Evan Vitale

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Evan Vitale – VC Money Tight in 2016?

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By Evan Vitale

The venture crystal ball, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal, reveals that investors are predicting fewer unicorns and tighter purse strings for the upcoming year.

TechFlash Editor Cromwell Schubarth says most of the investors he interviewed at the conclusion of 2015, says the booming trend of venture capital funding is slowing down. Perhaps, we’ve been on a good ride for such a long time, that it’s likely things are going to calm down a bit.

You can read the entire article here:

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/blog/techflash/2015/12/vc-crystal-ball-investors-predict-fewer-unicorns.html

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal says the Federal Reserve’s quarter-point rate increase will have very little immediate impact on the startup fundraising environment. However, gradual tightening is expected over the next 12 months. Will this leave companies short of startup cash before they start to see a profit?

Check out what capital investors are saying about this potential cash crunch here:

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/12/17/vc-mailbag-startup-funding-crunch-is-likely-in-2016/

However, once you dig down far enough, you’ll always be able to find some positive news from a venture capitalist.

According to CNBC, New Enterprise Associations general manager Rick Yang says 2016 will be a big year for companies working in virtual reality, edtech and e-commerce.

VC money might be tight, he says, in the first part of 2016 as compared to 2015, but he doesn’t see early-stage companies slowing down. Facebook and Apple, he predicts will look to “acquire more startups to maintain growth and obtain new technologies,” Yang says.

“I don’t think that any of the big tech companies are scared of acquiring companies right now, they still have quite a bit of cash on the balance sheets. And as I kind of mentioned in one of the previous questions, I do think they’re looking to other services outside of their core products for growth in the next year,” he said.

You can read the full article here:

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/31/one-venture-capitalists-predictions-for-2016.html

Evan Vitale – Non-Tech Firm Raises $13.5 Million

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By Evan Vitale

A Chattanooga, Tennessee startup has raised $13.5 million in venture capital – the largest one-time VC capital investment of any Chattanooga startup company.

And it has nothing to do with technology; medical; devices or apps.

“Bellhops” uses approximately 8,000 college students, who are employed as independent contractors, to help consumers move household goods and furniture in 88 cities across the United States. About 4,500 of those students are working activity as moves are ordered through a web-based, on-demand service.

The company is the brainchild of Auburn University grads Stephen Vlahos and Cameron Doody who started Bellhops in 2011.

Bellhops gained initial funding of $6 million in November 2014 from the Lamp Post Group in Chattanooga. Recently, Canaan Partners, a Westport, Conn.-based investment fund helped arrange the most recent round of venture funding to help the growing company add more staff and enter more markets. The recent funding including Lowercase Capital, Bullet Time Capital and Binary Capital.

Currently, Bellhops employs approximately 65 employees at its 12,000-square-foot rented headquarters in Warehouse Row in Chattanooga and provides a unique, lower-cost moving option.

While revenue numbers weren’t disclosed, Doody says Bellhops has been growing five-fold every year. The two original owners will maintain majority ownership and the company plans to stay and grow in Chattanooga.

Bellhops offers a variety of moving services and charges an hourly rate. The firm doesn’t own any trucks, but supplies the labor to help others move with their own or rented trucks.

Bellhops won the Chattanooga “Spirit of Innovation” award in 2014 from the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. You can visit its website at https://getbellhops.com/.