Angel Investor Changing Business
Content
Meet The Network Of Angel
Meet The Network Of Angel Investors That's
Investors
That’s
Funding
The
Funding The Next Generation Of Progressive
Next
Of
StartupsGeneration
| Co.Exist: World changing
ideas and
Progressive Startups
innovation
1/25/13
Evernote Web
New
Ventures
sinking money into organizations that are disrupting
Friday,Media
January 25
2013, 3:18is
PM
the world of politics and citizen engagement, in the hopes of supporting
companies that are linking technology and change.
attr(title) attr(title)
The tiny size of New Media Ventures’ San Francisco office--there’s just enough space for a handful of
people--belies its big ambitions. As the first national network of angel investors sinking time and money
into organizations working on progressive change, NMV has made bets on promising companies and
nonprofits like Upworthy, NationalField, and Turbovote. NMV’s theory: New media and technology can
shake up the world of progressive politics and citizen engagement.
NMV’s roots lie in the Democracy Alliance, another initiative that funds progressive organizations (see
this Washington Post piece for a history on the alliance). NMV, however, is more focused on early-stage,
new media and tech-focused innovation--think the next MoveOn.org or Huffington Post. "For
philanthropists that wanted to invest in technology, the mechanism might look different than Democracy
Alliance Funding," says Christie George, director of New Media Ventures.
In 2010, George was hired as NMV’s first employee. She quickly began recruiting investors from within
the Democracy Alliance and elsewhere--"everything from entrepreneurs drinking the tech Kool-Aid to
philanthropists interested in impact investors to investors interested in being more political with their
money," she says. Today, NMV has a network of 60 investors around the country that have made
investments in 10 organizations, including the ones listed above.
George admits that the space NMV works in is still new and relatively unformed (she says that most
startups are still in the idea stage), but it has been pushed along by the interest in technology used during
the 2012 presidential election. Obama’s tech team in particular garnered attention for its effective
operation. "For us it’s a great thing because it means people are really thinking about what it means to
have top-tier technologists working for progressive change," says George.
NMV sees itself as having a role in growing the political impact investing space. As George explains, "It’s
https://www.evernote.com/view/b96b3088-9dd3-475c-8521-a0ec087c6930#st=p&n=b96b3088-9dd3-475c-8521-a0ec087c6930
1/4
1/25/13
Evernote Web
so new that
part of our
work is in
talking
about the
tensions
that exist
between
for-profit
capital and
progressive
political
impact.
We’re
giving
examples
of what
political
impact investing looks like."
For its first 10 investments, NMV sorted through over 300 applications. The successful ones had solid
revenue models and a technological bent. "The team is very important. … Having a team that can adapt,
be self-aware, and responsive to what the market is telling them. There were a whole bunch of
[applications] that were clearly not sustainable, that don’t have real business models, with people who
took nonprofit ideas and pasted them onto a business model," explains Mike Mathieu, an investor and
founding board member of New Media Ventures as well as the founder of FrontSeat.
NMV referred many of its rejected applicants to other investors who might be more appropriate--in line
with the network’s goal to build up the space even outside of its own investments.
One of the challenges for politically-minded organizations is to ensure that they can sustain themselves
even in campaign off years. At least one of NMV’s portfolio startups, NationalField, spun out of a national
political campaign (Obama '08). A tool for internal communications, NationalField now works with a
number of other organizations--including the Hub--as an alternative to enterprise social networks like
Yammer.
Not all of NMV’s investments spun out of political campaigns. Upworthy, a web platform designed to
spread meaningful content, has origins in the progressive new media space--co-founder Eli Pariser is
the former executive director of MoveOn.org--but that’s about it. "I had never done anything like this
before. [Cofounder Peter Koechley] had worked at the Onion, and I’ve worked at MoveOn, but a for-profit,
https://www.evernote.com/view/b96b3088-9dd3-475c-8521-a0ec087c6930#st=p&n=b96b3088-9dd3-475c-8521-a0ec087c6930
2/4
1/25/13
Evernote Web
mission-driven company was just a new project for us,"
says Pariser.
