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Tech Coast Angels: Tourmaline Labs Closes $2 Million Funding Round with $1.5 Million from Tech Coast Angels
Tech Coast Angels: Tourmaline Labs Closes $2MillionFunding Round;
$1.5 Million from Tech Coast Angels
Three of Tech Coast Angels’ chapters unite for large initial raise, citing company’s management team, unique AI technology, and current revenue model
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – October 2, 2018 —Tech Coast Angels (TCA)along with ClearVision Equity Partners(ClearVision)closed a $2 million financing round for Tourmaline Labsin September. ClearVision led the transaction providing $500K, with the additional $1.5 million coming from TCA and TCA’s ACE Fund.
San Diego-based Tourmaline Labs analyzes mobility data, such as speed and other sensor data, to provide smartphone-based solutions for large enterprise fleets via a pure SaaS model, which allows integration and management of third-party vehicles and operators.
Tourmaline Labs plans on using the capital raise to build a robust sales and account management team, as well as ensuring its proprietary technology scales up.
“Our greatest limitation to growth is our sales and support efforts,” said Marc Brungger, CEO of Tourmaline Labs. “The funding will be used to build sales functions and account management teams to manage the opportunities and insights our technology offers to enterprise customers and prospects.”
This deal marks one of the largest initial raises from TCA directly in recent history. Dean Rosenberg and Nickolas Phillips led the financing for TCA and said that they were impressed with the strength of the management team, and the until-now unmet need for using AI technology to integrate third party vehicles into large enterprise fleets.
“The AI technology is proven and the company already had a strong recurring revenue model in place,” said Rosenberg. “In addition to the technology, we were impressed with the management team and the results that they have already achieved. And it is always exciting to see how our investments in exciting local companies continue to enhance the entrepreneurial ecosystem throughout Southern California.”
“Another attractive aspect was the steady growth and traction that Tourmaline Labs was able to show us in the enterprise space,” said Phillips. “They already have an excellent customer base and I was also attracted to this deal because the executive team has a core strength in providing technology solutions in the automotive/telematics space.”
“Automobile technology will change more in the next five years than it has in the past 50 years,” concluded Brungger. “With TCA’s advocacy and support, we now have the capital to help our customers adapt to these changes. And I am particularly excited that we were able to raise this funding locally, completely within Southern California.”
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October 2, 2018
Tech Coast Angels, San Diego Venture Group and Cox Business to Present John G. Watson Quick Pitch 2018
Tech Coast Angels, San Diego Venture Group and Cox Business to Present John G. Watson Quick Pitch 2018
Prestigious Event to Showcase 10 Stellar Entrepreneurs with Prizes Totaling $75,000; Application Deadline Aug. 31
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – August 21, 2018 – Tech Coast Angels – San Diego (TCA-SD), San Diego Venture Group (SDVG), and Cox Business today announced they are teaming up to present the John G. Watson Quick Pitch on October 24, 2018 at Qualcomm Hall. Now in its 11thyear, the event promises to be the biggest in history with over $75,000 in prizes – not to mention opportunities to connect with San Diego’s investment community.
Calls for entrepreneurs to submit applications are now open; the deadline for submission is August 31.
Twenty startups will be selected from what is expected to be hundreds of applications, and 10 finalists will be chosen in a semi-final on September 18. Each finalist will receive coaching from a TCA and SDVG member with relevant industry experience, and together they will create a two-minute pitch to present in front of a live audience of over 500 people at Qualcomm Hall. Esteemed judges from San Diego’s entrepreneurial and investment ecosystem will provide analysis, and the judges will select the top three winners. Additional prizes for this year’s event include an Audience Choice Award and a Community Partner Scholarship for a local high school student entrepreneur.
“With the involvement of San Diego Venture Group and Cox Business, this year’s Quick Pitch event will be our best yet,” said Victoria Lakers, TCA-SD Quick Pitch Chair. “As our local startup ecosystem continues to grow, we are excited to provide a bigger platform for San Diego’s best companies to share their stories, as well as a bigger combined prize to facilitate their growth.”
The 2017 Quick Pitch was the largest to date, as TCA and SDVG teamed up for the first time and awarded $50,000 in prize money. An additional $500,000 was invested in Quick Pitch companies in rounds led by Tech Coast Angels; two other Quick Pitch finalist companies raised capital from TCA as well.
SDVG President Mike Krenn said, “Last year’s new Quick Pitch partnership between SDVG and TCA proved that value of collaboration by increasing the number of applications, sponsors and prize money for companies while creating a more streamlined process. Collectively, we all agree and coalesce around the key data – this is best for the companies and the startup ecosystem. We are thrilled to bring Cox Business on board to continue increasing our impact with more cash prizes, visibility in the media and talent to organize this landmark event.”
