NEWS & MEDIA: The InSITE Blog
Apr
20

On the 10th Anniversary of our companies raising funding after graduating InSITE, we have surveyed their accomplishments and found tremendous success in Angel and VC fundraising.

Since Spring of 2001, InSITE’s companies have raised a total of more than $215 million of disclosed funding and have enjoyed at least 6 successful exits. With 96 companies completing our program to date, that’s an average of $2.2 million raised per company – an impressive number, particularly considering the majority of start-ups do not receive funding.

The biggest raise by far was by RecycleBank, totaling $71.1 million dollars over 3 rounds. Even without RecycleBank’s funding success, each InSITE company raised $1.5M on average. That’s a tremendous amount of Angel/VC funding for startups based in the New York City area.

Filling out the top five raises are Silicon Alley Telecom (which became Eureka Broadband and is now part of Broadview Networks) ($44 million), Hycrete ($25 million), Vindigo ($22 million), and ON Networks ($16 million). Our most recent large success has been Organic Motion ($8.28 million), a 2006 and 2009 InSITE Company.

Top Angel/VC investors have been involved in these ventures, including RRE Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield, Rose Tech Ventures, NGEN Partners, First Round Capital, Accel Partners, Kodiak Ventures, PKS Capital, SJF Ventures, Robin Hood Ventures, Foundry Group, Betaworks, and New York Angels.

To date, have been at least 6 successful exits including Klipmart, which is now Doubleclick’s Rich Media Ad serving tool, Motif. Others include:

Design2Launch, acquired by Kodak
EATS Media, acquired by Delivery.com
ASPEED Software, acquired by Simtone
PreClick, acquired by Smilebox
Mycrocept, acquired by Healthpoint

More information on InSITE’s companies is available here.

These numbers do not take into account undisclosed funding amounts. We know of at least 6 companies that have received seed funding, but the sizes were not publicly disclosed, including HopStop, MediaMerx, Frogtek and Catchafire.

Although InSITE doesn’t take full credit for the success of these companies, no one can dispute that the company selection teams each semester have successfully picked the best and brightest entrepreneurs in NYC.

InSITE teams work hard each semester with these companies to refine their pitches and presentations and put them in front of our Venture Capital Advisory Program Sponsors (VCAPS). InSITE congratulates 10 years of InSITE companies on terrific success in raising funding and building successful enterprises!

– Shirley Xu, 2009-2010 Special VP for Alumni Companies

Apr
19

On Tuesday, April 13th, InSITE hosted it’s 10th Anniversary Celebration and closing dinner. We were thrilled to be joined by many special guests including:

Alex Cohen, InSITE Founder and GC and CCO for On Deck Capital
Andrew Moss, InSITE Alumni and Founder of BuyWithMe
Ben Lilienthal, InSITE Alumni and Founder of Vapps
Bronson Lingamfelter, InSITE Alumni and Associate at Rose Tech Ventures
Dan Lifton, InSITE Board and COO at Quality of Life Labs
David Pashman, Legal Team Leader at Meetup
Dawn Barber, InSITE Board and Founder of NY Tech Meetup
Josh Spodek, InSITE Alumni and Founder of Submedia
Karl Alomar, InSITE Past President and CEO at China Export Finance
Mac Lipscomb, InSITE Board and Operating Partner at InSITE Sponsor RRE Ventures
Mark Davis, InSITE Alumni and Associate at DJF Gotham Ventures
Matt McCooe, InSITE Alumni and Managing Partner at Chart Venture Partners
Molly Siems, InSITE Alumni and Account Manager at Fly Communications
Pete Karlen, InSITE Board and VP at EarthWater Global
Robyn Soto, InSITE Board and Director at Tishman Speyer
Sacha Ross, Associate at InSITE Sponsor Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Vic Singh, InSITE Alumni and Co-Founder of NearVerse
Vinay Jain, InSITE Board and Associate at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom
Zubin Canteenwalla, InSITE Alumni and Associate at NGEN Partners

InSITE presented several special awards:

Fellow Achievement Award: Shirley Xu
For special service as a first year InSITE Fellow, including leading our first VCAP Special Project Team and volunteering to serve as Special VP for Alumni Companies to survey their funding success, which showed that InSITE Companies had raised more than $215M in venture financing since 2000.

