The Angel Nest

Episode 17 - New North Ventures Propels New North Ventures Propels Firms with Proven Dual-Purpose Technologies

Where do prudent investors turn in uncertain times? The team at New North Ventures has found a niche leveraging their industry and national security connections to advance technologies that can serve both. They provide capital and connections to companies with proven technologies that are ready for new markets. 

New North's "sweet spot" is AI, Cybersecurity and next generation communications.

New North Ventures partners Jeremy Hitchcock and Brett Davis join us for a conversation on the Angel Nest along with Steven Witt of Anno AI, a New North Ventures portfolio company. Anno uses AI to leverage data generated by sensors - taking the value of that data to a whole new level

Learn more about New North Ventures at newnorthventures.com.
And, find more about Anno AI at anno.ai.

Finally, be sure to check out theangelnest.com for additional episodes and conversations with great entrepreneurs and investors.

XIRA Helps Consumers Find Lawyers and Helps Lawyers Manage Their Practice

Where do you find a good lawyer? And, if you’re a lawyer, where do you find clients if you’re not part of a big firm? Many consumers are intimated when choosing a lawyer and price sensitive to the large law firms which often have to charge big fees. 

Enter Xira, a platform designed to connect independent lawyers and clients. Xira seems to be well-positioned for this current moment. After the Covid pandemic, more clients seem to be willing to work online and more lawyers are looking to be independent, making this a potentially great time for Xira to grow.

In this episode, we speak with company founder Reza Ghaffari and one of his first investors Bob Leggett, who envisions a future for Xira well beyond just the current platform. We’ll also hear from attorney Joseph Semartino who has used the platform to help grow his practice.

Learn more about Xira at https://xira.com.

And check out theangelnest.com for additional episodes and conversations with great entrepreneurs and investors.

Aerogami Improves Customer Service by Turning Key Documents into Digital Assets

Aerogami helps companies access today’s “mobile” customers with tools like their Digidoc platform. The app allows traditional insurance companies, for instance, to quickly go mobile in order to appeal to younger consumers who use their phones for absolutely everything.

Companies use Digidoc to translate their material to easily accessible digital files without coding, saving time and money. Consumers can then access all those important documents like insurance policies and contact info right on their home screen whenever needed. 

On this issue of the Angel Nest podcast, we talk with Aerogami president Bradley Adams and customer Ariel Wiley from On Call International which uses the app to serve college clients around the world.

Tune in for more episodes and conversations with great entrepreneurs at theangelnest.com.

Event for StartUps in Providence to Teach Marketing

Marketing Your StartUp?

Nick Cianfaglione gives a preview of his free event April 28 at Venture Cafe Providence on how to market at every stage of the startup and program manager Reilly Kons talks about meeting investors at Venture Cafe. 

Learn more and reserve your spot at VentureCafeProvidence.org

Find more episodes and conversations with great entrepreneurs and investors at theangelnest.com.

 

New App Lets Users Turn Change from Purchases into Crypto

There’s a new way to get in on the cryptocurrency investing craze and it is as easy as shopping.

The Roundly X app gives small savers access to cryptocurrencies by letting them round up their purchases and applying that amount to their choice of more than 70 crypto assets. The app maker says rounding up by about $12.50 a week could yield investors over $8,100 in value for the year. 

The company is quickly growing their user base and already rounding up about $12,000 a day. Co-founder Andrew Elliot ascribes much of the company’s success to a unique partnership with angel investor Steve Walsh, known as the “hands-on angel” investor. The two discuss micro-transactions and crypto with David on this episode of the Angel Nest podcast.

Tune in for more episodes and conversations with great entrepreneurs at theangelnest.com.

Crowdsourced GPS App for bike and scooter rider taps into active community

Bikes and scooters are no longer just for fun. They’ve gained ground as an everyday form of transportation. And now they have their own crowdsourced GPS app to help riders find the right routes. Think Waze for bikes and scooters. It’s called Pointz and it’s the brainchild of two entrepreneurs from Brown University.

Pointz hopes to tap into an avid micro-mobility community sprouting up in connected cities around America. The app’s sophisticated mapping algorithms combine with local user input to rank routes from “Dangerous for Bikes” to “Most Bike-Friendly.”

Company founders Maggie Bachenberg (CEO) and Trisha Ballakur (CTO) and their first investor, Tom Sperry of Rogue Venture Partners join host David Hemenway in this edition of the Angel Nest podcast.

Tune in for more episodes and conversations with great entrepreneurs at theangelnest.com.

Investors Find World Class innovation in Rhode Island’s New Tech Hub

Some of the best places to find start-up companies to invest in are not in New York, London or Silicon Valley. Savvy investors are increasingly looking for their next opportunities in underserved markets like Providence, RI, where a new tech ecosystem is already showing promising signs.

RIHub is a not-for-profit incubator for technology startups. The government-funded program provides mentoring, educational programs, access to a shared workspace and networking opportunities to connect investors and entrepreneurs.

Annette Tonti, managing director of RIHub tells us why it’s RI’s turn to shine in tech innovation. She’s joined by entrepreneurs Trisha Ballakur and Maggie Bachenberg, co-founders of Points. The two are recent graduates of the RIHub experience and found their first investor through the program, Tom Sperry of Rouge Venture Partners, who also joins us. Sperry’s company finds great startups in less saturated markets where access to capital is often less and valuations more down-to-earth.

Tune in for more episodes and conversations with great entrepreneurs at theangelnest.com.

Risk Robot from Spin Analytics revolutionizes how banks assess risk

RiskRobot helps banks make lending decisions and risk assessments more quickly and easily. The software from Spin Analytics provides process automation for all the tasks of credit model development, including data cleansing and database integration, model development, validation and documentation. It also creates an uniform platform for all modelling projects so that files, data, code, and decisions are stored consistently. This makes it easier for management, senior, and credit risk experts to review the decisions made and allows one analyst to easily and quickly take over a project begun by another.

 

Founder and CEO Panos Skliamis sits down with the Angel Nest to discuss the revolutionary fintech software. 

 

Tune in for more episodes and conversations with great entrepreneurs at theangelnest.com.

App for Trucking Owner Operators Aims to Streamline Business

Trucking owner operators who haul freight around the country can now manage more of their routine reporting and bookkeeping from the road so they can spend less time doing paperwork when they get home. The Smart Trucker App allows owner-operators and small trucking fleets the ability to scan, email, invoice, and organize their business. And the market potential is huge with nearly 800,000 private carriers in the U.S. The app is already available for Apple and Android phones and tablets.

 

Company president Jaswinder Singh and Izzy Lozada, investor, coach, and CEO of Fidelity Equity Partners talk with the Angel Nest about the app and plans for growth.

 

Tune in for more episodes and conversations with great entrepreneurs at theangelnest.com.

UPDATE on BrandVerge, an online marketplace for ad buyers and sellers

In this episode, we get an update from BrandVerge. It’s been a very busy year for the company since we met them in Episode 3.

Founders Lynn Browne and Mollie Kehoe and BrandVerge advisor Scott Schiller from the Engine Group talk about the start-up’s growth and some of the lessons learned along the way toward profitability.