Alltopstartups » STARTUPS

Key Legal Considerations For Startups

Thomas Oppong — Tue, 22 May 2012 21:08:57 +0000

It’s important to set up all the legal structures of your business right from the beginning to avoid running into problems going forward. If you are running a lean startup or bootstrapping your business, you can consult a business law firm or starup lawyer to help you put together the proper legal framework for your new business. This way, you will protect your business now and in the future. A startup lawyer advice becomes even more crucial if you intend to seek funds from angels or venture capitalists.

The simple legal consideration here is that do not front-load unnecessary legal expenses at the beginning. When you are ready for a meaningful launch, though, do your setup properly and make sure the right legal structure covers everything you need now and in the future.

The basci key consideraions of every startup includes ownership and funding / entity formation, Intellectual property and Internal staffing / HR. Mergers and acquisitions and Litigation will come later if you survive the first year of operation. If you intend to rely on a term sheet generator from the beginning, you can heard over to wsgr (provider of legal services for technology businesses) for a customised venture financing term sheet.

If you intend to tackle intellectual property right from the beginning, make sure your lawyer (or their firm) has real IP experience – general practice lawyers without good tech experience may not be sufficiently familiar with the issues.

If you have received some kind of great news — your startup just got accepted to an incubator! Relax, don’t hurry to sign the term sheets yet. Before your startup signs up and cashes that $[XX,000] check, you should sit down and evaluate the incubator’s offer. The key considerations to look out for are: Pre-money valuations, Investment Structure(stock options), take a good look at the office Space and make sure you are comfortable creating a business or building a culture in that space, find out when mentorship and other benefits end and reach out to prior incubated companies.

There are countless legal resources out there for you and your education about legal structures for startups, make the most of them when you start your business. If you already own a business, you can share with us how you deal with your business’ legal framework.

Startups: 5 Things You Should Never Outsource, And A Few You Should

Guest Author — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:18:04 +0000

Whether well funded or on a shoestring budget, financial accountability is the name of the game for all startups, regardless of industry. In streamlining operations, there are some functions that should remain in house, and a few that are best left to experts outside the company – in other words, roles and responsibilities that make good business sense to outsource. Some may be logical, or even obvious, and some may be things seldom considered when outsourcing comes to mind.

Let’s start with intrinsic company roles that should always remain internal:

Executive leadership. Why leadership with no “skin in the game” is not smart: this may seem like a no-brainer, but some startups may bring on serial entrepreneurs or even venture capitalists that do not possess the same vision for the company as the founders. Executive leadership for startups should be lean and uncomplicated. The more cooks in the kitchen can mean a muddled future for a once bright operation.

Marketing and Sales. Having one dedicated marketing director to manage campaigns in key to early promotion and success, and sales execs keep your pipeline full. Quite simply, marketing and sales are the lifeblood of your company’s profits. Innovative and bright marketers are worth their weight in gold, and the same can be said for skilled salespeople. Develop robust bonus and commission programs that attract the best talent and will make pay more performance based than a set salary.

Social media manager. Relying on outside resources for social can get very expensive and user engagement needs to be managed in real time. In today’s digital era, a good social media manager can be found right in your own backyard – in a graduation cap and gown. Today’s college grads have grown up with social media and know its inner workings, unwritten rules, and how to engage fans and build a following. A good social media manager is an invaluable arm of your marketing team.

Customer/client services. Startups need a real voice for their brand, and highly trained client service reps are the front lines. Your company’s first impression to customers and clients should always be stakeholders in your vision – not call center reps located off shore. Outsourced service reps have their place, but entrepreneurs have more risk in the beginning and can’t afford to make their debut in client services a flop.

Termination management. Firing employees is a reality for every business, including startups. To keep things discreet, you’ll want to make sure such moves are handled by insiders “in the know”. Confidentiality is of the utmost importance in these delicate matters, and you want someone who is a part of the team to handle the situation gingerly, but firmly, and with the company’s best interests in mind.

Crucial elements startups should outsource

Legal counsel. To hire a top-notch corporate attorney, a startup would have to cough up a healthy 6-figure salary, a financial stake in the company, and a bevy of benefits. Many legal functions can be accomplished online with pre-drafted forms. This leaves money on the table for strategically sound legal advice when it’s needed, and not on retainer.

Human resources. Compliance is the name of the game in HR, and not knowing HR law inside and out (and most entrepreneurs don’t) could spell trouble. Cover your bases with third party HR management and guidance. Many HR functions can be automated as well. Make sure the firm you hire have experts on staff that know the pitfalls of hiring, firing, discipline, and benefits administration.

Public relations. The need for good PR is vital, but staffing someone full time is neither practical nor fiscally responsible. Hire a firm for on demand PR, only if or when it’s needed, as in managing a sticky service problem that’s gone public. If you have a team member who is also a good writer, press releases can be produced in house. Social media can function as “virtual PR” and executive leadership can speak on behalf of the company to the media.

Information Technology. Let’s face it: developers and network administrators don’t come cheap. Many of these functions don’t require full time staff, especially among developers. Many of these talented professionals prefer to freelance for a few different outfits than be tied to one. In addition, startups can choose cloud-based network options, eliminating the need for dedicated IT staff. Enterprise applications are also more affordable for a flat monthly storage and management fee.

Accounting. You want your company numbers nearby, but not necessarily in-house. An experienced accountant, like legal counsel, will command a hefty salary and benefit package. A key player in your company’s financial wellbeing, a good, outsourced accountant keeps the company visionaries for a startup honest and realistic, and prevent mistakes before they happen.

In conclusion, each startup is unique and will have different attitudes and preferences as to what to keep in-house and what to outsource. The key is to think realistically and also creatively to determine which scenario is right for your company, and to commit to synching both internal and external processes for the best outcome possible.