Alumni Achievement Award: Andrew Moss
For extraordinary accomplishments in entrepreneurship since graduating from InSITE (and NYU Law in 2001), particularly founding BuyWithMe in 2009 and raising a $5.5M Series A round.

First Annual Inductee into the InSITE Hall of Fame: Paul Tumpowsky
For guiding InSITE through 10 highly successful years as Chairman of the Board including developing the organization’s core program and relationships with sponsors, startups and supporters throughout the NYC venture community.

A full list of InSITE honors is available here.

Current InSITE Fellows and Board Members elected ten new executives to run the organization in 2010 – 2011 and two out-going Fellows to serve as Young Alumni Board Members:

Lastly, InSITE thanks the outgoing Class of 2010:

Christian DiCarlo, Columbia MBA
Duncan Welstead, Columbia MBA
Geetika Agrawal, NYU MBA
Godfrey Powell, Jr., NYU MBA
Haley Boruszak, NYU MBA
Jane Kang, NYU JD
Jeff Hui, Columbia MBA (who will stay on with InSITE as a Young Alumni Board Member)
Jennifer Gootman, NYU MBA
Justin Heyman, Columbia MBA
Kesha Cash, Columbia MBA
Max Eckstein, Columbia JD
Jane Kang, NYU JD
Ricky Opaterny, NYU MBA
Rob Schneider, Columbia MBA
Roy Simkhay, Columbia MBA
Ryan Orton, Columbia MBA
Shawn Khazzam, NYU MBA
Tony Leotti, NYU JD/MBA
Vinay Ganti, NYU JD/MBA

– Rich Powell, NYU JD ’10, signing off as 2009-2010 President; thanking all the past Execs, Team Leaders, Alumni and Supporters for another great year; and wishing the best of luck to the stellar 2010-2011 Execs

Mar
30

The resurgence of the New York technology entrepreneurship and start-up activity coincides with the 10th Anniversary of InSITE. The recent wave of innovation and the influx of talent from around the world serve to illustrate what InSITE has known since its inception – New York is the best city in the world to start a business. InSITE is proud to have been an integral part of this community for the past decade.

On Tuesday, April 13th, InSITE (Investments from Student Interaction with Technology and Entrepreneurs) is celebrating its 10th Anniversary, hosting its current Fellows and alumni.

With its first class graduating in 2000 and always comprised of MBA and JD students from Columbia and NYU Business and Law Schools, the program has grown significantly in size and scope over the past decade. InSITE Fellows are selected each academic year though a competitive application process, and only a fraction of those who apply are accepted based on their interests and demonstrated experiences in an entrepreneurial or venture oriented career. This year, the organization received more than 150 applications for 24 new Fellow positions.

Led by Chairman Paul Tumpowsky (CBS/InSITE ’00), each semester InSITE Fellows source a group of early stage New York startups for its advisory program. Over the past decade, teams of Fellows have worked with more than 100 New York startups to help them better articulate their businesses, refine their strategy and sharpen their value proposition. InSITE also hosts a variety of programs, including term sheet negotiations and a speaker series which has included prominent venture capitalists Alan Patricof and Fred Wilson, and supports New York Angels through their Future Angels initiative.

The program has been enormously successful for both the student Fellows and the companies that have completed the process. Since 2000, InSITE companies have raised more than $170 million in venture funding. Notable InSITE alumni companies include Vindigo, Broadview Networks, ON Networks, Hycrete, Recycle Bank, Hopstop, FlavorPill and Organic Motion.

InSITE Fellows have pursued careers in a variety of industries, including investment professionals at venture funds including Bessemer Venture Partners and DFJ Gotham, attorneys from in-house counsel at Amazon’s Lab126 to Wilson Sonsini and Skadden Arps, management consultants at McKinsey & Company, investment bankers and, of course, entrepreneurs.