These days, Upworthy is enjoying lots of attention. It racked
up a $4 million funding round last fall, and as a Fast
Company profile recently pointed out, it’s growing faster
than Huffington Post or BuzzFeed did during comparable
periods. NMV started working with Upworthy early in the
process, before the site existed as it does today. "Some of
what has been really helpful from NMV is basic business
planning tools and ideas," says Pariser. "It’s a great combination of real resources and guidance on how
to get started, how this all works, and a very nurturing place for folks like us who have some fairly basic
questions."
In 2013, NMV plans to make at least a dozen investments; a dedicated nonprofit fund will also make
small grants. George and Mathieu believe that the political impact investing space will only continue to
grow. Says Mathieu: "After you’ve dusted off your Nate Silver profiles, the next thing we’re going to start
seeing is that there’s this whole cluster of companies and nonprofits using technology models to
influence how politics work."
Share
Tw eet
51
ARIEL SCHWARTZ
Ariel Schwartz is a Senior Editor at Co.Exist. She has contributed to SF Weekly, Popular
Science, Inhabitat, Greenbiz, NBC Bay Area, GOOD Magazine and more. Continued
Twitter Google+ Email
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
https://www.evernote.com/view/b96b3088-9dd3-475c-8521-a0ec087c6930#st=p&n=b96b3088-9dd3-475c-8521-a0ec087c6930
3/4
1/25/13
Evernote Web
FROM THE WEB
Nadav
Kander’s
Nudes
Challenge Our
Perception Of
Beautiful
Bodies
FROM THE WEB
America must
take knife to
sacred cows
RBS
Naked
Celebrities
Get Friendly
W ith Fish
Co.Exist
Emotional
Brand – W hy
Emotions Sell
Better Than
Discounts
Get Response
Co.Create
[?]
SHARE YOUR COMMENTS
Type your comment here.
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0 SHARED COMMENTS
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S
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Meet The Network Of Angel Investors That's
Investors
That’s
Funding
The
Funding The Next Generation Of Progressive
Next
Of
StartupsGeneration
| Co.Exist: World changing
ideas and
Progressive Startups
innovation
1/25/13
Evernote Web
New
Ventures
sinking money into organizations that are disrupting
Friday,Media
January 25
2013, 3:18is
PM
the world of politics and citizen engagement, in the hopes of supporting
companies that are linking technology and change.
attr(title) attr(title)
The tiny size of New Media Ventures’ San Francisco office--there’s just enough space for a handful of
people--belies its big ambitions. As the first national network of angel investors sinking time and money
into organizations working on progressive change, NMV has made bets on promising companies and
nonprofits like Upworthy, NationalField, and Turbovote. NMV’s theory: New media and technology can
shake up the world of progressive politics and citizen engagement.
NMV’s roots lie in the Democracy Alliance, another initiative that funds progressive organizations (see
this Washington Post piece for a history on the alliance). NMV, however, is more focused on early-stage,
new media and tech-focused innovation--think the next MoveOn.org or Huffington Post. "For
philanthropists that wanted to invest in technology, the mechanism might look different than Democracy
Alliance Funding," says Christie George, director of New Media Ventures.
In 2010, George was hired as NMV’s first employee. She quickly began recruiting investors from within
the Democracy Alliance and elsewhere--"everything from entrepreneurs drinking the tech Kool-Aid to
philanthropists interested in impact investors to investors interested in being more political with their
money," she says. Today, NMV has a network of 60 investors around the country that have made
investments in 10 organizations, including the ones listed above.
George admits that the space NMV works in is still new and relatively unformed (she says that most
startups are still in the idea stage), but it has been pushed along by the interest in technology used during
the 2012 presidential election. Obama’s tech team in particular garnered attention for its effective
operation. "For us it’s a great thing because it means people are really thinking about what it means to
have top-tier technologists working for progressive change," says George.