“Cox Business is proud to join forces with Tech Coast Angels and San Diego Venture Group for this quick pitch competition to continue unifying the San Diego startup ecosystem, which will benefit entrepreneurs, startups and investors in this community,” said Jared Ruth, Director of Product & Marketing, Cox Business.
“While the event supports community networking and is entertaining for attendees, we focus most of our efforts on providing value to the presenting company founders,” said Dean Rosenberg, TCA-SD President. “Last year, TCA members provided over $500,000 in funding to our 2017 Quick Pitch finalists, in addition to the prize money awarded at the event.”
Please visit https://quickpitchsd.com or contact Ashok Kamal ([email protected]) for more information about the event.
August 21, 2018
Tech Coast Angels Issues 2017 Annual Report
Southern California Angel Network Invested $14.2 Million into 43 companies;
Achieves Fourth Highest Investment Total in its 20-Year History
IRVINE, Calif. – May 30, 2018 –Tech Coast Angels (TCA) issued its 2017 annual report (click here)) today. The angel network invested $14.2 million in a total of 43 companies. Life sciences was the largest industry in 2017, both in terms of companies receiving invested and investment amount – with half of the initial investments and one third of the total investments in life sciences. Other prominent industries were software and internet/apps, and these three industries corresponded to 68% of the total companies receiving investment, and 73% of investment amount.
“This is the seventh consecutive year that TCA investments have exceeded $10 million and the fifth consecutive year that our investments have been above $13 million – the longest sustained level of investment in our twenty-year history,” said Christopher Hameetman, Chairman of Tech Coast Angels.
The average investment in new portfolio companies in 2017 was $388,000, beating 2016’s $291,000 for average investment, and new companies comprised 57% of the total invested in 2017, down slightly from 62% in 2016, but up from 35% in 2015 and 41 % in 2014. The average for follow-on investments was $275,000, up from $196,000 in 2016. Valuations of companies in 2017 were similar to 2016: 70% of the investments in 2017 were in companies valued at less than $6M compared to 69% in 2016, while 17% of companies were above $10 million in 2017 versus 16% in 2016.
“While our focus is still on early stage companies, 69% of our investments were in companies already in revenue,” said Hameetman. “We see this as a trend driven by many reasons – friends and family investments are taking really young companies further due to lower technology costs, companies are entering the market earlier with ‘minimum viable products’ before seeking funding, and investors expect companies that have launched products or services to be closer to breakeven in case of a downturn.”
TCA had five exits in 2017: two acquisitions, one buyout, and two companies that went public. As of December 2017, TCA has actualized 70 exits since its founding in 1997, and of the 351 investments made in the angel network’s 20-year history, 54% are still active.
“We continue to seek strong early-stage companies, both natively in Southern California and through the Angel Syndication Network, which now boasts over 40 prominent angel groups throughout the country, each nominating their best deals to share,” concluded Hameetman. “While our focus will always remain Southern California, this syndication provides a great opportunity for superb young companies from all over the US, some in places where angel investment is not as prevalent as here, with over 1,500 angels and over $1 billion in direct investment.”
TCA’s 2017 annual report includes a summary of the angel network’s activity in 2017, including charts that segment TCA’s investments by industry, and provides an investment outlook for 2018.
May 30, 2018
Tech Coast Angels Hosts “Extreme Coaching” Event
IRVINE, Calif. – May 3, 2018— Tech Coast Angels (TCA) held an “Extreme Coaching” event on April 27-28 at University of California, Irvine’s Applied Innovation Campus. Thirty-four (34) CEO entrepreneurs were coached by a team of seven experienced angel investors (including past TCA chairmen Don Kasle and John Harbison, acting as team captains) to perfect a 60-second pitch.
The event was organized by Ora Villalobos, whose husband Luis Villalobos conceived of and led TCA’s first Fast Pitch Competition in 2002. John Harbison provided opening remarks, noting the angel network’s commitment to the startup ecosystem, which includes providing mentoring and constructive feedback to young companies in Orange County. After Don Kasle delivered his classic presentation on “How to Make an Effective Fast Pitch,” the entrepreneurs gave their pitch up to four times to a panel of seven judges. The two-day event concluded with an awards banquet held in the late afternoon of April 28.
“It is always amazing for me to see the amount of improvement in such a short time; how willing the entrepreneurs are to learn and how diligently they work to elevate themselves and each other,” said Ms. Villalobos. “The camaraderie among the entrepreneurs, their true desire to see everyone progress, along with our investors’ genuine interest and encouragement, is so inspiring–even when it’s a competition.”
