Empire Angels

Empire Angels is a member-led angel group and investment fund based in New York City and London, founded in 2012. The organization consists of experienced young professionals who focus on investing in early-stage technology ventures, particularly those led by young entrepreneurs. Empire Angels emphasizes a collaborative and open-source approach, providing a democratic framework for its members. The firm targets investments across various industries, including education, financial services, media, e-commerce, entertainment, mobile, and information technology. By offering highly filtered deal flow and member training, Empire Angels aims to nurture the entrepreneurial spirit of its members while supporting the next generation of innovators.

Graham Gullans

Co-Founder, Founding Managing Director

Christina Bechhold Russ

Co-Founder and Partner

32 past transactions

Enertiv

Grant in 2021
Enertiv, Inc. is a digital energy company based in New York that specializes in energy efficiency solutions for the real estate sector and related markets. Founded in 2011, the company focuses on optimizing building operations by transforming data into actionable insights. Enertiv's platform collects and analyzes data from various sources, supplemented by IoT devices, to monitor critical equipment, tenant spaces, and indoor environmental conditions. This comprehensive approach allows property owners and operators to identify inefficiencies and reduce waste in their operating expenses. By streamlining operations and enhancing performance, Enertiv empowers its clients to make informed, data-driven decisions that enhance asset value and improve tenant health.

Superpedestrian

Series C in 2019
Superpedestrian, Inc. is a transportation robotics company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that specializes in the development of lightweight electric vehicles, particularly electric scooters and bikes. Founded as a spin-off from MIT, the company has invested over five years in creating its proprietary Vehicle Intelligence system, which enhances the safety, reliability, and performance of its products. The flagship product, the Copenhagen Wheel, serves as a platform for developers to create various applications, while the LINK scooter, designed for shared fleets, employs this advanced technology to autonomously monitor and address potential malfunctions. This system allows the scooters to detect issues like battery fires and brake failures in real-time, significantly reducing the likelihood of accidents and operational downtime. By automatically disabling scooters that cannot self-protect and generating detailed service tickets, Superpedestrian improves rider safety and reduces maintenance costs for fleet operators. The company sells its products through retailers and online, operating in multiple markets across the U.S. and Europe.

Zoomcar

Debt Financing in 2018
Zoomcar India Private Ltd. is a prominent self-drive car rental service based in Bengaluru, India. Founded in 2012, the company offers a wide range of vehicles, including SUVs, luxury cars, electric cars, and sedans, available for rent by the hour, day, week, or month. Zoomcar operates an online platform that allows customers to easily book cars using their mobile phones, providing a hassle-free rental experience. With approximately 21,000 vehicles registered on its platform, Zoomcar primarily generates revenue from short-term self-drive rentals and vehicle subscriptions, with the majority of its business concentrated in India. The company also has a strategic partnership with Godrej Consumer Products Limited and has expanded its operations to several countries, including Egypt, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

Weven

Angel Round in 2018
Mayflower Venues' platform and proprietary event planning software enable nontraditional event spaces (farms, family estates, orchards etc.) to market, book, coordinate and host custom weddings (or events) for couples who demand more unique and customizable venues. Mayflower venues are meant to enable creativity. We leverage cutting edge technologies to onboard venues in a way that lets couples plan and coordinate these custom setups online. Our proprietary Mayflower Venues app collects the data to generate venue specific schematics and planning tools that simplify the logistics -- like finding vendors in your area, telling the caterer how many feet of hose or electric cord they will need, or making sure the tent is set up where you want it. Mayflower empowers couples to create a truly personalized wedding while at the same time delivering new revenue to rural properties so they can remain “open” for generations to come. No other companies offer such unique, off-the-beaten-path spaces for events or such powerful venue specific remote planning tools to coordinate custom the events there. At Mayflower Venues, we are doing both.