Recently, Alex Ferrara (CBS/InSITE ’04) was promoted to Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, and Andrew Moss (NYU JD/InSITE ’01) the Founder and CEO of BuyWithMe.com, raised a $5.5 million Series A Round from Matrix Partners.

InSITE Fellows, Alumni, its Board of Directors and invited guests will gather on the 13th to celebrate the organization’s successes over the past decade and elect the next group of student leaders to manage the organization though another successful year.

InSITE is sponsored by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati, the preeminent law firm focused on early stage technology businesses, as well as a number of top venture capital firms: Canaan Partners, Contour Venture Partners, DFJ Gotham, Greenhill SAVP, Investor Growth Capital, Kodiak Venture Partners, Milestone Venture Partners, and RRE Ventures.

For more information on InSITE Contact:

Paul Tumpowsky
212.999.6200
Paul.Tumpowsky@InSITEny.org

Mar
29

InSITE’s very own Board Member, Mac Lipscomb, who many Fellows remember from their very first InSITE session for his annual “14 points” lecture on the perfect funding pitch, has just joined InSITE Venture Capital Advisory Program Sponsor RRE Ventures as Operating Partner.

RRE is re-aligning to reemphasize their efforts here in NYC. Mac gives InSITE a great shout-out in the press release.

Mac has given a great deal of time and energy to InSITE since our founding 10 years ago, and recently retired as a leader of the Communications Industry Practice at Accenture and formally joined the InSITE Board. The InSITE community congratulates him on this major move.

– Rich Powell, President 2009-2010

Feb
3

From a group of 40 applicants, InSITE’s Fellows have selected the following companies to work with during our Spring 2010 Semester:

  • Bandvest is an online music marketplace where artists raise money to record a professional EP by pre-selling their EP to fans at a discounted price and giving them meaningful incentives including equity in the EP in the form of ‘Bandvest Bucks.’
  • EcoSystems offers hardware systems that allow users to easily create or customize furniture under comprehensive, environmentally-friendly frameworks.
  • Klickable is an easy-to-use online video platform that allows users to create interactive Klickable videos.
  • ProtEquity offers a Home Equity Protection (HEP) product for homeowners that allows them to protect the value of their home against regional housing market declines.
  • Active Locations develops location-aware mobile applications that allow organizers and owners of events and venues to place branded information and content at their visitors’ fingertips.

Teams of Fellows have been paired with each company; they will work to improve their pitches over the next two months in preparation for InSITE’s Spring 2010 Final Pitch Event on Friday, April 9th.

Jan
30

InSITE received 48 applications this semester for a coveted six Fellow slots. We are very pleased to announce an outstanding class of Fellows for Spring 2010:

- Josh Brandley, Columbia MBA ‘11

- J. Ryan Golden, NYU JD ‘11

- Shiv Hira, NYU MBA ‘11

- Alessandro Presti , Columbia JD/MBA ‘13

- Sean Weinstock, NYU JD ‘12

- Ben Zhuk, Columbia MBA ‘11

Bios for new fellows are available here. We thank all those who applied to InSITE for its Spring 2010 Fellow class.

Jan
27

InSITE is pleased to announce the addition of two new members to its Board, dawn barber and MacAdory Lipscomb Jr.

Paul Tumpowsky, the Chairman of InSITE, stated on their election to the board, “Originally InSITE’s Board was mainly comprised of involved InSITE alumni. We designed the Board this way because most of the issues that the Board worked on were internal and not that interesting to people that were not in the organization before becoming Board members.”

“Over the years, the student leadership has improved the planning and execution associated with running InSITE on a day to day basis. Now I believe that we can start to face more outward and begin to bring others on who represent the constituents that InSITE works with – venture capitalists (Chip Meakem and Alex Ferara), entrepreneurs, and the NY technology community as a whole.”

“I have approached two members who I feel we can trust and who I think represent the other constituents, NY technology and entrepreneurial community to join the Board. Both individuals have been involved with InSITE since its inception and are willing to put in the time and effort to support the organization. They also bring unique skills and relationships to the group.”

