Author: OurCrowd

OurCrowd’s portfolio company BillGuard featured in Forbes

Nov 21, 2014 | ,

OurCrowd portfolio company BillGuard was featured in Forbes, a leading business and finance magazine. BillGuard identifies fraud and “grey” charges, which cost consumers over $25B annually, by analyzing crowdsourcing transaction data from its millions-strong user base. BillGuard, which offers free monitoring of credit and debit card activity and notifies users of fraud and unauthorized charges, has partnered with the identity theft prevention of Experian to provide a comprehensive service for consumers whose cards may have been compromised in data breaches like Target and Home Depot. The partnership with Experian will give BillGuard huge new reach. A graduate of the New York City Fintech Innovation Lab sponsored by the Partnership Fund for New York City and Accenture, the company has worked closely with banks who appreciate the service but balked at actually offering it to their customers, said CEO Yaron Samid, founder and CEO. BillGuard raised $3,896,064 from OurCrowd investors in August 2014. Read more on...

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The Story of Medved: An exclusive interview with the Startup Nation’s leading venture capitalist

The Story of Medved: An exclusive interview with the Startup Nation’s leading venture capitalist

Nov 20, 2014 | , , ,

How a secular American student at Berkeley became an Orthodox Jewish Israeli businessman in Jerusalem: The story of Jon Medved, named as “the American citizen who has the greatest influence on the Israeli economy” ─ though he defines himself as exclusively Israeli. Source: This blog post includes translated excerpts of the original article by Ayelet Vardi  which was featured in Israel’s leading daily newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth:  The Story of Medved (Hebrew) “My grandfather came to the US from the Ukraine in 1910,” recalls Jon Medved, CEO and Founder of the VC-equity crowdfunding investment company OurCrowd, in an interview at his Jerusalem office. His speech is a natural mix of English and Hebrew, with some Spanish colloquialisms thrown in. Dressed in an orange and red Hawaiian shirt ─ and with a style that conveys complete calm and confidence ─ Medved breaks every known stereotype about Orthodox Jewish American men who live in Jerusalem. “He was a barrel maker. I know that sounds like the work of an ordinary laborer, but the work of a barrel maker is not simple at all. You needed...

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OurCrowd’s portfolio company BillGuard featured in CBS MoneyWatch

Nov 19, 2014 | ,

OurCrowd portfolio company BillGuard was featured in CBS MoneyWatch,  a division of CBS News and personal finance website that provides advice on retirement, investing, savings, career and real estate. BillGuard identifies fraud and “grey” charges, which cost consumers over $25B annually, by analyzing crowdsourcing transaction data from its millions-strong user base. Since Target’s (TGT) massive breach last December, more than 100 million card holders have had their data stolen. BillGuard, which offers an app that allows consumers to monitor for fraudulent activity, expects more data breaches at retailers this season. “This is like the last hurrah for hackers to go after retailers who are using magnetic-strip credit cards,” Samid told CBS MoneyWatch. “There are three certainties in life: death, taxes and data breaches. If you are a holiday shopper, go into holiday shopping season assuming your card will be compromised in a credit breach and act accordingly.” BillGuard raised $3,896,064 from OurCrowd investors in August 2014. Read more on CBS...

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Trenches to Traction: How Israel’s elite intelligence unit powers the Startup Nation

Trenches to Traction: How Israel’s elite intelligence unit powers the Startup Nation

Nov 19, 2014 | ,

OurCrowd launched a new webinar series called ‘Teach-In Tuesdays’. In this series, we’ll explore investing in early-stage Israeli companies, identify and explain influential tech trends, stay up-to-date with the crowdfunding industry, and examine actionable insights from our own experience running OurCrowd’s investment platform. Yesterday, we held a webinar as part of the OurCrowd Teach-In Tuesdays series on the Israeli military intelligence unit that drives the Startup Nation’s high-tech industry. This elite technology unit’s alumni who enter into the civilian market have earned a reputation for their unique entrepreneurial skills and for creating outstanding, successful, and innovative startups. Topics covered in the webinar: How Unit 8200 helped transform the basis of Israel’s economy and drives the startup ecosystem The skills acquired from serving in Unit 8200 and how alumni apply them for the entrepreneurial world Success stories of Unit 8200 alumni Sage advice from experienced Unit 8200 alumni-turned-entrepreneurs Featured expert: Gadi Mazor, CTO and General Partner at OurCrowd, and Unit 8200 alum.     ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: To stay updated on future events and the best news from the Startup Nation, sign up for our newsletter, email us, and follow us on social media. To contact Zack Miller, follow him on Linkedin / Twitter To...

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