Fundation

Debt Financing in 2018
Fundation Group LLC is a digital credit lending platform based in Reston, Virginia, that connects financial institutions with small businesses to facilitate access to working and growth capital. Founded in 2011, the company partners with a variety of banks and B2B vendors to enhance the credit delivery process through technology and advanced analytics. Fundation offers a range of services, including outsourced lending, referral programs, and point-of-sale financing solutions. Its platform is designed to simplify the borrowing experience and streamline loan and deposit origination workflows for small and medium-sized businesses. By focusing on innovation, Fundation aims to empower its partners to better serve their small business clients, thereby strengthening the small business economy.

Orionis Biosciences

Series B in 2018
Orionis Biosciences operates in the healthcare industry focusing on the biotechnology business and innovation. The company is an early-stage drug discovery and development biotechnology company fueled by a suite of disruptive technologies to advance innovative medicines for the treatment of diseases with high unmet medical needs – with an initial internal focus in oncology and immunotherapies. Orionis Biosciences has research facilities in the Boston area (Headquarters in Waltham, MA, USA) and Ghent (Belgium), and is operated by a world class team of entrepreneurs, scientists and transatlantic network of investors, in concert with strategic research and development collaborations. The latter includes collaborations with VIB (Belgium), Orionis Biosciences co-founding institution.

Mirow

Convertible Note in 2018
Mirow LLC is a New York-based company that specializes in manufacturing smart mirrors for fitting rooms in the retail and hospitality sectors. Founded in 2016, Mirow's innovative mirrors enhance the shopping experience by offering features such as interactive touch screens, personalized recommendations, and the ability to request assistance or items in different sizes and colors. These smart mirrors also provide information on discounts and enable customers to engage with rewards programs. Mirow's solutions leverage AI-driven technology to improve service quality and generate valuable insights into customer behavior. The company has gained recognition in the industry, having been featured in notable publications, and serves a diverse clientele, including top-tier brands, while actively expanding its presence in both the US and European markets.

Popsy

Angel Round in 2018
Popsy is one the fastest growing AI-powered mobile application to buy & sell locally building the next generation of classifieds. You can buy everything from electronics, to baby clothing, housing, cars and furniture. Using Artificial Intelligence, selling any item is as simple as taking a photo. Popsy's image recognition technology suggests in real time a title, price and category.
Farmer Willie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer based on the secret, homemade recipe of Farmer Willie Fenichel.

Enertiv

Seed Round in 2017
Enertiv, Inc. is a digital energy company based in New York that specializes in energy efficiency solutions for the real estate sector and related markets. Founded in 2011, the company focuses on optimizing building operations by transforming data into actionable insights. Enertiv's platform collects and analyzes data from various sources, supplemented by IoT devices, to monitor critical equipment, tenant spaces, and indoor environmental conditions. This comprehensive approach allows property owners and operators to identify inefficiencies and reduce waste in their operating expenses. By streamlining operations and enhancing performance, Enertiv empowers its clients to make informed, data-driven decisions that enhance asset value and improve tenant health.

Zest Tea

Seed Round in 2017
They (Rickey and James) started Zest tea because they love quality tea, but they also love the energizing boost they get from a cup of joe. Yes, most teas have some caffeine, but sometimes some doesn't cut it. You know those mornings. They were sick of trading in their delicious, healthy, tea, for that sludge they call coffee at the office, so they set out to find quality energizing tea. Unfortunately, they didn't exist. Instead of whimpering and moving on (well maybe a little whimpering) they starting making their own blends of caffeine infused teas using their favorite high quality blends.

Kenzen

Seed Round in 2016
Kenzen, Inc. specializes in developing personal health wearables, notably the Kenzen ECHO, a wireless smart patch designed for health and performance monitoring. This innovative patch offers personalized health insights and notifications that aid in improving performance, recovery, and injury prevention. The ECHO system includes components such as disposable patch sensors, a USB charging cable, and a mobile application that provides real-time data on users' performance and health. Kenzen's technology serves various sectors, including industrial environments, where it helps monitor vital signs to prevent heat-related injuries and over-exertion. The company, founded in 2014 by Sonia Sousa and Steve Pecko, operates from San Francisco, California, and distributes its products through various channels, including resellers and retail locations.