“We are very happy that dawn and Mac have joined the Board. I am confident that their participation will be valuable to the students and the organization overall. I would like to thank two outgoing members of the Board, Dina Penny and Todd Tiberi for their service over the years.”

“Having seen InSITE’s growth, since it’s inception when it was under the NYNMA umbrella, I’m impressed with how Paul and his student InSITE teams work with NY early-stage companies and VCs, to form valuable and helpful relationships, that only foster the continued growth of the NYC technology startup ecosystem. I’m also honored to be asked to serve on the board, and help InSITE help form our successful entrepreneurs and VCs of tomorrow,” said dawn barber on the announcement.

Mac Lipscomb added, “I have joined the InSITE Board, an entrepreneur mentorship program run by NYU and Columbia law and business students. Started 10 years ago, I was involved at the beginning and have been very impressed with the organization’s development. Without hesitation, the quality of talent accepted into this organization will define many leadership positions for industries, governments, and the legal and ethical foundations of many dynamic businesses of the 21st century.”

Both new Board members bring a remarkable range of experience in technology and entrepreneurship to the InSITE Board:

dawn barber is the co-founder of NY Tech Meetup http://www.meetup.com/ny-tech/ . dawn has extensive experience in planning and organizing groups and conferences in and around the New York technology community, since having been one of NYNMA’s directors from 1998-2001.

MacAdory Lipscomb Jr is the “go-to-guy” shaping how Americans and the world view Media, Sports, Celebrities, Politics and Technology. In a career ranging from the Carter White House to 2009’s Tiger Woods’ self-immolation, with a stop for the Mike Tyson ear-biting incident, he was a founding executive of XM Satellite Radio with corporate credentials that also include Accenture, Showtime Networks Inc, WorldSpace, and start up & venture coaching of 400+ CEOs including the IPO road show for Live Person. He is one of those rare executives that connect all the dots with McAdory & Co. Strategic Communications, a general management, marketing and crisis communications consultancy. A Senior Fellow at the USC Annenberg Center for the Digital Future, Mac also has an MBA from Colorado, a Master’s in Speech Communications from Auburn University, and a Government and Politics degree from the University of Maryland where he is a member of the Executive Committee of the School of Behavioral and Social Sciences Board of Visitors. He is a Cable Pioneer and was honored with the inaugural Cable Industry Vanguard Award for Public Relations.

Jan
13

InSITE is now accepting applications for new Fellows from NYU Law, Stern, Columbia Law and Columbia Business School. The (strict) application deadline is 11:59pm on Monday, January 25.

Our Spring application cycle focuses on law students. Business school students, particularly Columbia J-termers, are welcome to apply, but should explain either their reasons for not applying in the Fall or their significant new experiences in VC and/or entrepreneurship since their last application.

Application guidelines are available here.

Info sessions will be held at:
- NYU Law, Furman Hall Room 216 on Thursday, January 21 at 12:00pm
- Columbia Law on Tuesday, January 19 (details TBA)

Oct
4

This semester, we received a record number of applications from the most talented group of people ever to be together in graduate school. InSITE is excited to annouced 18 terrific new Fellows – they are:

Jon Cooper, NYU MBA

Michael DiBenedetto, Columbia MBA

Seth Goldman, NYU MBA

Sharon Goswami, NYU JD

Daniel Harman, Columbia MBA

Omar Haroun, Columbia JD

Colleen Honigsberg, Columbia JD

Nick Hurley, NYU MBA

Camila Jimenez Villa, NYU MBA/MFA

Christopher Johnson, Columbia MBA

Mike Katz, Columbia MBA

Stephanie Palmeri, Columbia MBA

Greg Pennington, Columbia MBA

Brian Rothenberg, NYU MBA

Alex Shellhammer, NYU MBA

Maria Testani, Columbia MBA

Marisa Tricarico, NYU MBA

Shirley Xu, Columbia MBA

Bios for our new Fellows are available here.

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