lack of an enhanced subsidy package has hurt New York’s chances.

“We’re not changing our approach,” said Alicia Glen, New York City’s deputy mayor for economic development. “We offered four very viable options in different neighborhoods. If you want to hire 50,000 incredibly smart people, there’s no better place. And a city that has art, culture, food and urban walkability are a huge priority for this generation of workers.”

The Partnership for New York City, a business group that has strongly supported the city’s bid for Amazon, said New York’s chances are good.

“Amazon is notoriously cheap and our costs our high,” said Kathryn Wylde, the Partnership’s president. “But in every other way, New York is a winner. It has the markets they want to reach, the talent and a strong history as a global retail capital. The question is, ‘Does Bezos sees the value of mixing with the global industries and market leaders that are based in New York?’ ”

www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/nyregion/amazon-headquarters-finalists.html

http://newarkventurepartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/NVP-rectangle.jpg 1500 1800 olivier http://newarkventurepartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Logos_MASTER_NewarkVenturePartners-300x200.png olivier2018-01-18 15:09:152018-08-29 20:40:44Amazon Names Newark and New York City as ‘HQ2’ Finalists

Canadian-Fronted Hyr Raises $1.3 Million Seed Round

January 18, 2018/in News /by olivier
Hyr has announced it has raised a $1.3 million USD seed round.

The New York City company, founded by Canadian Erika Mozes, saw the funding led by Flybridge Capital Partners with participation from Newark Venture Partners and XFactor Ventures.

The new capital brings Hyr’s total raised financing to $2.4 million USD. The new financing will be used to scale Hyr into new markets and verticals while also growing across the U.S. and Canada.

Hyr is a startup that helps match shift workers to businesses when they need to pick up a few extra shifts on the go. The platform is a solution for both workers and businesses; employees get the chance to make a bit of extra cash when they are not busy, and companies can pick up workers when they really need the extra bodies.

Mozes shared a blog post describing her journey around founding and growing Hyr.

“We also played upon a growing restlessness among a younger generation, who value time over money and value experiences over things,” she writes. “The Bucket List Generation was exactly our target—being defined by what you’re working for, not where you work.”

“The gig economy was looking for the ‘Uber’ of the labor market and Hyr was the answer.”

In New York and Toronto, there are over 600 million shifts scheduled each year in the hospitality and retail industries. More than six million of those go unfilled because the businesses are unable to find willing and able workers.

Since founding in 2017, Hyr has seen more than 10,000 workers on-boarded to the platform, accessing more than 200 businesses. This includes some of the largest hospitality chains in Canada like Carlsburg, SirCorp and Hero Certified Burgers.

“Information and office workers have had the chance, over the last 10 years, to benefit from more flexible work environments and more meaningful work and now the shift economy can tap into that same opportunity,” writes Jesse Middleton, a venture capitalist at Flybridge. “I imagine a world, not too far off, where a simple tap of a button on your phone can take you to new places all over the world with a room from Airbnb, a car from Uber and a job from Hyr when you land.”

Hyr is a company that is coming at the right time, as a recent study by Intuit Canada shows that Generation Z is beginning to embrace their side hustle and look for ways to grow and earn money beyond a typical 9-5.

www.techvibes.com/2018/01/17/canadian-fronted-hyr-raises-1-3-million-seed-round

http://newarkventurepartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/T.jpg 1200 1200 olivier http://newarkventurepartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Logos_MASTER_NewarkVenturePartners-300x200.png olivier2018-01-18 14:59:212018-04-09 23:45:38Canadian-Fronted Hyr Raises $1.3 Million Seed Round

In Newark, tech startups get a head start

January 1, 2018/in News /by varshabi_jf8zje
Nine companies, from real estate technology to artificial intelligence, represent the third Newark Venture Partners Labs Accelerator Class.
Welcome to Demo Day, an opportunity for companies to present and pitch to investors to raise capital right in Newark.“This day basically is going to kick-off our Series A round, we’re going to be raising $5 million to get this facility off the ground and open a few more, and also start distributing our products to consumers. We’re making a cleaning product and an organic plant food,” said Amanda Weeks, co-founder of Industrial/Organic.It’s one of the companies in the lab’s program that turned a former meatpacking plant in Newark into its pilot facility.

“What we do is take in food waste and it gets processed using fermentation and other mechanical and biological methods,” said Weeks.

In 2014, startups in New Jersey attracted just one-tenth of the venture capital that was invested in New York. Newark Venture Partners is aiming to bring more of that money to the state.

“We invest from $100,000 up to $1 million, and each of the companies we work with on the $100,000 end, that’s the lab program, but as they graduate we put more and more into the company and help them thrive,” said Managing Partner Tom Wisniewski. “The idea is for us to make things so great here with our partners, with our space, that the companies will lay down roots.”

Managing Partner Dan Borok says his family’s roots are in Newark — they go back about a hundred years. His grandfather came to the city from Russia and opened a family business not far from Newark. He sees that potential for the tech companies the fund invests in.

“What a lot of people don’t realize is there are a number of publicly traded large corporations, so we’ve gotten those companies to invest in our fund and connect directly with our startups to help them scale up and build businesses here in Newark,” said Borok.

“We’ve received about 1,800 applications in the past year and a half. We invested in 40 companies and put about $10 million of capital to work and we’re really happy with the progress we’re seeing with the companies now,” continued Borok.

That was part of Audible CEO Don Katz’s vision for his company.

“Eleven years ago, we brought Audible to Newark and the idea was to be part of this comeback story, and to redefine the company around urban transformation,” he said.

He founded Newark Venture Partners as a way to expand on that vision. With the graduation of this class means a new group of entrepreneurs, to which Katz offered this piece of advice.

“A lot of entrepreneurs think it’s all about them, and ultimately, it’s not scalable. You need compatriots,” he said. “You need to fill in the gaps and another thing you have to argue is that you have to measure your success in your own metrics because if you wait for the money guys to tell you how to measure things, you won’t be too happy because in the early stage, it’s the input that matters — not the financial outputs.”

www.njtvonline.org/news/video/newark-tech-startups-get-head-start/

http://newarkventurepartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/f.jpg 1272 1908 varshabi_jf8zje http://newarkventurepartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Logos_MASTER_NewarkVenturePartners-300x200.png varshabi_jf8zje2018-01-01 14:39:582018-04-09 23:45:38In Newark, tech startups get a head start
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