A NEXT GENERATION INVESTMENT BANK
OUR TRANSACTIONS
Feel free to review some of our previously funded transactions.
Acorns Grow, Inc
Acorns is the first true micro investing company, allowing people to automatically invest the spare change from everyday transactions into a diversified portfolio of index funds offered by the world’s largest asset managers. In February 2014, Acorns completed a private placement of $5.5 million in Series B preferred stock.
Company update (Oct 2014): Shortly after the August launch on the App Store, Acorns became the #1 new financial app. In less than 30 days, the company opened more than 50,000 new accounts. Bloomberg BusinessWeek referred to the app as having the potential to “introduce young people to the world of investing at ages for which compound interest can become a powerful tool”. The Android app was introduced in October, doubling the addressable market. Because of their high organic traffic and low customer acquisition cost, management believes Acorns will top one million accounts by mid-late 2015.
Acorns Grow, Inc
Acorns Grow, Inc
Acorns is the first true micro investing company, allowing people to automatically invest the spare change from everyday transactions into a diversified portfolio of index funds offered by the world’s largest asset managers. In February 2014, Acorns completed a private placement of $5.5 million in Series B preferred stock.
Company update (Oct 2014): Shortly after the August launch on the App Store, Acorns became the #1 new financial app. In less than 30 days, the company opened more than 50,000 new accounts. Bloomberg BusinessWeek referred to the app as having the potential to “introduce young people to the world of investing at ages for which compound interest can become a powerful tool”. The Android app was introduced in October, doubling the addressable market. Because of their high organic traffic and low customer acquisition cost, management believes Acorns will top one million accounts by mid-late 2015.
Acorns Grow, Inc
Acorns is the first true micro investing company, allowing people to automatically invest the spare change from everyday transactions into a diversified portfolio of index funds offered by the world’s largest asset managers. In February 2014, Acorns completed a private placement of $5.5 million in Series B preferred stock.
Company update (Oct 2014): Shortly after the August launch on the App Store, Acorns became the #1 new financial app. In less than 30 days, the company opened more than 50,000 new accounts. Bloomberg BusinessWeek referred to the app as having the potential to “introduce young people to the world of investing at ages for which compound interest can become a powerful tool”. The Android app was introduced in October, doubling the addressable market. Because of their high organic traffic and low customer acquisition cost, management believes Acorns will top one million accounts by mid-late 2015.
Equisolve, Inc
Equisolve offers technology-based solutions and services that manage the entire digital presence of public companies, including their corporate website, investor relations website, webcasting & teleconferencing, and newswire distribution. Equisolve completed a private placement of $1.7 million in convertible notes and warrants.
Company update (Oct 2014): Equisolve’s operations are gaining momentum. Equisolve has begun to leverage its status as an approved vendor for the NYSE subsidy program, adding several NYSE-listed companies. It also added several large clients, including V.F. Corporation, a $25 billion company, and Crown Media, owner of the Hallmark Channel. For the first nine months of 2014, revenues are up more than 70% versus the same period last year. September was a record month on several measures, including the most new accounts, most newswire upsells, and the highest development fee revenue.
MFour Mobile Research
MFour is a market research company that develops state-of-the-art technologies to provide its clients with an in-depth understanding of consumer behavior. MFour’s mobile application, Surveys on the Go®, is the first sophisticated mobile-only platform and survey panel. MFour completed a private placement of $1.7 million in Series A common stock and warrants.
Company update (Oct 2014): MFour has made several key strategic hires and staffed up its panel expansion and software development teams. New panelists are onboarding at a rate of 28,000-30,000 per month now, up from pre-investment levels of approximately 5,000 per month. June quarter revenues quadrupled over the comparable period last year. In the past six months, the company added some significant new clients including Google and Autozone. Clear Channel, Nielsen, and several other existing clients expanded their business with MFour.
OUR TRANSACTIONS
Feel free to review some of our previously funded transactions.
FAT Brands
FAT Brands (NASDAQ: FAT) is a leading global franchising company that strategically acquires, markets and develops fast casual and casual dining restaurant concepts around the world. The Company currently owns nine restaurant brands: Fatburger, Johnny Rockets, Buffalos Cafe, Buffalos Express, Hurricane Grill & Wings, Elevation Burger, Yalla Mediterranean and Ponderosa and Bonanza Steakhouses, and franchises over 700 units worldwide. For more information, please visit www.fatbrands.com.
