Digital Entertainment Ventures Launches Accelerator Fund
Focus on Angel Investments in up to 400 Early-Stage Companies Through Accelerator Programs Such as DreamIt and Techstars
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - December 02, 2014) - Digital Entertainment Ventures (DEV), an early-stage venture capital and advisory firm, today announced the launch of a new fund which will invest in as many as 400 early-stage companies through at least five accelerator programs over the next three years, creating a large, diversified portfolio of companies and increase the likelihood of high returns.
To accomplish this DEV, along with a financial partner, has already entered into agreements with DreamIt to invest in eight companies in their current accelerator class and with Techstars to participate in funding their entire network of companies. The new accelerator fund will also back the recently announced DEV Korea Discovery Fund, which has investments in 10 Seoul-based startups, and Project Music, a partnership of the Country Music Association and the Nashville Entrepreneur Center. Several other established accelerators are currently under consideration for investment.
"High-quality accelerator programs are the birthplace of many of the best startups around the world," said Alan McGlade, founder and Managing Director of DEV. "Research consistently shows that the average rate of return on angel investment is over 25%, but that comes from 5-10% of the companies receiving funding. The diversification and scale of this fund heightens the probability of hitting a game-changing home run. We believe a fund that is focused at the accelerator level like this is the best way to maximize potential returns on angel investing and compress costs and risks."
"DreamIt gets great young companies started; investments from funds like DEV's gets them to the next stage," says Karen Gryga, Managing Partner at DreamIt. "We're pleased that DEV has already selected eight of our current class, and we look forward to working together over the next few years to build out their portfolio of promising new tech companies."
"The Entrepreneur Center has core expertise in identifying promising ideas and working with startup founders to get a business model built around their concept; investments from funds like DEV help these young concepts get to the next stage," says Michael Burcham, CEO of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center. "We are delighted that DEV has chosen to partner with us on Project Music and we look forward to working together to establish new disruptive companies in the Digital Media space."
The initial DreamIt portfolio investments are:
Baloonr is the only place where people can launch ideas without the fear of failure and judgment.
Bestimators is creating a marketplace that makes it easier for people to buy, and easier for contractors to sell, big ticket home improvements.
Ishqr is an online dating platform for connecting first generation Muslim Americans.
Myavana provides personalized recommendations on hair products and services using scientific and social data.
Nfoshare is the quickest way to gauge your team's emotional pulse and actually do something about it.
Ntensify provides a branded in-app merchandise platform as an additional revenue stream and engagement tool for mobile game developers.
Pico collects pictures that were taken by your friends during any lifetime occasion into one collaborative, real-time album.
Redberry is a social marketplace that offers merchants centralized inventory management across multiple e-commerce channels and provides consumers with a beautiful way to discover, engage with and buy amazing products on mobile.
Launched in April 2012 and headquartered in New York City, DEV provides guidance, seed and early stage capital to companies building the next generation of digital services that are transforming media and entertainment. DEV is managed by seasoned media and venture executives Alan McGlade, Michael Yang and Swatick Majumdar and its Venture Partner, Damian Manning. Recent successes include the acquisition of early DEV Fund investment Human Demand by IgnitionOne. In 2014, DEV established offices in South Korea to better take advantage of its growing creative economy and spring-board investments to the global stage. Visit DEV on the web at http://www.devny.vc.
The following files are available for download:
