Uncategorized

June 30, 2020

Optoro’s Warehouse Recovery – A Story of Resilience

There is no playbook for what to do when your warehouse is hit by a tornado, or when the world is impacted by a pandemic. SJF portfolio company Optoro faced both at once. Resilience, persistence and drive allowed the company to persevere during the toughest challenges, and Optoro’s technology enabled […]

June 5, 2020

Black Lives Matter – SJF Ventures Statement of Support

We, like you, have been dealing with shock, sadness, frustration, and anger in the wake of the recent murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.  As with the cases of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and others, we know the unfortunate truth that for every George Floyd, there are an unknown number […]

April 21, 2020

SJF Ventures Cleantech Office Hours

SJF Ventures is offering Cleantech Open Office Hours from 10 am – 6 pm ET on Thursday, April 30 and Wednesday, May 13 to support growth-stage companies with the potential to rapidly scale in an economic recovery. During the office hours, cleantech entrepreneurs will present their investment opportunity or discuss […]

April 18, 2020

Coronavirus Proves Government is Important

Dave Kirkpatrick recently authored an article, Coronavirus Proves Government Is Important, that was first published in The Hill.  The column covers how attacks on government have weakened our response to the pandemic and climate crisis and highlights the urgent need for proficient and accountable governments to protect all citizens from these crises, […]

March 27, 2020

Vital Farms and Cooks Venture Discuss Effects of the Coronavirus on Food Systems

SJF Ventures portfolio companies Vital Farms and Cooks Venture were mentioned in the news talking about the effects of the Coronavirus.  The Washington Post discussed changing consumer habits with Vital Farms’ CEO, and The New York Times talked about food supply chain issues with Cooks Venture’s CEO. Stress-baking and hoarding […]

January 22, 2020

SJF Invests in Catalant Series E

Boston, Massachusetts, January 22, 2020 / PR Newswire / – Catalant Technologies today announced the close of $35 million of additional funding from its Series E equity round and expansion of its existing debt facility to scale its product offering and expand into new global markets. Catalant is a leading provider of software that […]

January 21, 2020

Optoro Publishes 2019 Impact Report

Each year, Optoro publishes an impact report outlining the company’s environmental and social impact achievements. Through its mission to make retail more sustainable by eliminating all waste from returns, on average in 2019, Optoro clients were able to keep 96% of returned and excess goods out of landfill. Additionally, the […]

January 14, 2020

Vital Farms Launches Traceability Initiative

January 14, 2020 / Triple Pundit / – Picture this: A chicken factory farm with overcrowded hens packed onto the cement floor with a higher risk for disease and without good-quality feed or even fresh air. Now, picture this: Family farms that provide their pasture-raised hens with plenty of feed, nutrients and […]

October 3, 2019

SJF Ventures Invests in Waycare

Los Angeles, California, October 3, 2019  / PRWeb / – Today Waycare, an AI-based connected mobility platform for transportation agencies, announced that it has raised $7.25 million in Series A funding led by SJF Ventures, with participation from UpWest, Next Gear Ventures, Innogy, Spider Capital, Goldbell, Zymestic Solutions, and janom. The new funding will drive Waycare’s expansion efforts […]

September 12, 2019

How This Immigrant Entrepreneur Built A $60 Million/Year Fulfillment Business

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, September 12, 2019  / Starter Story / Hello! Who are you and what business did you start? Hi! My name is Jan Bednar and I’m the CEO and founder of ShipMonk, a technology-driven fulfillment center based in South Florida. Our services are primarily geared towards B2C/eCommerce, subscription box, […]

August 5, 2019

Cleantech – A Forest of Funds

August 5, 2019 – (LinkedIn) – SJF Ventures has been investing in cleantech companies for 20 years. We have seen many funds come and go, most notably Silicon Valley funds that rushed in some years ago only to get burned. The incorrect media conclusion after that saga was ‘cleantech VC failed’. However, […]

June 11, 2019

20 Years of Impact – SJF Reflects on 20th Anniversary, Thanks Partners and Supporters

Please feel free to download our 20th celebration graphic via PDF.

May 22, 2019

HYLA President & CEO Named Finalist for EY Entrepreneur of The Year 2019 Southwest Division

May 22, 2019 / realwire / – HYLA Mobile, the world’s leading provider of software technology and services for mobile device trade-in and reuse solutions, announces that its President and CEO, Biju Nair, has been named as a finalist for 2019 EY Entrepreneur of The Year Southwest Division awards. This award recognizes […]

May 21, 2019

SJF Ventures Invests in Interplay Learning

Austin, Texas, May 21, 2019  / INTERPLAY LEARNING / – Interplay Learning, the leading provider of online training for skilled trades utilizing virtual reality (VR) and 3D simulations, today announced it has completed a $5.5 million Series A round of financing. S3 Ventures led the investment round with participation from SJF Ventures, […]

December 12, 2018

SJF Featured in Tideline and ICM White Paper: The Alpha in Impact

December 12, 2018 / TIDELINE / – New research from Tideline and Impact Capital Managers (ICM), a network of private fund managers committed to impact investing, shows that a social and environmental focus on investment management can, in fact, boost financial returns. The new white paper, titled The Alpha in Impact, […]

October 29, 2018

SJF Leads $10 Million Series A in ShipMonk

Deerfield Beach, Florida – October 29, 2018 – ShipMonk announced today it has closed a $10 million Series A financing round led by SJF Ventures with participation from Grotech Ventures, Supply Chain Ventures, and a strategic group of individual angel investors. The company will use the financing to continue its […]

September 4, 2018

Fit4D Raises Additional $4 Million To Fuel Growth and Product Innovation

New York / (PRWEB) / September 4, 2018 – Fit4D, a leading diabetes management technology services company based in New York City, announced an expansion financing led by existing investor SJF Ventures with new investors C&B Capital, Esther Dyson and North Haven Capital. Existing investors Blue Cross and Blue Shield of […]

August 31, 2018

Use electrons. Not too many. All clean.

August 31, 2018 – (LinkedIn) – I attended the Electrification 2018 EPRI conference last week in Long Beach. I came away inspired to further invest in ‘electrifying everything’ to reduce carbon emissions and enhance performance and employment.  But I was also schooled by utility experts on the challenges to the grid, […]

January 25, 2018

TransLoc Acquired by Ford

January 25, 2018 – TransLoc, a leading provider of transit technology, has been acquired by the Ford Smart Mobility Business Group. SJF Ventures, along with Fontinalis Partners, co-led an $8 million financing for TransLoc in March 2016. For more on that financing see: https://sjfventures.com/sjf-ventures-and-fontinalis-partners-co-lead-8-million-financing-for-transloc/. “We are thrilled about the merger of […]

November 9, 2017

EdLinks: Building Scalable Outcomes-Based Education Companies

New York, NY – As part of its EdLinks series, SJF Ventures hosted a panel discussion focused on building scalable outcomes-based education companies. SJF Managing Director Arrun Kapoor served as moderator, asking questions on the relationship among outcomes and return on investment, buyer purchasing decisions, efficacy measurement, customer partnerships and […]