New York Angels is one of the largest and most active angel investment organizations.  Founded in 2004 as the successor organization to the NYNMA (New York New Media Association) Angel Investor Program, New York Angels is a membership organization of over 110 active angel investors and early stage venture capital funds. The group meets monthly to screen and present early stage technology companies, and its members have invested over $100 million since 2002 into over 90 ventures. In April of 2017, PItchbook identified New York Angels as #3 in their list of the 8 top VCs funding seed rounds of New York-based companies.  Among the NYA membership are nationally known angel investors including Esther Dyson and David S. Rose. The group has one full-time staff, reporting to an 11 person Board of Directors chaired by Brian S. Cohen. Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey is currently Program Director of New York Angels. Since 2012, the membership has increased by 66% and investment activity has grown by over 215%.   New York Angels concentrates on early stage investments in the range of $100,000 - $1,000,000, although it has led deals as large as $2 million. It receives over 2,200 financing applications annually, from which it selects 12-16 companies each month for an in-person screening, where all members of New York Angels are invited to attend. The group meets again for an Investment Breakfast at the end of the month, where 2-4 opportunities present to the membership with a goal to close their current investment round within two months. The group is considered a leader in the growing field of organized angel investing. It was the first member of the national Angel Capital Association, hosted the ACA Summit conference in 2006, and was the initial test group for the now-standard gust (Angelsoft) funding platform.  Membership as an investor in New York Angels is by invitation only, and members are required to commit to investing at least $50,000 annually in early stage technology deals, in addition to the group's $3,500 annual membership dues.  Requests for funding for entrepreneurial ventures may be self-submitted through the group's website. New York Angels charges no fees to entrepreneurs.

New York Angels

The mission of On Grid Ventures LLC is to support the startup and success of GeoDisruptive businesses which leverage GeoLocation as a disruptive force in marketplaces and commerce, digital infrastructure, or information flow.  On Grid Ventures is focused on the global adoption of location-based technologies as a game changer across five investment areas.   1 GeoMarketplaces focused on a well-defined audience of buyers and sellers where location-based technology enables commerce spanning online and offline, such as Uber, AutoTrader, or Cups.  2 GeoMarketing  businesses where customer acquisition and retention is dependent on location, such as Yelp, OpenTable or AllTheRooms, both business-to-consumer and business-to-business  3 GeoSocial networks based around location and often other factors like interests, such as Foursquare or Tinder.  4 GeoInfrastructure businesses which facilitate the growth and maturation of location-based businesses, such as Yext, PlaceIQ, xAd, Gimbal, and SocialSign.in.  5 GeoInformation businesses which aggregate and assimilate content and data for a defined geographic area in innovative ways, such as Yelp and EnerKnol.

On Grid Ventures

500 Global is a multi-stage venture capital firm with $2.4 billion in assets under management. The firm invests in founders who are building fast-growing technology companies. It focuses on markets where technology, innovation, and capital can generate long-term value and economic growth. 500 Global collaborates with key stakeholders and provides advisory services to governments on fostering entrepreneurial ecosystems to support startups. The firm has invested in over 5,000 founders and more than 2,800 companies across 80+ countries. It has funded over 35 companies valued at more than $1 billion and over 160 companies valued at over $100 million, including those that are private, public, or have exited. The team consists of over 190 members based in more than 25 countries, with experience as entrepreneurs, investors, and operators from leading technology companies.

500 Global

MI Ventures is a company which strives to advise and invest in creative, disruptive  business ventures.  MI Ventures participates in seed and series A rounds of investments to assist early stage companies in proving out their models and ideas that we hope better the world around us.

MI Ventures

Canary Ventures focuses on seed stage B2B software startups in New York City and Boston.

Canary Ventures

Great Oaks is an early-stage venture investment firm that invests in seed and series a investments in tech-based startups. It was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in New York.

Great Oaks Venture Capital

Bodley Group invests in seed or growth opportunities with compelling teams and a clear potential for outperformance. We seek to invest in companies with new proprietary technology, concept durability, clearly defined customer acquisition strategies, network effects and the potential for rapid growth. Most importantly, we target inspirational founders who are convinced of their plan for a different future and possess the fortitude to make their vision a reality. We have offices in St. Louis, Missouri and Palo Alto, California.

Bodley Group

Shoppable

Shoppable is a profitable technology company with a suite of e-commerce products surrounding Shoppable's patented, universal checkout API. Shoppable's solutions enable advertisers, retailers, and publishers to create shoppable sites, content, ads, videos, mobile apps, recipes, and other innovative commerce experiences. The company was founded in 2011 in San Francisco and is now headquartered in New York.

