Boston's new early-stage venture capital firm Launch Angels announced on Monday it has signed off on its first in a series of $1 million funds from individuals tied to the PayPal-acquired WHERE Inc.
This initial fund, coined the WHERE Angels Fund, will be put toward fledgling companies within the mobile and consumer Internet space. The firm plans to invest the funding in startups from equity crowdfunding sites, made possible by the recent regulation changes around this type of funding.
Location-powered mobile tech company WHERE was acquired by PayPal in April 2011 for $135 million. As a result, PayPal gained an office and team in Boston, rebranding the company as the PayPal Media Network.
Heading up Launch Angels is CEO Shereen Shermak, the former co-founder of local financial tech startup BuysideFX and VP at State Street and Fidelity. Shermak is currently working out of PayPal's startup incubator StartTank in downtown Boston.
Launch Angels is currently in the process of securing its second and third funds, to be dubbed the Early Traction Fund and the Woman-Led Fund.
We've been in conversation with the folks over at Launch Angels and WHERE Inc., so stay tuned for an in-depth report on what the city's new VC has planned for 2014 in the following week.