Enertiv

Seed Round in 2016
Enertiv, Inc. is a digital energy company based in New York that specializes in energy efficiency solutions for the real estate sector and related markets. Founded in 2011, the company focuses on optimizing building operations by transforming data into actionable insights. Enertiv's platform collects and analyzes data from various sources, supplemented by IoT devices, to monitor critical equipment, tenant spaces, and indoor environmental conditions. This comprehensive approach allows property owners and operators to identify inefficiencies and reduce waste in their operating expenses. By streamlining operations and enhancing performance, Enertiv empowers its clients to make informed, data-driven decisions that enhance asset value and improve tenant health.

Zoomcar

Series B in 2016
Zoomcar India Private Ltd. is a prominent self-drive car rental service based in Bengaluru, India. Founded in 2012, the company offers a wide range of vehicles, including SUVs, luxury cars, electric cars, and sedans, available for rent by the hour, day, week, or month. Zoomcar operates an online platform that allows customers to easily book cars using their mobile phones, providing a hassle-free rental experience. With approximately 21,000 vehicles registered on its platform, Zoomcar primarily generates revenue from short-term self-drive rentals and vehicle subscriptions, with the majority of its business concentrated in India. The company also has a strategic partnership with Godrej Consumer Products Limited and has expanded its operations to several countries, including Egypt, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

Juno

Series A in 2016
Juno USA, LP is a New York-based company that develops a mobile application designed to connect drivers with passengers seeking rides. Launched in spring 2016, the app focuses on providing a competitive and sustainable alternative within the ride-sharing market by prioritizing driver welfare and experience. Juno exclusively recruits drivers who have previously worked for established platforms and have demonstrated high ratings, ensuring quality service for users. Additionally, the application facilitates the arrangement and scheduling of transportation through third-party providers, enhancing its utility for customers. As of April 2017, Juno operates as a subsidiary of Gett, Inc.

BEGiN

Series B in 2016
BEGiN is an education technology company focused on creating engaging learning products for young children. It aims to enhance early childhood education by offering a library of interactive stories designed to foster a love for reading while developing essential skills. The company has established partnerships with notable children's brands such as Sesame Workshop, LEGO Ventures, Gymboree Play and Music, and Fisher-Price, further enriching its educational offerings. Co-founded by Neal Shenoy, Noelle Millholt, and Stephanie Dua, BEGiN has received recognition as one of Crain’s 100 Best Places to Work in New York City. Its flagship product, Speakaboos, provides a reading application that features bedtime stories, nursery rhymes, and songs, contributing to its mission of delivering high-quality education to children everywhere.

BEGiN

Series B in 2016
BEGiN is an education technology company focused on creating engaging learning products for young children. It aims to enhance early childhood education by offering a library of interactive stories designed to foster a love for reading while developing essential skills. The company has established partnerships with notable children's brands such as Sesame Workshop, LEGO Ventures, Gymboree Play and Music, and Fisher-Price, further enriching its educational offerings. Co-founded by Neal Shenoy, Noelle Millholt, and Stephanie Dua, BEGiN has received recognition as one of Crain’s 100 Best Places to Work in New York City. Its flagship product, Speakaboos, provides a reading application that features bedtime stories, nursery rhymes, and songs, contributing to its mission of delivering high-quality education to children everywhere.

Mah Ze Dahr

Seed Round in 2016
Conceived, built and run by lovers and purveyors of food, Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery transports the curious on a delectable journey of mystery and desire that will elevate the baked good to a piece of comforting decadence that can be experienced every day. In Urdu, the word mazedar describes the taste essence of food, its flavor and magic that make it delicious. This one word captures the life of a taste experience, unique to each person but cohesive in its stories. It represents something that one cannot describe but wants to experience over and over again. Like the meaning of Mah-Ze-Dahr, the bakery is a culmination of years of traveling the world and experiencing people through their food, decades of culinary and restaurant experience, and the staunch belief that what you eat changes who you are.