“Fast Pitch is all about quickly and succinctly conveying the essence of your company, and the objective is to entice the investor into wanting to take a meeting and learn more. It’s an essential tool of every successful entrepreneur who requires capital, and we are thrilled to help these entrepreneurs improve their effectiveness,” said Don Kasle. John Harbison added, “It was rewarding to see the improvement over two days, including the incorporation of ideas from the judges on refinements to the business model and approach that should help them be more successful.”
Winners in each category were:
Best Pitch:Finance Exchange, a white label lender platform for the equipment financing market. Chad Hutchinson, co-founder and president of Finance Exchange, said, “This was my first fast pitch experience and I was impressed with the entire event. It certainly exceeded my expectations and I came away with a much better understanding of how to utilize a fast pitch to get that next meeting. It was also exciting to see other entrepreneurs pitch and make dramatic changes after getting valuable feedback from the coaches. I am not aware of any other event where you can pitch to seven different judges with a wide range of experience, that then give you coaching that really makes an impact. The judges really cared about helping each participant and the final results from coaching were impressive.”
Most Fundable: Seasonally Fresh, providing an essential and sustainable distribution and marketplace infrastructure for the food industry. Cynthia Kirkeby, CVO of Seasonally Fresh, said, “The Extreme Coaching event was amazing! It was incredibly helpful to have the panel review my pitch and explain how I could improve it. Listening to the feedback being given to other teams let me make small adjustments along the way, and then the ability to re-pitch after I made my changes let me see the improvement in my pitch immediately. Huge thanks to the TCA members for their time helping Seasonally Fresh take the next step in our pitching!”
Most Disruptive: METAseismic, creating metamaterials that limit destructive seismic energy. Said Naomi Bonessio with METAseismic:”It was a transformational experience. I am so thankful for all the insightful comments the judges gave me to refine my pitch. It was challenging and rewarding at the same time.”
Most Scalable: iiDG / Garble: a data encryption solution that protects sensitive data. Founder Demetrius Brown said, “The Tech Coast Angels Extreme Coaching event provided more than just details on how to develop a pitch, it also came with coaches who possess a wealth of knowledge to produce the perfect pitch!”
Most Improved (2 winners): antlse, Inc., a private/hybrid cloud server to host data, and
Efyian, an easy-to-use infectious disease device that provides central lab test accuracy
Bernie Blume, CEO of antsle, said, “TCA extreme exceeded my expectations by far. All the coaches had no other agenda than helping us improve our pitches, which I greatly appreciated. Awesome event!”
Angelika Niemz of Efyian said, “I truly appreciate the constructive actionable feedback and supportive environment, which enabled us to significantly improve our fast pitch, in addition to the networking opportunities provided by this well-organized event.”
To learn more about, or apply for future, Tech Coast Angels’ coaching and pitching events in Orange County, please contact Robyn Wright at [email protected]
May 3, 2018
Solana Beach asset management firm helps clients achieve financial goals
January 5, 2018
Medtech Cos. Look to Derail Device Tax
Tech Coast Angels Members Featured In Southern California Business Journals’ Most Influential Lists
IRVINE, Calif. – December 14, 2017 – Twelve members of Tech Coast Angels were recognized as being most influential contributors in their community in the Los Angeles Business Journal, Orange County Business Journal, San Diego Business Journal, and San Fernando Valley Business Journal.
“It is rewarding for us when our members are recognized by esteemed entities such as each local area Business Journal for the work they do, for the wisdom they impart, and for the influence they impress on their communities,” said TCA president Jeff Draa. “TCA’s Board of Governors congratulates all of those recognized.”
- Los Angeles Business Journal’s most influential list, LA500, includes TCA member Jim Thomas.
- Orange County Business Journal’s OC500 list honored TCA members Amir Banifatemi, Ray Chan, John Kinsey, Richard Sudek and Grant Van Cleve.
- San Diego Business Journal’s SDBJ500, included TCA members Sam Attisha, Mike Fuller, Susie Harborth and Ashok Kamal.
- Mike Panesis was acknowledged in San Fernando Valley Business Journal’s Valley 200, the publication’s listing of most influential people in the region.
December 14, 2017
Warning: You’re the Problem with Your Hiring Process
Everyone’s Blog Posts – RecruitingBlogs
November 16, 2017
5 Seed Investor Podcasts Discussing Investment Theses
Stories by Sramana Mitra on Medium
November 15, 2017
5 Seed Investor Podcasts Discussing Investment Theses
Early Stage Investors from around the country come to UC Irvine to Share Their Wisdom and Their Money
Renewable Energy World North America Online
November 8, 2017
Internationally-Known Angel Investor, Dave Berkus, Joins Advisory Board Of Lexicon Travel Technologies
November 7, 2017
Internationally-Known Angel Investor, Dave Berkus, Joins Advisory Board Of Lexicon Travel Technologies
Internationally-Known Angel Investor, Dave Berkus, Joins Advisory Board Of Lexicon Travel Technologies
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