Catchafire Closes Angel Round
By · CommentsInSITE alum company Catchafire just closed an angel round of funding and is building up staff in anticipation of its NYC Beta launch on June 28, 2010. Catchafire.org is a social venture start-up that will revolutionize the way people volunteer by matching professionals with nonprofits that need their skills.
Catchafire looks to register 1,000 volunteers by its late-June launch, so if you’re a professional who wants to volunteer what you are good at, sign up at www.catchafire.org.
The InSITE team that worked with founder Rachael Chong was struck by her vision, energy, and enthusiasm. About her InSITE experience, Rachael notes, “Working with my InSITE team was not only enjoyable and thought-provoking, but it also forced me to practice my pitch in the best possible way. To date, I still use the pitch we created together, and I often get comments on how clear and concise the deck is.”
Angel funding was used to hire a Head of Technology and a VP of Sales & Marketing in preparation for the NYC launch. Catchafire’s still looking for an “uber-creative social media/communications/PR/events expert” to work as a consultant over a 3-4 month period. If interested, contact rachael@catchafire.org.
For the latest on Catchafire, visit blog.catchafire.org
– Jennifer Gootman
2009 Fall Final Pitch Event
By · CommentsOn Friday, December 4, 2009, InSITE Fellows, Fall 2009 Companies, representatives from 10 venture funds and other guests gathered at the offices of Cooley Godward and Kronish for InSITE’s 2009 Fall Final Pitch Event.
InSITE’s Fall 2009 companies presenting were:
- Krossover Intelligence
- Rightframe
- [me] & goji
- Payperks
- Catchafire
- Tigerbow
A distinguished panel of senior venture capitalists and entrepreneurs provided invaluable feedback on each pitch. These included:
- Bob Greene / Co-Founder and Partner, Contour Venture Partners
- Thomas Lehrman / Founder and CEO, Boliven
- Charlie O’Donnell / Entrepreneur in Residence, First Round Capital
Charlie O’Donnell said of the pitches, “I was amazed by the quality of companies at InSITE’s Pitch Event. I don’t remember ever being at an event like this where I could feasibly see every single company be funded.”
Thomas Lehrman, who returned to join the Final Pitch panel for a second semester in the row, noted that “InSITE really took the time to find top notch companies to present to us. I was truly impressed by all of the presentations during the pitch event.”
InSITE is tremendously thankful to these sponsors for supporting us through another outstanding semester:
- Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati
- Contour Venture Partners
- DFJ Gotham
- Investor Growth Capital
- Greenhill SAVP
- Kodiak Venture Partners
- Milestone Venture Partners
- RRE Ventures