Imperative

Seed Round in 2015
Imperative Group, Inc. specializes in developing assessment and learning systems that help individuals discover and apply their intrinsic motivations and purpose in their work. The company offers a platform that connects employees as peer coaches, fostering new mindsets and behaviors within organizations. Key offerings include the Certified Purpose Leaders program, which equips employees with training, tools, and resources to integrate purpose into talent strategies, and the Individual Purpose Profile, designed to help employees identify their personal purpose. Additionally, the Team Purpose Profile assesses dominant drivers within teams, while the Purpose Hiring Coach provides insights into candidate motivations. The platform facilitates career development, team building, talent acquisition, and diversity initiatives, while making coaching more accessible and cost-effective for a larger number of employees. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Seattle, Imperative serves a varied clientele, including companies like Sony Music, MetLife, Zillow, and Airbnb.

Zoomcar

Venture Round in 2015
Zoomcar India Private Ltd. is a prominent self-drive car rental service based in Bengaluru, India. Founded in 2012, the company offers a wide range of vehicles, including SUVs, luxury cars, electric cars, and sedans, available for rent by the hour, day, week, or month. Zoomcar operates an online platform that allows customers to easily book cars using their mobile phones, providing a hassle-free rental experience. With approximately 21,000 vehicles registered on its platform, Zoomcar primarily generates revenue from short-term self-drive rentals and vehicle subscriptions, with the majority of its business concentrated in India. The company also has a strategic partnership with Godrej Consumer Products Limited and has expanded its operations to several countries, including Egypt, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

Zoomcar

Series A in 2014
Zoomcar India Private Ltd. is a prominent self-drive car rental service based in Bengaluru, India. Founded in 2012, the company offers a wide range of vehicles, including SUVs, luxury cars, electric cars, and sedans, available for rent by the hour, day, week, or month. Zoomcar operates an online platform that allows customers to easily book cars using their mobile phones, providing a hassle-free rental experience. With approximately 21,000 vehicles registered on its platform, Zoomcar primarily generates revenue from short-term self-drive rentals and vehicle subscriptions, with the majority of its business concentrated in India. The company also has a strategic partnership with Godrej Consumer Products Limited and has expanded its operations to several countries, including Egypt, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

Socure

Series A in 2014
Socure Inc. specializes in digital identity verification solutions through its Socure ID+ platform, which utilizes predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to authenticate identities in real-time. The platform aggregates data from various online and offline sources, such as emails, phone numbers, and social media, to support compliance with customer identification programs, know your customer guidelines, and anti-money laundering regulations. In addition to the Socure ID+ platform, the company offers tools like Aida, an AI-driven bot for identity validation, Docv for document verification, and Sigma Synthetic Fraud, which addresses synthetic identity fraud. Socure enhances financial inclusion by approving a significant percentage of millennial and thin-file consumers while substantially reducing fraud in online account openings. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in New York, Socure serves a diverse clientele, including software firms, financial institutions, and integration partners, and has established a strategic partnership with ForgeRock.

The Infatuation

Seed Round in 2014
The Infatuation is a website, app, newsletter, and recommendation platform designed for finding the perfect restaurant for every situation. The Infatuation doesn't take restaurant comps, doesn't take invites, and always tells it like it is. The platform operating in New York, Los Angeles, London, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Atlanta, Washington DC, Austin, and other major cities in US.

LiftMetrix

Seed Round in 2014
LiftMetrix, Inc. is a business-to-business and business-to-consumer e-health company based in New York, specializing in social media marketing analytics. The company provides an innovative platform that transforms social media data into actionable insights, allowing clients to measure the return on their social media investments effectively. LiftMetrix offers customized social media marketing plans aligned with specific business objectives, moving beyond basic analytics to deliver deeper business intelligence. Its services include web-based tools for cancer care management, clinical information systems, and data warehousing support, catering to health plan members and various stakeholders in the healthcare sector. Through its comprehensive approach, LiftMetrix aims to maximize the effectiveness of social marketing campaigns and ensure that investments in this area yield measurable business impact.