NMV sees itself as having a role in growing the political impact investing space. As George explains, "It’s
https://www.evernote.com/view/b96b3088-9dd3-475c-8521-a0ec087c6930#st=p&n=b96b3088-9dd3-475c-8521-a0ec087c6930
1/4
1/25/13
Evernote Web
so new that
part of our
work is in
talking
about the
tensions
that exist
between
for-profit
capital and
progressive
political
impact.
We’re
giving
examples
of what
political
impact investing looks like."
For its first 10 investments, NMV sorted through over 300 applications. The successful ones had solid
revenue models and a technological bent. "The team is very important. … Having a team that can adapt,
be self-aware, and responsive to what the market is telling them. There were a whole bunch of
[applications] that were clearly not sustainable, that don’t have real business models, with people who
took nonprofit ideas and pasted them onto a business model," explains Mike Mathieu, an investor and
founding board member of New Media Ventures as well as the founder of FrontSeat.
NMV referred many of its rejected applicants to other investors who might be more appropriate--in line
with the network’s goal to build up the space even outside of its own investments.
One of the challenges for politically-minded organizations is to ensure that they can sustain themselves
even in campaign off years. At least one of NMV’s portfolio startups, NationalField, spun out of a national
political campaign (Obama '08). A tool for internal communications, NationalField now works with a
number of other organizations--including the Hub--as an alternative to enterprise social networks like
Yammer.
Not all of NMV’s investments spun out of political campaigns. Upworthy, a web platform designed to
spread meaningful content, has origins in the progressive new media space--co-founder Eli Pariser is
the former executive director of MoveOn.org--but that’s about it. "I had never done anything like this
before. [Cofounder Peter Koechley] had worked at the Onion, and I’ve worked at MoveOn, but a for-profit,
https://www.evernote.com/view/b96b3088-9dd3-475c-8521-a0ec087c6930#st=p&n=b96b3088-9dd3-475c-8521-a0ec087c6930
2/4
1/25/13
Evernote Web
mission-driven company was just a new project for us,"
says Pariser.
These days, Upworthy is enjoying lots of attention. It racked
up a $4 million funding round last fall, and as a Fast
Company profile recently pointed out, it’s growing faster
than Huffington Post or BuzzFeed did during comparable
periods. NMV started working with Upworthy early in the
process, before the site existed as it does today. "Some of
what has been really helpful from NMV is basic business
planning tools and ideas," says Pariser. "It’s a great combination of real resources and guidance on how
to get started, how this all works, and a very nurturing place for folks like us who have some fairly basic
questions."
In 2013, NMV plans to make at least a dozen investments; a dedicated nonprofit fund will also make
small grants. George and Mathieu believe that the political impact investing space will only continue to
grow. Says Mathieu: "After you’ve dusted off your Nate Silver profiles, the next thing we’re going to start
seeing is that there’s this whole cluster of companies and nonprofits using technology models to
influence how politics work."
Share
Tw eet
51
ARIEL SCHWARTZ
Ariel Schwartz is a Senior Editor at Co.Exist. She has contributed to SF Weekly, Popular
Science, Inhabitat, Greenbiz, NBC Bay Area, GOOD Magazine and more. Continued
Twitter Google+ Email
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
https://www.evernote.com/view/b96b3088-9dd3-475c-8521-a0ec087c6930#st=p&n=b96b3088-9dd3-475c-8521-a0ec087c6930
3/4
1/25/13
Evernote Web
FROM THE WEB
Nadav
Kander’s
Nudes
Challenge Our
Perception Of
Beautiful
Bodies
FROM THE WEB
America must
take knife to
sacred cows
RBS
Naked
Celebrities
Get Friendly
W ith Fish
Co.Exist
Emotional
Brand – W hy
Emotions Sell
Better Than
Discounts
Get Response
Co.Create
[?]
SHARE YOUR COMMENTS
Type your comment here.
SIGNUP LOGIN
0 SHARED COMMENTS
https://www.evernote.com/view/b96b3088-9dd3-475c-8521-a0ec087c6930#st=p&n=b96b3088-9dd3-475c-8521-a0ec087c6930
S
4/4
