Blogs
NEW YORK: KAYWEB Angels has added New York startup Zazzoo to its portfolio of investments.
Zazzoo, a centralized shipping solution for ecommerce stores, was pitched to KAYWEB Angels by brothers Jon and Daniel Kaweblum last year, and has been chosen from nearly 200 applicants.
The investment will see KAYWEB Angels design and develop the Zazzoo solution in exchange for equity.
KAYWEB Angels CEO Haig Kayserian said: "Jon and Daniel are New York-based with a successful entrepreneurial past and they blew us away with Zazzoo. Their idea, approach and personalities convinced our Board to do the deal."
Daniel Kaweblum added: "We are ecstatic and honored to have the opportunity to team up with the KAYWEB Angels family. Their expertise struck us right away and after meeting Haig and [General Manager] John [Buckman], it quickly became evident that KAYWEB Angels was the perfect partner for us to continue on our journey.”
Jon Kaweblum is Founder and President of Klipped, which is a Kippah with a patented built-in clip, licensed by and manufactured for major organizations including the NBA.
KAYWEB Angels General Manager John Buckman said: "These guys have a proven track record, and we are very excited to be working with them on their biggest and greatest idea so far."
KAYWEB Angels portfolio company, You Need My Guy will bring word-of-mouth networking to the web with www.youneedmyguy.com.
Here is their launch press release:
NEW YORK: From time to time, people need to hire a service provider. A plumber, real estate attorney, florist, insurance agent—a stylist to cut their hair. Most have been there. Folks need to bring someone onto their property, or to perform a professional service like an accountant or golf coach, but just don’t know who to call.
It would be nice for people to have access to all of their friends’ little black books, full of the providers that they trust the most to get a job done well. But, it takes time to ask close connections, and most don’t spend the time to do it.
That’s why You Need My Guy was created—a brand new way to find (and promote) the right person for the task at hand.
“The thing is, not much has been done to bring that backyard, over the fence, word of mouth to the web, until You Need My Guy" said Joe Cassara, Founder & CEO of the company.
Consider this: a few weeks ago, Mike Gastin, who owns a creative agency in Rochester, NY, listed his handyman Norm on YouNeedMyGuy.com, and wrote a short review.
Another user, who was searching YouNeedMyGuy.com for a handyman, saw that they knew someone that uses Norm, saw that it was Mike, read Mike’s review and contacted Norm. Just a few days later, Mike sent out this tweet:
@MikeGastin: Just learned that my handy man got a job because I listed him on @YouNeedMyGuy! How cool is that?
With You Need My Guy, Norm, who isn’t a marketing guru by any stretch, generated word-of-mouth buzz thanks to Mike.
Here’s how it works:
- Users create an account that links to at least one of their social networks (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn), and identify “their guys” i.e., the people that they love doing business with
- Other users searching the site can see which people within their networks rely on these providers as “their guy”, allowing decisions to be made based on word of mouth, not on a service provider's ad budget
- "Guys" can upgrade to a premium account for added features
National Growth:
With brand evangelists in major markets across the U.S., You Need My Guy is focusing on growing in regional markets through initial startup communities, media buzz and extensive network outreach.
Get started for free at http://www.youneedmyguy.com.
About You Need My Guy:
You Need My Guy is run by Joe Cassara, who founded the company alongside KAYWEB Angels, who invested as a development partner. For media inquiries, please contact Joe at 585.329.4419 or joe(at)youneedmyguy(dot)com.
KAYWEB Angels is happy to announce the official launch of portfolio company, Do It In Person.
As an event management site, Do It In Person allows organizers to create their event, find and book speakers, and manage sponsorships. Users are able to generate a detailed event schedule through the website, which can be updated as needed. In addition, Do It In Person’s site allows managers to create and sell tickets and provide an option for sending invitations through a mailing list.
Here is their launch press release:
NEW YORK: Event management site Do It In Person, available at http://www.DoItInPerson.com, is now spotlighting the variety of community services it offers. Trips, social functions, conferences, lectures, and more are event types that are included under the company’s umbrella of services, and the website is intended to provide resources for event planners and attendees alike.
“We’re excited to announce that Do It In Person is fully launched. As a one stop shop for community and event management, the site allows users to create and organize communities and events, sell tickets, find and book speakers, and communicate with attendees so that they can manage everything they need in one place. We are focused on consolidating all these diverse pieces into one event management site and we look forward to seeing it revolutionize the industry,” said Aron Schoenfeld, founder of Do It In Person.
As an event management site, Do It In Person allows organizers to create their event, find and book speakers, and manage sponsorships. Users are able to generate a detailed event schedule through the website, which can be updated as needed. In addition, Do It In Person’s site allows managers to create and sell tickets and provide an option for sending invitations through a mailing list.