Shoppable is a company that offers a suite of products aimed at transforming websites into commerce-enabled experiences. Their flagship product, Shoppable DTC Lite, allows businesses to integrate ecommerce capabilities into their existing websites, enabling them to capture first-party data and fulfill orders through retail partners. Additionally, Shoppable offers Shoppable Instant Shop, which is currently in open beta. This product allows users to create digital shops on their websites or social media platforms, curating products from pre-integrated merchants and brands, and earning commissions on sales.

Nearly one-fourth of US adults have used shoppable commerce

Embeddable Commerce

Harnessing the power of social influence to fuel online sales

Social Commerce

Rollout of Shoppable® Checkout API™ Suite to Revolutionize Online Advertising for Agencies and Brands

Shoppable is a company that offers a suite of products aimed at transforming websites into commerce-enabled experiences. Their flagship product, Shoppable DTC Lite, allows businesses to integrate ecommerce capabilities into their existing websites, enabling them to capture first-party data and fulfill orders through retail partners. Additionally, Shoppable offers Shoppable Instant Shop, which is currently in open beta. This product allows users to create digital shops on their websites or social media platforms, curating products from pre-integrated merchants and brands, and earning commissions on sales.
Shoppable's technology facilitates seamless integration of ecommerce functionality, empowering businesses to monetize their online presence and tap into the growing trend of shoppable commerce. By allowing users to make purchases directly from videos, websites, or social media platforms, Shoppable aims to streamline the shopping experience and drive conversions.
In October 2023, a survey conducted by Bizrate Insights revealed that more than half of US adults had either used shoppable commerce or expressed interest in it, highlighting the potential for growth in this segment. The survey also indicated that shoppable commerce was particularly popular among male users aged 18 to 34.

Hootsuite is a social media management platform that allows users to schedule, publish, monitor, and analyze social media content across multiple networks from a unified dashboard. Its key product offerings include content scheduling tools, social media monitoring and analytics, team collaboration features, social listening capabilities, and integrations with various social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Hootsuite's core functionality revolves around the ability to streamline social media management processes by centralizing various social media activities into a single platform. Its scheduling tools enable users to plan and queue content for publishing across different social networks, while its monitoring features facilitate tracking brand mentions, competitor activities, and audience engagement. The platform's analytics tools provide insights into social media performance, aiding users in understanding the effectiveness of their social media strategies.
Hootsuite also emphasizes team collaboration by allowing multiple users to access and manage social media accounts, assign roles and permissions, and implement approval workflows for content publishing. Additionally, its social listening capabilities enable users to monitor conversations, trends, and keywords relevant to their brand or industry.
While Hootsuite offers a free trial and a limited free plan, its more advanced features are available through paid subscription plans, with pricing tiers ranging from the Professional plan at USD 99 per month (billed annually) to the Enterprise plan tailored for larger organizations with custom pricing.

Hootsuite

GRIN is a comprehensive influencer marketing platform designed to help brands manage their influencer programs efficiently. It streamlines the entire process, from identifying and recruiting suitable influencers to facilitating product seeding, campaign management, content tracking, and performance reporting. GRIN's key features include a vast creator database, advanced search capabilities, Shopify integration for seamless product fulfillment, automated communication workflows, and robust analytics tools.
GRIN's platform allows brands to discover and connect with influencers across various social media channels, including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. By leveraging GRIN's extensive database, brands can filter and search for influencers that align with their target audience and campaign goals. The platform's Shopify integration simplifies the process of sending products to influencers, creating trackable links, and generating discount codes.
Once influencers are on board, GRIN enables brands to create and manage campaigns, define deliverables, and automate communication sequences. The platform tracks influencer content, captures user-generated content (UGC), and provides detailed performance metrics, including engagement rates, conversions, and revenue generated. GRIN's reporting capabilities allow brands to analyze the success of their influencer campaigns and make data-driven decisions.
Key customers and partnerships
GRIN has collaborated with notable brands such as MVMT, a luxury watch company, Lume Cube, a specialty lighting brand, tentree, an apparel brand, Darn Good Yarn, Tubby Todd, and Hush Blankets. These partnerships demonstrate GRIN's ability to cater to diverse industries and support businesses in scaling their influencer marketing efforts.

