Local sports technology start-up Vantage Sports won an opportunity to raise up to $500,000 in capital during the MaiTai Maui Tech Night event May 15 at the Maui Country Club in Paia. The capital-raising opportunity comes from CrowdAlliance, a new web-based equity crowdfunding platform that enables investors to view and subscribe to private investment offerings posted by issuers who are seeking capital for growth.
CrowdAlliance will post Vantage in its roster of equity-investment opportunities for those searching for early- and growth-stage investment opportunities. The prize allows Vantage the opportunity to raise up to $500,000 from eligible investors registered on the CrowdAlliance platform. As part of the crowdfund opportunity, Vantage will receive posting access, technology services, and potential network benefits from the platform that are typically beyond the budgets startups.
Vantage Sports provides its clients with insights in scouting, player analysis, and team development. Its data set, relevant video, and intuitive interfaces make advanced analytics for professional sports simple and actionable. Vantage products allow media and broadcast partners to tell better stories about the games, teams, and players they cover.
As a part of the CrowdAlliance platform, Vantage may benefit from technology services and transaction support including investor accreditation services and access to escrow services, in addition to the network of investors signed up to the website.
“It was an amazing experience to pitch at Maui Tech Night,” said Vantage Sports Founder and CEO Brett McDonald, a business and law graduate of UCLA. “Connecting the growing tech community of Hawaii with such an elite group of investors, founders and influencers benefits both groups.”
MaiTai Maui Tech Night, now in its second year, is hosted by Hawaii’s first incubator and tech fund, mbloom. Closing its first fund at $10m at the beginning of 2014, mbloom is an accelerator and co-working office for startups in the Hawaii tech space. The first organization of its kind on Maui, mbloom is run by two successful entrepreneurs, Arben Kryeziu and Nick Bicanic, who mentor select startups to help build their products, create strategic business plans, and get to the next milestone in their journeys.
“mbloom is the principal catalyst in creating depth in the community of technology focused entrepreneurs on Maui and across Hawaii,” said Bill Tai, Partner with Charles River Ventures and co-founder of MaiTai, a group of kiteboarding Silicon Valley venture capitalists and entrepreneurs. “The quality of participants, attendees and companies present at Maui Tech night was fantastic.”
More than 300 movers and shakers from the local technology, business, and government scenes mixed with the North Shore’s top ocean sports talent in a meeting of creative and entrepreneurial minds during the event. Guests heard speeches from Tai; mbloom co-founder Bicanic; Karl Fooks, President of the Hawaii Strategic Development Corporation; and State Representative Kaniela Ing.
Other finalists for the capital raising campaign included Ikehu, a system that encourages non-peak energy consumption; Livesift, a provider of collaboration and engagement software for meetings and live events; Happy Hour Pal, a mobile app that delivers detailed happy hour promotions to users; Gibi, a mobile app that prevents lost pets; Juicies, a mobile power solutions brand; and Quic, a company that promises to enhance and monetize its user social media content.
Photo: Bryan Berkowitz
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