With so much going on in the city’s thriving ecosystem, it is easy to miss some of the happenings in the space. We keep you abreast of a few of things that you may have missed in NYC Tech this week including the fundings, exits, and events.
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Online lender has raised $10 million in Series A funding from Slow Ventures, Jefferies Group and Spark Capital. Spark Capital and Jefferies led the round. Also, the company announced that it had received an additional $100M for its lending business from the Jefferies Group.
Vroom, a used car sales startup, has raised $19 million in venture funding and $35 million in debt funding from roughly 15 wealthy individuals, including former pro football player John Elway and former Autonation and Blockbuster CEO Steve Berrard.
Pronoun, the digital book publishing platform for authors, has raised $3.5 million in funding from Avalon Ventures.
Pronoun, which was previous known as Vook, uses technology and data to empower authors to publish faster, market smarter, and keep creative and financial control of their work.
Managed by Q, a “smart” office cleaning and management service, has raised $15M in Series A funding. The round was led by RRE Ventures, with participation from Greycroft Partners, Homebrew, Sherpa Ventures, SV Angel, and Steadfast Financial, along with individual investors, Gary Vaynerchuk, Jessica Alba, Fabrice Grinda and David Stern.
Managed by Q cofounder Dan Teran is one of this year’s New York Venture Fellows.
PolicyGenius, a company that’s making it easy to learn about, shop for and buy insurance (without unwanted calls from insurance agents), has raised $5.3M Series A funding. Karlin Ventures and Susa Ventures led the round, with participation by the venture arms of two major insurers, Transamerica and AXA.
SocialStarts lead partner Mike Edelhart was the investor in the hot seat at this past week’s SOS Breakfast with an Investor.
“The greatest value is the business – it’s not about the tech,” Edelhart advised the entrepreneurs in attendance. “Microsoft was not about the tech – (Bill Gates) borrowed the operating system. It was about the business. Same with Uber. You can’t make money, except from human beings. We’re as interested in ‘who’ as in ‘what.’ The tech matters, but the tech is a ‘how.’”
SocialStarts is the fourth most active early stage investment fund (the first three being YCombinator, Techstars and 500Startups), and the only one that doesn’t host an accelerator program.
Knotable, a work enhancement tool that literally keep teams all on the same page, has raised $1.2M in funding from Bloomberg Beta and 500 Startups.
Doppler Labs, a wearable technology company that makes computing more immersive and human, and with a near-term focused on “hearables,” has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Live Nation Entertainment, Universal Music Group and WME. Among its first products: the Active Listening System, an in-ear system that uses wireless earbuds and an app to let users control and personalize their live audio environment.
Former Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter’s venture arm has invested in StopIt, a mobile app that helps fight cyberbullying by allowing students to anonymously report abuse to school administrators in real time. Jeter’s youth organization, Turn 2 Foundation, is also partnering with StopIt to help fight cyber abuse.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Convene, the nation’s fastest growing network of urban meeting centers and integrated workplace amenity services, has raised $15.5 million in Series B funding. Conversion Venture Capital led the round, with participation from earlier investor Boathouse Capital.
