Yieldbot Yieldbot, a digital media technology and marketplace that connects brands with active consumer intent announced it placed second on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500™, a ranking of the 500 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech companies in North America. Yieldbot, which delivers measured engagement and sales lift for brands across their…

Pressure from animal welfare groups and consumer interest in humane farming methods are fueling a quiet international race to develop technology that would end one of the egg industry’s most gruesome practices: the shredding to death of billions of newborn male chicks each year. Efforts are underway in North America and Europe to find an industrial-scale method to determine the gender…

SJF is proud to release its 2016 Impact Report, which highlights the organization’s impact strategy and portfolio company achievements across six impact objectives: mitigating climate change, conserving natural resources, increasing nutritious food & sustainable agriculture, improving education access & outcomes, enhancing health & wellness, and enabling greater economic access & quality job creation.  The report…

San Diego, CA, September 15, 2016 – Portfolium announced on Monday that it has raised $6.55M in Series A Financing, led by SJF Ventures. The funds will fuel expansion of Portfolium’s talent marketplace for students and cement it’s position as this generation’s bridge between higher ed and the job market. “In every classroom, in every city in…

In the Spotlight … For the third time in three years, SJF Ventures Managing Director Cody Nystrom backs a company focused on preventive health — one founded and led by Brenda Schmidt, and one that, Cody tells Women’s PE Briefs, is “orchestrating a dialogue,” between insurers, doctors, non-traditional health providers and patients, “that will be…

Solera Health Raises $4M To Battle Diabetes By Deborah Gage There are thousands of community organizations, from Weight Watchers International to the YMCA, that help people lose weight and live healthier lives. And there are 86 million people in the U.S. at risk of developing diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. But there has…

This Company Connects Your Fitbit to Your Doctor April 23, 2016, 11:00 AM EDT Validic is becoming a key player in “wearables.” You may never have heard of Validic, but if you’ve ever sent your doctor data from your Fitbit, smart scale, glucose meter or another wearable device or health tracker, chances are Validic was…

Vital Farms’ hens live the way birds are meant to: under open skies and grazing on organically maintained green pastures, all day, every day. In addition to enjoying nature’s all-natural salad diet, the girls get plenty of exercise and as a result, these happy hens lay delicious, nutritionally rich eggs with wonderfully thick and flavorful…

Read story.

Durham, N.C., March 31, 2016—TransLoc, a leading provider of transit technology, announced today that it has completed an $8 million round of financing. The round was co-led by SJF Ventures and Fontinalis Partners, with additional investments from Marc Benioff’s Efficient Capacity fund, Thomas McMurray and Patient Capital Collaborative (PCC), an impact fund affiliated with Investors’…

Food companies Aseptia and AmeriQual form relationship with asset transaction RALEIGH, N.C. – Food technology leader Aseptia has completed the sale of its manufacturing operations Wright Foods and Carolina Dairy to a newly formed subsidiary of AmeriQual Group Holdings. The sale, which was finalized in late February, transfers the assets of Wright Foods in Troy,…

“Got an A in Algebra? That’s Worth $120” Read the full story at The New York Times.

Since 2007, Austin-based organic egg producer Vital Farms Inc. has grown from a single operation in Southeast Austin to a network of 90 family-owned farms in six states. Read story.

NEW YORK, January 14, 2016 — Yieldbot today announced its highest annual revenue in company history. In 2015 the company experienced 150% growth from the previous year, and nearly a 1650% increase from 2013, its first full year of revenue. Q4 2015 also marked the first profitable quarter in the start-up’s history. The company’s 3-year…

Students embrace classroom program, complete millions of complex problems daily during 2014-15 school year Think Through Learning, creators of Think Through Math, a web-based math instructional system for grades 3 and above, announced today that students using the program across the U.S. have surpassed one billion math problems in the 2014-15 school year. More than…

“In Season of Returning, a Start-Up Tries to Find Homes for the Rejects” Read the full story at The New York Times.

The NJ Tech Council’s 19th annual Awards Celebration recognizes and celebrates tech and life sciences companies for their accomplishments in leadership, collaboration and innovation. Read Full Story on NJTC.org

NEXTracker is a designer and manufacturer of advanced single-axis solar photovoltaic trackers that offer lower costs, better performance and more flexibility for solar power plants of all sizes. In December 2014, SJF Ventures led a Series B financing for the company, resulting in $25 million of new equity and debt growth capital. The company grew…

EnerNOC, Inc. ENOC, +3.71% a leading provider of energy intelligence software (EIS), and technology company EnTouch Controls today announced a strategic partnership to deliver the full benefits of EIS to businesses that have large numbers of small footprint outlets, such as those in the national retail and food service industries. The combined offering, which has…

Last week I had the chance to toast Dan Shugar, CEO of NEXTracker, a global leader in tracking systems for solar power plants, such as the 70MW Javiera Solar project in Chile pictured above.    Since SJF Ventures led a Series B financing with the company in December 2014, Dan and his team grew the company…