Ciel Medical, which presented just eight months ago at our October 2016 Dinner, has been bought by Vyaire Medical. Ciel developed a catheter to prevent ventilator associated pneumonia and a second product to accurately place ventilation tubes. Congratulations to Band member Mike Bates who led this deal, and Suresh Pai, John Litz, Rakesh Sood, Michael Forrest, Rich Juelis, and Chris Meyer, and, of course, Kate Garrett (CEO) and Dan Azagury (CMO). You can read the press release here: http://bit.ly/cielexit.
Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center Milestone Makers Program
The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center in San Francisco — which supports entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds with free education, resources, and mentorship — has championed the idea of helping entrepreneurs define and achieve success on their own terms for the long-term, beyond the traditional Silicon Valley measures of success. That’s the inspiration behind their Milestone Makers Program, which helps early- to mid-stage entrepreneurs set, hit, and celebrate milestones that drive their businesses forward. Each founder selected for the program gets a personal business coach, 3–4 business mentors, a customized set of classes, and access to state-of-the-art resources — all valued at approximately $250,000 with no cost to the entrepreneurs. In the pay-it-forward spirit of Silicon Valley, graduating entrepreneurs will return to teach future classes of Milestone Makers.
A number of Band members participate as mentors, including Heather Crawford and Debra Vernon (pictured on the bottom right with mentor Anna Shen). Congratulations to the entrepreneurs that completed the program. Great closing bell ceremony!
Announcing Mentor Day - May 2nd at the NASDAQ Entrepreneurial Center
Band of Angels, in partnership with the NASDAQ Entrepreneurial Center, is pleased to host a mentoring session for 50 companies interested in raising angel capital on May 2, 2017 in San Francisco. The session is open to companies in any sector or industry. Startups are invited to sign up for a 45-minute meeting with one or more Band mentors to receive no risk feedback about the readiness of their venture for angel investment. Apply here by April 21, 2017 . The Band will hold "Best of Mentor Day" followup meeting on May 10, 2017. Band member mentors can register here. For more information, please contact mentorday@bandangels.com.
Portfolio News: Automated Trucking Startup Peloton Drafts $60 Million in Funding
Peloton Technology, an automated vehicle technology company focused on trucking, is on the verge of closing a $60 million Series B funding round led by Omnitracs, a fleet services company that spun out of Qualcomm.
The round includes existing investors Intel Capital, DENSO International America, Castrol innoVentures, Lockheed Martin, Nokia Growth Partners, UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund, Volvo Group Capital, Sandhill Angels, Band of Angels and Birchmere Ventures, Peloton Technology CEO and co-founder Josh Switkes confirmed to Fortune on Wednesday.
Portfolio News: Revcontent Acquires Rover for Better Content Recommendation Tech
Revcontent, a self-funded company powering content recommendations for publishers like Forbes and The Atlantic, has acquired Rover.
That’s not Rover the pet-sitting marketplace, but rather the content discovery app formerly known as Flipora and Infoaxe. CEO John Lemp told me that Revcontent is paying “north of $30 million” in cash and stock for the acquisition, which he described as an investment in better content recommendations.