The World’s Coolest Startup Event Polar Bear Pitching is Back

Startups compete for €10 000 cash prize and international fame by pitching from a hole in the ice

Oulu, Finland - 

Polar Bear Pitching, the world’s coolest startup event, will be held for the third time from February 10 - 11th, 2016 in the capital of Northern Scandinavia, Oulu, Finland. This year the event has grown from a pitching competition to a two-day Arctic Adventure for startups, investors and media. The goal of the event is to help startups to secure investment and find the right tools to succeed in the global market as well as for investors to grow their portfolios.

How to Minimize Startup Missteps

By Asif Khan, CEO of Caremerge

Chicago, IL, July 8, 2015 – Successful startups most always don’t happen overnight. It takes time, patience and hard work to navigate the ups and downs of starting a new business. It is important, however, to minimize mistakes early on so that you can continue to shape and grow your startup into a successful business. Asif Khan, entrepreneur and CEO of Caremerge, an award-winning tech company that is revolutionizing care coordination and communication in the senior living industry, has taken stock of his own hard-earned lessons and offers 5 tips on how to minimize typical startup missteps:

The Lions Den Seattle and Tom Douglas Launch Round Two for Start Up Submissions

The Lions Den Seattle by Tom Douglas and Jeri Andrews Announces 2nd Round

The Lions Den Seattle is a lot like the City of Seattle.  The Lions Den Seattle and the City of Seattle have always been at the precipice of innovation. A brainchild of Tom Douglas, of Tom Douglas Restaurants, and Jeri Andrews, entrepreneur and philanthropy master, The Lions Den Seattle has become an innovative and generative entrepreneurial think-tank turned investment opportunity. Think Shark Tank with a soul and start-up support done right – and this year, The Lions Den Seattle is approaching new heights, accepting a second round of startup submissions for the October 22^nd Lions Den Pitch Event.

Just four months after the inaugural The Lions Den Seattle event, Sara Johnson, owner of Grass & Root Juice Company, inked a deal with Hotel Ändra owner Craig Schafer.  Although the details of their agreement are not public, The Lions Den Seattle discloses that Sara was able to keep 100% ownership in her company. After purchasing a dilapidated truck, Sara is on her way to bringing juice to our streets.  She intends to open for business later this summer, and until then is working on the design and build out of her juice kitchen on wheels.

This year’s “Best in Show” winner, Stacy Flynn, presented her startup called Evrnu, a revolutionary, new technology that recycles cotton garment waste to create premium, renewable textiles. After The Lions Den Seattle, Stacy has successfully generated beautiful fabric and garnered great interest from current clothing labels to utilize the fabric for the manufacturing of upcoming fall collections.

The next big Lion’s Den Pitch Event will be held on October 22, 2015 at the Palace Ballroom in downtown Seattle. Six finalists will present to a panel of Seattle’s who’s who within the business community, including Tom Douglas and Jeri Andrews. The panel will listen, ask questions, and decide if they want to partner. Provided with capital and expertise, your late night garage project or genius idea might just turn into the next billion-dollar company.

Co-founders Tom Douglas and Jeri Andrews are now accepting applications for the second round of The Lions Den Seattle, seeking businesses that range in levels of fundraising stages. Ideal submissions are those that incorporate socially conscious elements, or in some way provide a benefit to our community.  All startups are welcome to apply, including (but not limited to) food, consumer products, technology, manufacturing, and retail.

Applications are due August 20, 2015; please visit www.thelionsdenseattle.com for more information on submissions and event details.

NFL HALL OF FAMERS GET ALL-STAR TECH DEMO IN “STARTUP NATION”

New England Patriot's Owner Robert Kraft Brings Delegation of 19 NFL Hall of Famers to Meet with Ten Leading Startups in Jerusalem with Mayor Nir Barkat

OurCrowd, equity crowdfunding platform and investor in Israeli startups, together with Jnext – the Jerusalem Development Authority program supporting and promoting tech-entrepreneurship in the city, hosted 19 members of the U.S. Pro Football Hall of Fame for an exhibit of the latest technologies coming out of the “Startup Nation.”

The goodwill trip to Israel, coined "Touchdown in Israel: Mission of Excellence,” was organized by New England Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft, in coordination with Israel's Ambassador  to the United States, Ron Dermer. The week-long visit kicked off with the technology expo in Jerusalem’s Old City. Members of the delegation received an up close look at the best of Israeli high-tech innovation via ten hand-picked companies, seven of which are funded on the OurCrowd equity crowdfunding platform.

"Jerusalem was recently voted by Time Magazine as one of the world's five emerging tech hubs and that can truly be seen today,” said Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat. "I think it's a combination of really understanding our past and the beauty and the power of Jerusalem and its history. I believe in a very strong connection between our past and our future. More and more high tech entrepreneurs see their future here."

Patriots owner Kraft said the visit was transformative for the entire delegation. "I don't think there's a better place that you can bring people no matter what their faith might be. They come here and their lives are changed,” he said.

The NFL legends were greeted with a demo of ReWalk, a wearable bionic skeleton that allows individuals with spinal cord injuries to walk again.

OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved introduced the football greats to a demonstration of OurCrowd portfolio company Elminda, the world’s first FDA-approved neural functional assessment tool to visualize serious brain trauma and illness. Elminda was recently named one of the 50 most innovative companies in the world by Fast Company.

“Elminda is a perfect example of the kind of breakthrough technology coming out of Israel which is close to the hearts of these football greats. It offers a potentially huge breakthrough for mitigating sports injuries, detecting sports based concussions, advancing brain research and changing the lives of the two billion people worldwide living with brain disorders," said Medved.

“Through crowdfunding, the investment world is being democratized and individual investors can now get a stake in Israeli technology meaning they have a stake in Israel,” said Ron Dermer, the Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. 

Other companies on display included OrCam, an intuitive portable device with a smart camera designed to assist the visually impaired; Glide, the world’s first and only messaging application with streaming video technology; Inpris, technology that recognizes the individual movements of each fingertip anywhere on a touch-screen; MUV Interactive, a state-of-the-art solution for interacting with multiple screens and media sources through touch, remote and voice interaction; BriefCam, the video analysis software keeping our city streets safe; Consumer Physics, makers of SCiO, an advanced optical spectrometer that allows users to identify the chemical makeup of anything around them; Cimagine, the most visually advanced and user-friendly way for consumers to envision and interact with physical products in virtual reality and Highcon, which manufactures the Euclid, a machine that automates packaging production by bringing it into the digital age.

The response of the players to the technology on display was powerful and immediate.

“I think the exoskeleton’s ability to help a paraplegic walk is such an emotional thing to see," said NFL Hall of Famer David Baker. "[We were interested in] every one of these companies, from helping the consumers to helping blind people read, to helping process information better. For a lot of our players, [we appreciated] the ability to understand what’s happening in the brain with a concussion. It was all fantastic.”

“It's been very, very great and exceeded my expectations to a great extent," said NFL Hall of Famer, Curly Culp. "I'm just so glad to be here and learn about the history of Israel and how things are moving forward. I think the hospitality, the people, the history of this place, the holiness of this place you know it's a very spiritual and educational experience for me.”

About OurCrowd: OurCrowd is an equity crowdfunding platform for accredited investors to invest in Israeli and global companies. Managed by a team of seasoned investment professionals and led by serial entrepreneur Jon Medved, OurCrowd vets and selects opportunities, invests its own capital and brings startups to its accredited membership. OurCrowd investors must meet stringent accreditation criteria and invest a minimum of $10,000 per deal of their choice. OurCrowd provides post-investment support to its portfolio companies, assigning industry experts as mentors and taking board seats.  OurCrowd has raised over $130M in equity crowdfunding for its 70 portfolio companies, which include leading companies, such as: Borro, BillGuard, Consumer Physics (SCiO), BioCatch, Abe’s Market, and ReWalk, OurCrowd’s first portfolio company to complete a successful IPO on the NASDAQ

Azimo Raises $20 Mil to Fuel Global Growth

Azimo, the London based digital money transfer service, recently announced that it has raised an additional $20 million in financing. The funding will advance Azimo’s mission to be the world’s leading low-cost, mobile and social money transfer service.

Azimo s Series B funding round was led by Frog Capital, with participation from MCI Investments and existing investors*, including e.ventures and Greycroft Partners, among others.

Azimo is a provider of online and smartphone-based money transfers – providing a fast, secure and low-cost alternative to legacy high street remittance services. Founded in 2012, the company has built the most comprehensive network of any digital player, sending money to over 200 countries, reaching 5 billion people with over 80 different currencies**.

Azimo’s five-fold increase in money transfers in the last year reflects the on-going disruption of the $600 billion global remittance market. Digital and social network usage is helping workers send money home directly; saving money and time. Azimo’s announcement coincides with the International Day of Family Remittances, which aims to raise awareness of the importance of migrants transferring money home towards global development and local communities around the world***.

The company will use this latest financing to continue its pan-European growth and to target new markets in North America and Asia. Azimo's management team has unrivalled depth and knowledge of the sector having founded Small World Financial Services in 2005, and building it into Europe's leading independent, traditional money transfer company.

Azimo founder and CEO, Michael Kent said: “It’s fantastic to be announcing our latest round of funding on the inaugural International Day of Family Remittances, which recognises the huge contribution made by migrant workers to their families and communities back home.

“Azimo is just getting started on its mission to change the sector but already we serve hundreds of thousands of customers and have built the most comprehensive global network of any digital money transfer business. These funds will allow us to further expand our services and continue to give the worlds migrants a better deal.”

Frog Capital’s Iyad Omari said: “Global money transfer is a half-trillion dollar market which is rapidly going online, with customers seeing the benefits in speed, cost and convenience. The emergence of native mobile options like Azimo will only intensify this trend.”

“We’ve been impressed by Azimo’s growth in the sector and the significant traction they’ve made to date. Digging deeper, we like the retention and advocacy among their customer base. We’re delighted to partner with Azimo’s team as they look to drive this transition of the valuable and growing remittance market.”

Azimo’s advisors on this funding round were FT Partners and Dorsey and Whitney.