Do It In Person also functions as an online community management tool, where organizers can create and manage individuals within their network. With the website’s tools, organizers can blog, send out a newsletter, or create a forum for members to interact with each other. In addition, partnerships can be arranged and managed using Do It In Person’s services.
For users, Do It In Person acts as an event discovery tool. Individuals can specify interests, locations, and other search parameters so that they are notified whenever a relevant event is created. For users who are looking to find communities or events that relate to their industries, Do It In Person will be an invaluable resource that provides important information about networking opportunities. As a result, the event management site is two-fold, providing users with news about events in their vicinities and event organizers with access to those potentially interested in attending.
With its range of services, Do It In Person is an excellent tool for companies big and small. In addition, the online community management services can be adjusted and customized as needed, which makes the website a great resource for religious or volunteer organizations, schools, or community centers.
To beginusing Do It In Person to manage your events and communities, please visit it online at http://www.DoItInPerson.com. Do It In Person can be liked on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DoItInPerson or followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DoItInPerson.
NEW YORK: New York internet investment firm KAYWEB Angels held an event called The Pitch Sweatshop at WeWork Labs in SoHo last month.
Levy and Setrakian delivered their best-practice pitching advice to those in the room, both stressing the need for passion and knowledge by founders. Both also expressed the importance of having a 'ready' presentation and the importance of being prepared to answer questions.
The two also answered several questions.
Ribitzky gave a great rundown on media pitching and explained that the press looks for different things to what VCs look for. For example, if the founder/CEO is not the best communicator, a VC would still want to be pitched by him/her. Whereas the press would be comfortable with a spokesperson, as communication is key.
Saluggi's in SoHo provided the pizza for the event, as the keg at WeWork was flowing with beer for those few hours.
See pictures from the event at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.514500825249046.120530.121806044518528&type=1.
KAYWEB Angels CEO Haig Kayserian, who was in New York for the event and started proceedings by delivering an update on behalf of all eight of his portfolio companies, said: "The event achieved what we wished. Our guests were great and those who attended found it very insightful considering where they are at with their startups!"
"I thank our GM John Buckman for helping us put it together, our guests for accepting our invitation, and all those who attended and participated."
Kayserian and Buckman also witnessed around 20 pitches in person for KAYWEB Angels investment in November.
Kayserian said: "The Board is hard at work assessing the entries to determine who is fit to join our portfolio."
The new deadline is midnight November 3 (New York time).
NEW YORK: Internet startups seeking investment from New York's KAYWEB Angels have until October 31, 2012 to submit their applications for Fall consideration.
KAYWEB Angels, who provide development services and mentoring in exchange for equity, already have eight portfolio companies on their books and are expecting to add to that number before the end of the year.
KAYWEB Angels CEO Haig Kayserian said his Board has "already received over 200 applications since Spring", when they invested in PicturPass and busEasy.
A selection from those 200-plus submissions, as well as from those that will be submitted between now and the October 31 deadline, will be invited to "pitch in person" to KAYWEB Angels in November, and offers will be made to those deemed to be the best.
KAYWEB Angels General Manager John Buckman said that the "quality of applications are higher each investment round" and he is "excited about the selection process ahead" after the final applications are submitted.
Visit www.kaywebangels.com and click APPLY to begin the application process with an online submission.
NEW YORK, NY: Cafrino, a KAYWEB Angels portfolio start-up that has designed a legal way to get real-money US poker players back online, has launched and is accepting registrations for their first tournament this Tuesday.
The tournament, which has a cash prize pool of $1,000, has been endorsed by World Series of Poker Champion Michael Linn, and is expected to attract United States online poker players back to the web in droves.
“Thousands of poker players have come out of hibernation to pre-register for Cafrino.com, signalling a shift from the offline world of casinos and neighborhood games back to the web,” Cafrino CEO Jonathan Aiwazian said.
“Since the 2011 US government shut-down of the most popular poker sites for illegal practices, the US has been without a serious online poker presence.”
Aiwazian added: “When Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 World Series of Poker and showed that anyone could learn the game and win, the world was swept up in the magic of poker. Cafrino.com is about answering the public’s call by bringing poker back to the masses in a legal, secure way.”
So what does Cafrino.com do differently from poker sites that have been shut down?
The answer lies in the company’s unique method of generating prize pools for winners. Traditional poker sites use buy-ins for formulating prize pools, in clear violation of US gambling law.
Cafrino.com tournaments, on the other hand, are sponsored, with the winners receiving the lion’s share of accumulated advertising revenue.
Aiwazian explained: “No deposits means no gambling, but Cafrino prize pools do not suffer as a result.”
KAYWEB Angels CEO Haig Kayserian, whose group invested in Cafrino.com by becoming the company’s technical co-founder, said he was delighted with the launch of one of the angel group’s “prized assets”.
