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"Not only does this have the potential to net these small businesses up to around $500 a month. Taiv’s system also gives these bars better control over their AV systems, allowing them to play their own content."

"As Caribu CEO Maxeme Tuchman’s six-year journey as a first-time founder is coming to an end, she said she is “overjoyed” to be joining Mattel."

"Addigy, a leading SaaS-based Apple device management provider serving corporate IT teams and managed service providers (MSPs), today announced it has received a strategic growth investment from PSG, a leading growth equity firm partnering with software and technology-enabled services companies to help accelerate their growth."

"The hype around South Florida as an up-and-coming startup hub isn’t just hype. Seed- and early-stage investment to Sunshine State founders really is up several-fold year over year. And Miami companies are leading the gains... "Deal flow has drastically increased in Miami,” said Elle Leemay Chen, acting managing director of the Miami Angels. To adjust to a faster-moving market, she said, the group has revamped its investing process to be more nimble and is leaning into investors’ industry expertise for diligence in order to close in two weeks or less."

"A group of veterans of the Miami tech scene have banded together to create a pioneering concept: NFTs for kids... OnChain and Cryptoys announced Monday that it had raised $7.5 million in an investment round led by venture titan Andreessen Horowitz, with investments from Miami-based Pareto Holdings, as well as Draper & Associates, CoinFund, Sound Ventures, Dapper Labs, Collab + Currency and WndrCo."

"We got the opportunity to sit down with Aleksander Levental, co-founder and CEO of Feathr, to discuss his journey through entrepreneurship and how he got to be where he is today. Based in Gainesville, Florida, Feathr unifies marketing efforts in a single platform that offers detailed analytics, targeted digital advertising, influencer marketing and more for underserved markets like associations, non-profits and charities."

"Over 2 million women have been pushed out of the workforce as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. HeyMama, in partnership with Lincoln, Stuart Weitzman, and Ground Truth introduces a campaign urging moms to put "motherhood" on their resume, leveraging the various ways parenting translates into the workforce to combat the growing female recession."

"In light of the GameStop memestock saga, more Americans are beginning to participate in the stock market, and the Grifin app is looking to help new retail investors learn the ropes by encouraging them to invest in businesses they are familiar with. Aaron Froug, founder and CEO of Grifin (which stands for Greatest Revolution in Finance Is Now), told Cheddar that he wanted to make investing as simple as possible for beginners."

"Nearpod is used in all 50 states, and in more than 1,800 school districts. In 2020 alone, the company grew by about 50% with more than 1 million teachers using the product, and 2-3 million students online per day. In a December 2020 interview, Carrera told me that all the money being generated right now is being put back into the company to propel its growth, which has been organic. Nearpod spends very little ad dollars on marketing. The real marketing, he said, is by word of mouth."

"Leasecake, an Orlando, Florida-based commercial real estate operating system for location management, announced today it raised $3 million in an oversubscribed seed round led by Las Olas Venture Capital, a seed-stage venture firm based in South Florida that specializes in B2B software investments. Additional investors include strategic venture capital firms and investors in New York City, Chicago, Denver, and San Francisco."

"At Miami Angels, we are industry agnostic and excited to speak to great founders in any industry within the early-stage software category. I will say personally, I love Edtech and believe that the industry as a whole is at an exciting inflection point. In addition, I feel passionately about supporting diverse and underrepresented founders so want to be intentional about having an open door to founders from all backgrounds." - Elle Leemay Chen

"Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University decided to lean on one of their existing tutoring partners to better serve students during this difficult time. FAMU Vice President for Student Affairs, Dr. William “Bill” Hudson Jr. said, “It’s been exciting to see first-hand the value this is bringing to our students. Not only is this proving to be an efficient model for supplementing our academic support services, but it’s also been a great way to scale the meaningful employment opportunities that help our students develop the skills they’ll need to be successful after graduation."

"Nico Berardi considers himself to be a citizen of the world, with a penchant for travel and a wide range of interests. Unlike many other VCs, who’ve increasingly specialized as the market has grown more crowded, Berardi is nearly as wide-ranging in his approach to venture capital, too.

Somewhat counterintuitively, it’s paying off. At least, Berardi’s venture firm, Animo Ventures, has been investing a $60 million debut vehicle since closing it in July of last year."

"In the K-12 education market, Nearpod boasts a far reach, claiming its tools are used by about 7 million students in 60 percent of U.S. K-12 districts.

Now it has set its sights higher—literally—by looking at colleges and universities...Originally designed for the K-12 market, Nearpod’s interactive lesson and assessment tools have unintentionally attracted some 200 higher-ed institutions that are already paying for the product, according to Felipe Sommer, the company’s co-founder and chief operating officer."

"Miami Angels just wrapped up a banner 2018, investing $3.2 million into 11 startups.

For South Florida’s largest angel network, now 115 members strong, 2018 was the best year to date. But the numbers don’t tell the whole story.

'We’ve grown, which has really increased the power of our...'"

"The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced Wednesday a pledge of more than $1 million for nine Miami-based projects aimed at building deeper connections between local startup founders, investors and talent.

'Local connectedness amongst founders, investors and high-performing talent is a major driver of successful startup communities,' said Raul Moas, Knight Foundation..."

"Nearpod is a comprehensive student engagement platform that enables 100% student participation in K-12 classrooms.

Guido Kovalskys founded the Miami based company in 2012 alongside two lifelong friends and fellow entrepreneurs Felipe Sommer and Emi Abramzon after seeing the vast transformational potential that technology could have in the classroom. While several investors..."

"Startup unicorns and billion dollar funds grab headlines these days, but most investors only hear about these opportunities late in the investing cycle, when growth is slowing. Increasingly, company value is realized in the private markets vs. after initial public offerings (IPOs). And recent performance data shows that early stage investing can capture more alpha than investing in larger, later stage companies and funds.

But the vast majority of investors only get into these companies when a major bank includes a late-stage."

"Success leaves clues.

Rebecca Danta, director of Miami Angels, shares her thoughts on the past, present, and future of the company, as well as the insight she gained from running the business."