| Notes |
Israeli techies trek to Hub in search of start-up fund$
Donna Goodison
PUBLISHED: July 11, 2011 at 12:00 a.m. | UPDATED: November 18, 2018 at 12:00 a.m.
Categories:Business, News
Local companies aren’t the only ones trying to raise money from Hub venture capitalists.
Fifteen digital media, information technology and mobile start-ups from Israel will make their pitch to Boston investors this week.
“This will represent the first time an Israeli innovation technology showcase is targeting Boston,” said Esther Loewy, founding partner of BootCamp Ventures, a Tel Aviv-based advisory firm for emerging technology companies. This Israel Innovation Road Trip is the firm’s first U.S. event, following 14 similar ones in Israel, Turkey and Europe.
BootCamp views Boston as an untapped innovation market for the Israeli start-ups, which generally are seeking their first round of U.S. institutional funding.
“There’s an extraordinary number of both venture capital firms and the ‘strategics’ — the technology companies themselves looking for new technologies either to invest in or partner with or acquire,” Loewy said.
BootCamp Ventures was founded by Americans living in Israel who saw a gap between what entrepreneurs were looking for and what investors were seeking.
“Often entrepreneurs don’t really have a clue in terms of how to address their financial and business objectives,” Loewy said. The 15 pre-screened and coached Israeli companies — all seeking “Series A” financing — will give 30-second “elevator pitches” and six-minute presentations to a panel of investors who’ll give on-the-spot feedback.
“No one expects to walk out with a check, but it initiates meaningful conversation, which usually results in follow-up,” Loewy said.
Panelists will include representatives from Atlas Venture, 406 Ventures, Sigma Partners, Spark Capital and Point Judith Capital. Audience members “of equal caliber” also will be able to ask the start-ups questions.
Tomorrow’s Boston leg of the Israel Innovation Road Trip, which will hit New York the following day, will be hosted at the Hub law offices of sponsor Mintz Levin. |