Locations:
Min Investment:
Max Investment:
Target Investment:
Total Funding: $4M
Total Funding: $5M
Total Funding: $12M
Total Funding: $24M
Total Funding: $23M
Total Funding: $15M
Total Funding: $1M
Total Funding: $7M
Total Funding: $9M
Total Funding: $8M
Total Funding: $160M
Total Funding: $56M
Total Funding: $9M
Total Funding: $37M
Total Funding: $29M
Total Funding: $17M
Total Funding: $36M
2022
2022
Today you talk. Tomorrow you Ramble. Get more out of your conversations. http://ramble.ai
2006
Nowadays, NextRoll helps thousands of customers as 1) an e-commerce growth platform (for SMBs/DNVBs to leverage ads, email and data onsite) and 2) an Account Based Advertising platform for B2B marketers to find and target customers. AdRoll was once the most widely used retargeting platform, helping brands of all sizes become successful online. I founded AdRoll, learned on the job as CEO, and still serve as a board member.
2005
2005
Direct investments (partial list): AngelList; CFS; Devoted Health; Diamond Foundry; Gusto; LendingHome; Minicircle; Mindbloom; Siren Care; Umbra; Vaire; Zipline; +LP ⇥ See more at http://angel.co/jhk Exits: Granify (Bazaar Voice acquired Mar 2023), Amplitude (IPO 2021); Atai Life Sciences (IPO 2021); SmartyPants Vitamins (Unilever acquired 2020); Shift (IPO 2020); Palantir (IPO 2020); Compass Pathways (IPO 2020); Looker (GOOG 2019); GitHub (MSFT acquired); Moat (ORCL acquired Apr 2017); Automatic (SiriusXM acquired Mar 2017); Swiftype (Elastic acquired Oct 2016); Pocket (Mozilla acquired Feb 2017); Tred (2022); LendingClub (IPO); TONX tonx.org (Blue Bottle Coffee acquired Mar 2014); SchoolMint (EdSurge/PE acquired Oct 2017); BitDeli (AdRoll acquired May 2013); Tiny Post (TRIP acquired Mar 2013); Indextank.com (LNKD acquired Oct 2011); Corona (Fuse Network acquired Oct 2014); SideCar www.side.cr (GM acquired license to the IP 2015) | Exited: Keen.io; Kamcord; RideJoy; Pocket Change; Lookmark, CardFlick/HireClub; Boxbe; FooPets; Iron.io; Monogram; Wove; Weld AI weldai.com; Valet Anywhere; Beep thisisbeep.com; MakeSpace/Clutter; Tempo Automation; Thread (thread.com)
2015 - 2021
2019 - 2021
Simply put: Avocado adds voice to Slack. Avocado is built for assigning different tasks to teammates quickly. It offers a faster, easier way to delegate/hand-off/collaborate on a specific task/assignment/reminder for somebody on your team... and meant for that moment of turning a free second into a productive one (in between meetings, driving in the car or walking between the office and the coffee shop). What makes Avocado unique is that it sets up an action item between you and anyone else on your team with a voice command, then tracks status and handles reminders automatically. When users want mobile/on-the-go productivity -- Avocado affords the simplicity of having task-assignment/completion integrated into work tools (Slack, email). As part of the "platform" we built individual "assists" and put them in the App Store to showcase newly achievable "voice outcomes": https://apps.apple.com/us/developer/sidekicks-inc/id1232518310
2019 - 2021
Meet Bounce, the "AI bouncer" that helps identify your callers. You see who's calling (via enhanced caller ID) and get added protection from robocallers/spammers with live screening. Bounce hooks up EnhancedID™ for free. === FOR CONSUMERS: Bounce gets its name because it can serve as your personal "bouncer" — it is a simple, powerful way for consumers to eliminate robocalls and screen calls live using a personal AI robot. By default Bounce routes robocallers to spam and lets good calls through. When users activate Bounce, the AI automatically lets through real calls from real people that you know, and screens unknown callers. Each member contributes to a community-powered network for caller identification, privacy and protection. Bounce makes your smart phone smarter with how it answers calls. Bounce is the only platform that supports live messaging of incoming calls. Bounce treats incoming calls as part of a natural communication flow. Bounce integrates with your phone line and adds a digital admin on your existing phone number. If your phone is a business tool, having your own personalized digital admin offers enhanced control over how your network reaches you. Stay productive or just get back to work. Bounce offers plans for business owners, travelers, executives, knowledge workers (designers, engineers, marketers), families, students and consumers. Bounce enables consumers to stay ahead of database marketers. It's a smarter, tougher, better way to receive calls.
2019 - 2021
EnhancedID - It's Caller ID For Every Phone Number. With EnhancedID the phone number can now show the name of the person calling and/or if they are verified and by how many verifiers. Like "Yelp reviews for valid phone numbers" -- but with no need for humans to write the review. Community-powered caller ID with #'s verified by real people/users. Our team designed and built a system to crawl the web and other sources to create a list of 120M verified US business phone numbers (growing ~10% per month, re-verifying weekly). What's the value? Assume you get a call from an unknown number, now with EnhancedID - you know what business/school/organization etc is calling EVEN when they are not in your address book.
2015 - 2021
Sidekicks is a startup studio working on voice technology. We have built the core technology behind numerous projects, and released several commercially: Avocado (PlusAvocado.com) - Most AI is built for handling commands -- Avocado is built to deliver outcomes. Whether it is for teamwork or your work, voice + transcription ensures tasks get done. It's an easier, faster, simpler way to communicate and get jobs done. Bounce (Meetbounce.com) - AI Robot that empowers users to screen their calls - know who is calling and why, via an interactive software robot that gathers information from callers and can answer callers questions. With Sidekicks Inc., our mission is to build at least one 'sidekick' for everyone. We think of "sidekicks" in the superhero-sense of the word... everyone should have their own trusty (AI) helper.
2012 - 2017
2012 - 2017
I'm spending time with ambitious and thoughtful founders, asking questions and helping with distribution, growth & strategy problems... in an "office hours" format. Plus, lending a hand when possible.
2015 - 2017
2015 - 2017
Nov 2017 BazaarVoice (NASDAQ: BV) announced Marlin Equity Partners would acquire the company in a take-private transaction. The deal closed Feb 2018. I was a Member of the board and the Nominating/Governance committee while BV was publicly traded. BV powers the reviews for many of the world's largest online retailers, increasing trust and safety for consumers that shop online. BV serves as a network to help brands & retailers deliver real reviews through syndication.
2012 - 2016
2012 - 2016
Get in touch through someone I know if you're looking to change the world and like to tinker/hack -- I aim to fund/start 1 maybe 2 companies per year from this applied research lab for technology-based products. We launched Worldly, www.worldly.com (wound down 2016)
2011 - 2012
2011 - 2012
Rearden acquired HomeRun as its local offers division in August 2011.
2009 - 2011
2009 - 2011
Founder/CEO at Homerun. Recruited an all star team. Raised capital (Series A, and B). Set strategy for company, including vision for our deals platform (OfferEngine). Reached over 100 million consumers at peak. Takeaways: Competitive space. Fun times. Fast ride. Didn't anticipate our direct competitor's access to unlimited capital. Acquired by Rearden Commerce Aug 2011.
2005 - 2006
2005 - 2006
Acquired by Google Aug 2010. "[Slide] offers people the ability to engage and have fun with one another using the relationships they've already developed on social networks like Facebook and MySpace. The social networks benefit from increased activity, advertisers benefit from an exuberant audience, and our users can just enjoy themselves (where they already like to hang out)."