“We expect Cafrino.com to revolutionize poker in the United States,” Kayserian said. “We are delighted to be associated with such a promising company and product.”
While Cafrino has announced a $1,000 prize pool for its launch tournament on Tuesday, other tournaments are expected to hit the $5,000, and even $10,000. Games will constantly be running on Cafrino.com from Tuesday’s launch onwards.
Aiwazian added: “Cafrino.com plans to eventually deliver a massive prize of over $1.5 million. A new era in online poker has begun.”
Cafrino asks players who are interested in Tuesday's tournament, which will be played at 9PM EST, to head over to Cafrino.com and register for the ‘$1,000 Guaranteed Launch Tournament’.
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About Cafrino:
Cafrino.com is a US-only, legal, real-money online poker destination for the over 15 million players who, since the government shutdown of illegal poker sites last year, have lacked a secure way to play poker online. Using a unique model of pooling advertising revenue from tournament sponsors, Cafrino is able to have cash prize pools in the thousands of dollars while being 100% free-to-play and never taking money from players in any form. Cafrino is a portfolio company of KAYWEB Angels.
About KAYWEB Angels:
KAYWEB Angels, LLC is an angel investment company based in New York City, providing development services and mentoring to web and mobile start-up businesses in exchange for co-founder equity. The company was formed in 2011 in recognition of the need for engineers (technical partners/co-founders) that exists in New York’s entrepreneurial tech market.
Contact: John Buckman, GM | KAYWEB Angels | (212) 653-0950 | john@kayweb.com | www.kaywebangels.com
PicturPass, which is in stealth, is described as “a fun, social game application for the next generation”.
While the 11-year-old first-time entrepreneur will not be named, she heard what KAYWEB Angels does from her parents and went on to explain her idea for a game. They helped her apply online, pitch and then PicturPass was chosen as one of two Spring investments from over 150 applications made to the New York angel investment company.
KAYWEB Angels CEO Haig Kayserian said the Board did not think twice to question the age of the applicant.
“Once upon a time as a 10-year-old, I helped my father sell leather goods to adoring women at a local mall and many children run lemonade stands, therefore age should not be a barrier to entering entrepreneurship,” he said.
“This mature young lady had a very good idea and supporting parents. We felt that with our offering of development and mentorship, she could go a long way with PicturPass.”
KAYWEB Angels also invested in busEasy during its Spring round, taking its portfolio to a total of eight web and mobile application companies.
busEasy, a stealth concept presented by Australian duo Tony Fairweather and Tony Antoniou, is described as a product that “will bring a new and long overdue dynamic to the consumer transportation industry with its unique web offering”.
“We were interested in partnering with KAYWEB Angels not only because of their offering as angel developers and technical co-founders, but also because they would be valuable mentors when we look to launch our application in the United States,” said Fairweather.
Fairweather, from Brisbane, and Antoniou, from Melbourne, took advantage of the opportunity to pitch to Haig Kayserian directly while the Australian-born CEO of KAYWEB Angels was in Sydney.
“KAYWEB Angels invests in web and mobile projects that will launch in the United States, and the submitted busEasy application was interesting to us because we saw its significant overseas potential,” Kayserian said.
“When another Board member and myself met Tony and Tony for their pitch, we were certain we would invest, as they were entrepreneurs with real potential and they were the right entrepreneurs to champion this product.”
KAYWEB Angels also invested in PicturPass during its northern Spring round, taking its portfolio to a total of eight web and mobile application companies.
KAYWEB Angels CEO, Haig Kayserian confirmed that the two successful applicants were selected from a pool of over 150 submissions to the New York-based angel investment firm's website, from which 20 were invited to pitch in person.
"We are very excited about these investments," said Kayserian. "The pool of applicants this Spring were high in quality, those who came in to pitch were brilliantly prepared, and busEasy and PicturPass stood out and commanded investment."
He added: "Our filtering process is very scientific, and not only did these startups score highly within the KAYWEB Angels Selection Method, their presenters also proved themselves as the right entrepreneurs to guide these companies to success."
Investment in busEasy and PicturPass takes the KAYWEB Angels portfolio to eight companies in total, joining Burringo, Cafrino, Do It In Person, Minute List It, WhoIsGreen.com and You Need My Guy in the company's stable.
busEasy, a concept presented by Australian duo Tony Fairweather and Tony Antoniou, will bring a new and long overdue dynamic to the consumer transportation industry with its unique web offering.
PicturPass, which was conceived and presented by an 11-year-old girl from New Jersey, is a fun, social game application for the next generation.
KAYWEB Angels General Manager John Buckman said: "We have managed to diversify our portfolio further with these investments and we are looking forward to working with more quality entrepreneurs, as we do every single day."