StatSocial

Angel Round in 2013
StatSocial is a provider of social data that assists brands, publishers, and agencies in understanding, segmenting, and targeting their online audiences. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in New York City, the company offers audience intelligence software that uncovers detailed demographic information about social media users, including gender, income, education, race, and location. This platform allows marketers and media professionals to identify potential consumer prospects effectively and evaluate the success of their marketing campaigns by utilizing insights derived from social audience data.

weeSpring

Angel Round in 2013
weeSpring Inc. is a social shopping platform founded in 2012 and based in New York, New York, specifically designed for new and expecting parents. The platform allows users to seek and share advice on baby products, enabling them to gain insights into the gear their friends love, regret purchasing, or wish to buy. By facilitating comparisons of products within specific categories, such as bottles, strollers, and diapers, weeSpring empowers parents to share their personal experiences and recommendations. This approach helps users make informed decisions about baby essentials based on trusted advice from their social circles.

Zoomcar

Seed Round in 2013
Zoomcar India Private Ltd. is a prominent self-drive car rental service based in Bengaluru, India. Founded in 2012, the company offers a wide range of vehicles, including SUVs, luxury cars, electric cars, and sedans, available for rent by the hour, day, week, or month. Zoomcar operates an online platform that allows customers to easily book cars using their mobile phones, providing a hassle-free rental experience. With approximately 21,000 vehicles registered on its platform, Zoomcar primarily generates revenue from short-term self-drive rentals and vehicle subscriptions, with the majority of its business concentrated in India. The company also has a strategic partnership with Godrej Consumer Products Limited and has expanded its operations to several countries, including Egypt, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

basno

Series A in 2013
Basno, Inc. is a New York-based company that offers an online platform for creating, collecting, and distributing digital badges. Founded in 2010, Basno enables individuals and businesses to design badges that symbolize various achievements, skills, and commitments. These digital badges serve as a form of recognition, allowing badge owners to showcase their accomplishments to friends, family, and professional networks.

Crave

Seed Round in 2013
Crave.io Inc. is a developer of a software infrastructure platform aimed at enhancing engineering productivity for software and chip design engineers. Established in 2016 and located in Sunnyvale, California, the company focuses on improving the development process by providing migration services, parallelized compilation, and pipeline consistency. Additionally, Crave.io offers tools that facilitate the creation of personal applications for digital creators and influencers, allowing them to co-create, collaborate, and engage with their audiences more effectively. The platform is designed to accelerate builds and testing on shared servers, thereby fostering efficiency in remote work environments.

Zoomcar

Convertible Note in 2013
Zoomcar India Private Ltd. is a prominent self-drive car rental service based in Bengaluru, India. Founded in 2012, the company offers a wide range of vehicles, including SUVs, luxury cars, electric cars, and sedans, available for rent by the hour, day, week, or month. Zoomcar operates an online platform that allows customers to easily book cars using their mobile phones, providing a hassle-free rental experience. With approximately 21,000 vehicles registered on its platform, Zoomcar primarily generates revenue from short-term self-drive rentals and vehicle subscriptions, with the majority of its business concentrated in India. The company also has a strategic partnership with Godrej Consumer Products Limited and has expanded its operations to several countries, including Egypt, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

Human Demand

Series A in 2013
Founded February 2012, Human Demand is the leading independent mobile Demand Side Platform (DSP) & Data Management Platform (DMP) company providing mobile audience solutions to advertisers. As a Demand Side Platform (DSP), Human Demand offers agencies and trading desks the industry’s most robust real-time bidding (RTB) self serve platform for mobile ads. The Company leverages its proprietary technology platform to bid on and serve advertisements across all Mobile Ad Exchanges. As a Data Management Platform (DMP), the Company enriches the typical undifferentiated mobile display and video inventory in real time and makes it intensely more valuable. The Company delivers targeted mobile audiences at scale through its proprietary "AppAudience" data, superior location insights, campaign optimization, and visual analytics. Human Demand has a team of 18 and is headquartered in New York City.

MyDROBE

Seed Round in 2012
MyDROBE's smartphone application solves two problems that everyone faces on a daily basis: what am I going to wear and what products should I buy. Based on the user's style and the brands that they like, MyDROBE creates the ultimate taste graph in fashion to power it's Personalized Recommendation Engine to suggest products to buy, outfits to wear, and other people to follow. By simplifying, enhancing and personalizing the users experience, MyDROBE takes the war out of your wardrobe.
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