Welcome to the November issue of our newsletter. In this edition, we highlight two recent investments, both in the CleanTech space, hear from CEO & Co-founder of AI company CorralData, Alex Lirtsman, sit down with long-term NYA member Jason E. Klein, as well as provide a roundup on company, community and industry news.
OCTOBER INVESTMENTS
After a couple of quieter months, October saw investments by members of New York Angels rise to $651,000 this past month, which is closer to the rate of investment we saw in the first half of 2023. Despite the slow down in VC funding, our deal pipeline remains solid and we predict a strong finish to the year.
OCTOBER INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS
ENERTIV
New York Angels members made their first investment in Enertiv in 2016 and have made multiple investments since then. This October, NYA members invested in the Series Seed round due to the company's solid traction, revenues and reputation in a growing market for building energy efficiency. Enertiv is an operational intelligence platform that enables commercial real estate portfolios to directly increase NOI through expense controls, increases efficiency by digitizing operations, decarbonize assets, and ultimately drives asset value. Tom Hirschfeld and Dan Zitting led the recent deal with support from Tom Blum and Glen Lewy, both who were also leads and longtime investors and directors.
VESPRSOLAR
New York Angels individual members made a new investment in VesprSolar. NYA members were attracted to VesprSolar's ability to make PV solar installation faster, cheaper, and more reliable in the rapidly growing industry. VesprSolar's proprietary V-Clamp Panel Attachment System is a two-time winner of the American-Made Solar Prize, recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy and NREL as a Top 10 innovation in solar. The company's founder, Robert Sewell, also won the 2020 Dartmouth Entrepreneurs Forum Pitch Contest, hosted by Dartmouth Angels. Tom Blum and Anthony Gellert led the deal for NYA.
FOUNDER SPOTLIGHT
As the CEO and co-Founder of CorralData, Alex Lirstman is focused on leveraging AI to democratize data access and helping organizations become data-driven overnight. CorralData combines human data expertise with AI to make it simple for non-technical teams to analyze and act on their data. The platform allows users to unify disparate data sources and surface insights using natural language. CorralData’s client roster includes category-leading organizations such as Sweetgreen, American Museum of Natural History, Just Salad, John Elliott, Brightfin, Lanvin, and St. John Knits. Alex discusses how NYA Members quickly executed the deal, the valuable mentorship from their Board Observer – Alyssa Tam, and why early stage investors should stress test the founding team more than anything else.
COMPANY NEWS
SOCURE
Socure Founder and CEO Johnny Ayershas been recognized by Goldman Sachs as one of the Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs of 2023 at its Builders and Innovators Summit in Healdsburg, California for the third year in a row. This elite group of entrepreneurs includes visionary founders that continuously disrupt the status quo and establish a new gold standard within their industries. Johnny has been a visionary in identity verification, pushing forward innovation and setting a new benchmark for accurate and inclusive identity verification in real-time. Read Article on Socure CEO
COMPANY NEWS
ZYLÖ THERAPEUTICS
Zylö Therapeutics has been selected to join the 2023-2024 Endless Frontier Labs (EFL), a highly selective program for early-stage science and tech-based startups at NYU’s Stern School of Business. Zylö was one of 26 life sciences companies selected, with over 1,400 applicants across 3 categories in the entire program. Zylö's Z-pod was also recently reviewed in Experimental Dermatology for significantly improving outcomes in mouse model of cutaneous lupus. Read News
COMPANY NEWS
MEDCURA
Medcura recently expanded their team with two critical new members. Dr. John Barry, Group Vice President of R&D and Operations, brings 20+ years of experience leading cutting-edge medical device and biosurgery projects. J.P. McAfee, Esq, Vice President of Legal and Compliance, will drive strategic growth and value through legal oversight and help maintain compliance in a highly regulated industry. Read Press Release
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Jason E. Klein joined NYA in 2011 and is active inside and outside NYA in the investing community. Jason also is the founder of On Grid Ventures, an early-stage investment/advisory firm, and is President of the Harvard Business School Alumni Angels Association. Jason was previously CEO of Newspaper National Network, a partnership of 25 leading US newspaper companies; and CEO of Times Mirror Magazines, a leading publisher with 25 titles including Golf Magazine. He began his career as a consultant with McKinsey and was recognized by Media Magazine as one of “100 People to Know” in the media industry, and by Alley Watch as one of “25 Angels Investors in NY You Need to Know.” Jason shares why he thinks pivots are overrated, the best entrepreneurs are risk minimizers, and how new angels should pace themselves when first investing.
MEMBER NEWS
MARTIN GOETZ Remembering a NYA Founding Member
Martin Goetz, one of New York Angels founding members, passed away at age 93. Martin led an incredible life and was best known for his innovation in the software industry. Martin joined the computer industry in its infancy in the mid-1950s as a programmer working on Univac mainframes, and he received the first U.S. patent for software. In mid-1989 Martin became a consultant to software companies and venture capital firms, as well as an investor. As a New York Angels member from 2002-2007, he mentored and invested in founders, who like him could transform the future of their industries. Read New York Times article on Martin Goetz
COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
BAOBAB NETWORK Toby Hanington
Toby Hanington, Co-Founder of Baobab Network, joined NYA Members in our October Investment Forum. He shared his experiences about his journey from national rugby coach to investment banker to launching the Baobab Network. As a pioneering early-stage investor and accelerator, Baobab has made 50 investments in the past 3 years in early-stage companies in Africa. To fortify Africa’s growing tech landscape, Baobab has announced its plans to invest in 1,000 start-ups across the continent by 2033. Read Article on Baobab Network Plans to Invest in 1,000 African Startups
EstBan The Estonian Angel Network
With companies like Skype and Wise, Estonia is the world leader in unicorn companies per capita. EstBAN is the organization looking to promote the next Estonian unicorn by uniting startup companies with angel investors. On November 2nd, New York Angels held a joint information and networking event with EstBAN at Estonia House. This included a panel discussion, led by Alvar Soosaar from the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with NYA members Jeff Seltzer and Seth Masters.
PRIMARY VENTURES NYC SEED DEALS REPORT 2023 Q3
Similar to national trends in Q3, New York City fundraising slowed. Across deal stages in the U.S., 2023 is on pace to see the lowest total fundraising since 2017. Looking at NYC specifically, seed deal volume decreased by 8% compared to Q2, and the average amount raised, $3.7 million, declined by 16%. While summers are often slow for fundraising, volume is down 26% and total raised is down 41% year over year.
CRUNCHBASE EYE ON AI: REGULATION FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS COMING
Gary Gensler, the Chairman of the SEC, recently called on regulators to tame AI risks to financial stability. His shared his concerns to serve as a cautionary note for regulators and investors due to AI's pervasive influence. Gensler said a financial crisis triggered by AI is “nearly unavoidable” within a decade without regulation driven by too many financial institutions using the same AI base model or aggregator, and the fact that model could sit outside the purview of regulators at some big tech company.
Investment Forum (Hybrid):
• November 20th (9:00 AM - 1:00 PM)
December 6th Screening (Hybrid):
• November 15th (9:00 AM - 1:00 PM)
FOUNDER DEADLINES
December 6th Screening Application:
• Due Nov 15th
*New York Angels, Inc. ("NYA") is a not-for-profit corporation that is funded by membership dues for individuals and/or entities that NYA has designated as members as well as from certain sponsors. Its purposes include providing administrative support to its members. NYA does not invest in companies. Investments, if made, are made by individual members of NYA.