Fairness Opinion
Shiner International Inc., through its operating subsidiaries, Hainan Shiner, Shiny-Day, Hainan Modern, Zhuhai Modern, Shimmer Sun, and Ningbo, manufactures and sells bi-axially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) tobacco films, coated films, color printing products, advanced films, and water based coatings in Chinese China, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and South America.
To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science Inc. (“TTSA”)
Lead Managing Selling Agent
TTSA was founded by Blink-182 creator, multi-platinum entertainer and entrepreneur Tom DeLonge, alongside Jim Semivan and Dr. Hal Puthoff, distinguished members of the scientific and intelligence community. The Company’s technology innovations have been acquired, designed or produced by TTSA, leveraging advancements in material science and quantum physics that offer capability advancements for government and commercial applications. TTSA brings together leaders with experience from the Department of Defense, the White House, the Central Intelligence Agency and Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works.
Acorns Grow, Inc
Acorns is the first true micro investing company, allowing people to automatically invest the spare change from everyday transactions into a diversified portfolio of index funds offered by the world’s largest asset managers. In February 2014, Acorns completed a private placement of $5.5 million in Series B preferred stock.
Company update (Oct 2014): Shortly after the August launch on the App Store, Acorns became the #1 new financial app. In less than 30 days, the company opened more than 50,000 new accounts. Bloomberg BusinessWeek referred to the app as having the potential to “introduce young people to the world of investing at ages for which compound interest can become a powerful tool”. The Android app was introduced in October, doubling the addressable market. Because of their high organic traffic and low customer acquisition cost, management believes Acorns will top one million accounts by mid-late 2015.
Equisolve, Inc
Equisolve offers technology-based solutions and services that manage the entire digital presence of public companies, including their corporate website, investor relations website, webcasting & teleconferencing, and newswire distribution. Equisolve completed a private placement of $1.7 million in convertible notes and warrants.
Company update (Oct 2014): Equisolve’s operations are gaining momentum. Equisolve has begun to leverage its status as an approved vendor for the NYSE subsidy program, adding several NYSE-listed companies. It also added several large clients, including V.F. Corporation, a $25 billion company, and Crown Media, owner of the Hallmark Channel. For the first nine months of 2014, revenues are up more than 70% versus the same period last year. September was a record month on several measures, including the most new accounts, most newswire upsells, and the highest development fee revenue.
MFour Mobile Research
MFour is a market research company that develops state-of-the-art technologies to provide its clients with an in-depth understanding of consumer behavior. MFour’s mobile application, Surveys on the Go®, is the first sophisticated mobile-only platform and survey panel. MFour completed a private placement of $1.7 million in Series A common stock and warrants.
Company update (Oct 2014): MFour has made several key strategic hires and staffed up its panel expansion and software development teams. New panelists are onboarding at a rate of 28,000-30,000 per month now, up from pre-investment levels of approximately 5,000 per month. June quarter revenues quadrupled over the comparable period last year. In the past six months, the company added some significant new clients including Google and Autozone. Clear Channel, Nielsen, and several other existing clients expanded their business with MFour.
Thoughtful Media Group
Thoughtful Media Group operates Multi Channel Networks on YouTube around the globe and on all of the leading platforms in China. The company monetizes web traffic generated on hundreds of individual creator websites by selling targeted advertising on their online video channels. Thoughtful Media Group completed a private placement of $3.3 million in convertible notes and warrants.
Company update (Oct 2014): Thoughtful Media’s video views worldwide hit 96 million in the month of September, up from less than 1 million in September 2013. Video views in China were 51 million, up from 203,000 last year. The Company recently added Sohu, China’s second-largest internet portal, as revenue share partner, joining the six other key players in the country. Thoughtful Media Group launched in Thailand and has become the dominant MCN there. It is in the process of opening a sales office in Singapore to spearhead expansion in Southeast Asian markets.
YouMail
YouMail, Inc. provides imaginative, intelligent, cloud-based telecommunication services. These include its free app-based service to block robocalls, and its premium call management services for people who use their mobile phone for business.
YouMail’s services free users from limitations of their mobile phone or carrier – protecting against unwanted calls, helping them handle high volumes of mobile calls, unifying virtual numbers with their cell number, and providing personalized answering experiences for their callers. YouMail has stopped over a billion robocalls, has given hundreds of millions of callers the experience they deserve, and has delighted millions of users. YouMail, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is privately funded.