GRIN

Bazaarvoice is a technology company that provides a Social Commerce AI suite, enabling brands to curate and showcase user-generated content across various social media platforms. Its flagship product, the Media Library, serves as a centralized hub for collecting, publishing, and managing social content from customers, influencers, partners, and the brand itself. This tool leverages AI-powered features to sort, tag, and prioritize high-performing media content, streamlining workflow and expediting legal approvals.
The company's Social Commerce AI suite offers a range of solutions to optimize social engagement and drive conversions. It generates on-brand photo captions, surfaces authentic user-generated content aligned with the brand's identity, and identifies top trends and themes for social media strategies. Bazaarvoice's Like2Buy solution allows brands to create shoppable Instagram and TikTok feeds, where visitors can browse products, read posts, and make purchases directly from the social storefront.
Additionally, Bazaarvoice's Showroom feature transforms photos and videos into interactive storefronts, enabling users to discover new products through visually appealing AI-powered experiences. This approach has proven effective, with 46% of Showroom visits converting to ecommerce sessions.
In terms of performance metrics, the company's solutions have demonstrated impressive results. Like2Buy visitors convert to ecommerce sessions at a rate of 59%, and these referred visitors tend to spend more time browsing, view more pages, and have higher average order values compared to average mobile consumers.

Bazaarvoice

NTWRK is a curated live video shopping platform that offers exclusive access to limited-edition products across various categories like sneakers, streetwear, collectibles, and more. It revolutionized the ecommerce industry by combining live streaming with online shopping, creating an engaging and interactive experience for consumers.
NTWRK's platform allows customers to watch live streams hosted by influencers, celebrities, or brand representatives who showcase and discuss the featured products. During these events, viewers can interact through live chat, ask questions, and make purchases seamlessly without leaving the video stream. This innovative approach provides transparency, fosters a sense of community, and creates a sense of urgency and exclusivity around the products on offer.
Since its inception in 2018, NTWRK has partnered with renowned artists, brands, and personalities such as Post Malone, Lewis Hamilton, BLACKPINK, and Takashi Murakami, offering their fans unprecedented access to exclusive collaborations and limited releases. The company has been at the forefront of the live stream shopping industry, which is estimated to reach USD 68 billion in sales by 2026 in the US alone.
In February 2024, NTWRK acquired the popular youth culture media company Complex, marking a significant step in its evolution. By merging Complex's content and reach with NTWRK's ecommerce platform, the combined entity aims to create a comprehensive digital hub for "superfan" culture, encompassing commerce, digital media, and music.
Key customers and partnerships
Through its strategic partnership with Universal Music Group (UMG), NTWRK gained access to industry-leading music labels like Interscope Geffen A&M (IGA) and Capitol Music Group. This collaboration allows NTWRK to deliver exclusive collaborations and cultural experiences directly to passionate music fans, deepening the connection between artists and their audiences.
Notable partnerships include exclusive collaborations with BLACKPINK x Murakami and the Interscope 30th Anniversary vinyl collection, featuring dialogues between visual artists like Damien Hirst, Kehinde Wiley, and Ed Ruscha, and iconic Interscope artists from the past three decades.

NTWRK

ShopShops is a live-shopping platform that allows hosts to showcase and sell products in real-time to viewers through livestreaming. The company primarily focuses on the fashion and lifestyle segment, offering pre-owned luxury and designer brands. ShopShops' business model involves connecting retail brands with creators, referred to as hosts, who can represent and sell the brands' products through live video sessions.
The platform operates as a three-sided marketplace, facilitating the interaction between brands, hosts, and consumers. Brands can hire hosts on an hourly or event basis to showcase their products during live streams, providing a personalized shopping experience to viewers. This approach aims to bridge the gap between traditional retail and ecommerce by replicating an offline shopping experience online.
ShopShops initially launched in China in 2017 and observed consumer behavior similar to the early adoption phase of live shopping in that market. The company entered the US market in 2022, recognizing the growth potential as American consumers become more receptive to this shopping format. ShopShops anticipates that by 2024, major US brands will incorporate live streaming into their marketing strategies, following a similar trajectory to the adoption of platforms like TikTok.
While live shopping in the US is expected to be more segmented across vertical categories compared to China's more centralized platforms, ShopShops believes its focus on the female fashion and lifestyle vertical positions it well for success. The platform aims to expand into other verticals such as home and arts in the future.

ShopShops

Platforms for creating, scheduling, and managing a brand or independent seller’s social media presence. A number of these platforms also provide AI-powered social listening and data analytics tools to gauge customer sentiment.

AI-powered tools for automatically monitoring and responding to customer queries across multiple social media channels.

Platforms for identifying and managing influencers to promote and sell products and services through social media.

Tools typically used by influencers to demonstrate and sell products and services via social media. The solutions are the digital equivalents of live teleshopping programs.

Platforms for curating and displaying customer reviews, recommendations, and product and service feedback on a brand or independent sellers' social media pages and websites.

Tools to create and implement instant shopping features to an image or video advertisement

Increases transparency of the effectiveness of social commerce by providing solutions for attribution and measurement

Relevant for social chatbots segment that uses AI/ML to provide automated responses to customers

Creates virtual assets for Metaverse stores and marketing on metaverse platforms

Social media platforms such as Snap are developing AR solutions for live shopping experiences

Shoppable

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