About the Author: Dylan Mazeika is an online writer with a background in marketing and small business. He enjoys writing articles and guest posts on the latest business and design trends, and helping small business owners with logo maker.

23 Awesome Tools And Resources For Tech Startups

Thomas Oppong — Wed, 02 May 2012 23:16:49 +0000

Every entrepreneur needs tools and resources to create, build and grow a startup. Right from an idea stage to an IPO, startup founders depend on great and smart people, partners, mentors, investors and users to build a lasting business. These resources will be useful on your way to the top.

1. The Entrepreneur.com Startup Kits: There are kits for everything from starting a restaurant to a consulting firm, complete with articles, guides, marketing tips, and more.

2. Quora : A great Q&A site for entrepreneurs, business leaders, founders, and professionals.

3. The Startup Toolkit – Tools and guidance for all startup founders.

4. Startup Compass – Benchmark your startup’s KPIs against more than 10k internet startups.

5. Sprouter – Entrepreneurship and startup expert Q&A, resources for starting, growing and leading a startup.

6. StartupDigest - Free weekly emails about startup events and programs in various cities around the world.

7. AYTM (Ask Your Target Market) – Market research for that idea or concept you have been thinking of.

8. About.com Starting a Business Hub: Content for starting a business, including checklists, a small business startup kit, and detailed articles on naming and calculating the cost of your startup.

9. Alltop Startups: Latest startup news and opinions to keep you updated on everything startup

10. Cofounda - App platform that connects entrepreneurs and investors.

11. Introduction to Venture Capital: This short presentation by Will Price, former venture capitalist and the current CEO of Widgetbox, explains all of the basics.

12. TheFunded: This community is focused on helping you raise money.

13. LiquidSpace - Airbnb for workspaces. Book last minute or plan ahead.

14. Hacker News: Users of this community add relevant and interesting stories on the topics of programming and startup entrepreneurship and consistently hold thought-provoking discussions. A great place for startup news and advice as well.

15. List of VCs active on Twitter— another good way to understand what investors are funding / thinking / doing / eating.

16.LaunchRock - Setup a “Launching Soon” page in minutes.

17. OnStartup: The OnStartup blog offers regularly updated content for a daily dose of business advice.

18. EvanCarmichael.com — Large collection of entrepreneurial articles. Includes lengthy list of famous entrepreneur profiles and case studies-

19. SBA– Your local Small Business Administration office provides helpful resources for preparing to launch your business.

20. Start-up | Inc.com: Advice for founders of start-ups and start-up entrepreneurs on writing a business plan, running a home-based business, naming a start-up.

21. LegalZoom: An inexpensive, fast, and easy to use online legal document service that can help you file the appropriate paperwork for your startup.

22. Prosper– Prosper can help you get the seed funding you need to launch your own online business.

23. SlideRocket - Create, collaborate and share stunning, media-rich web presentations.

7 Startup Lessons Taught by March Madness

Guest Author — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 21:29:16 +0000

March Madness is back. The time of eliminations and exclamations, of dashed dreams and Cinderella teams is upon us once more. It’s all-out war on the hardwood floor, and the record breaking battles we’ve seen so far are a strong indication that the best of the best are getting down to business. And, speaking of business— and at the risk of committing a flagrant foul in transition—here’s a look at 7 business startup lessons entrepreneurs can learn from March Madness.

1. Bring it every day:

For every team in the tournament it’s sudden death. Every game is do or die. To have the best chance of staying in the competition, each team must bring its “A” game every time. Although the business world may not be as cutthroat as the NCAA finals, startup entrepreneurs need to approach each and every day with a do or die mentality. Getting a business up and running can be a monumental task. If you’re not giving it your best effort and expecting the same from your team, you can be sure that your competitors are. Being overconfident and letting down can kill momentum and lead to elimination.

2. Know your opponent:

Before tip-off, it’s critical for each team to have a clear understanding of the weaknesses and strengths of the opposition. And the same holds true for startups. Knowing opponents and understanding how they operate—individually and collectively—will make for better match-ups, and the formulation and execution of winning business plays and strategies.

3. Stick with your game plan:

The 68 teams that made it to the March Madness bracket got there because they know how to win. And the teams that advance make that happen by sticking to what works best for them. If they are better in the paint than the perimeter, and they find themselves behind as the clock winds down, they don’t panic and head for 3 point land. They attack the lane, go for the score, and get to the foul line. By the same token, startups need to have a solid business plan and stick with it. A company that starts second guessing itself and tries to be something it’s not will soon be sent packing.

4. Make every effort a team effort :

Every tournament team has its marquee players, the go-to guys they can count on to make big plays. But as any coach will tell you, there’s no substitute for teamwork. A willingness on the part of all players to be unselfish with the ball and create opportunities for others to use their own unique talents and abilities for the good of the team—that’s what wins NCAA championships. Although startups also need key players who bring vision and passion to the table, ultimate success will only come from a consistent, collaborative effort.

5. Take care of the ball:

We’ve all groaned in disbelief at blown dunks, bricked layups and crunch-time turnovers. It all comes down to focus. Even seasoned players who focus more on the basket than taking care of the ball will find themselves coughing it up. To be competitive, all business startups need clear goals and objectives. Once those are established it’s all about staying focused. While distractions are inevitable, they cannot be allowed to shift energy and attention away from the tasks at hand—tasks that must be properly executed in order to achieve success.

6. Have a great coach:

There are all kinds of coaches—the sports coach, the life coach, and the business coach—but they all have the same objective: to achieve maximum results through optimizing and leveraging talents and resources. Great NCAA basketball coaches recognize that the one sure thing that will make their players better individually, and their teams better collectively, is a mastery of the fundamentals. Watch a team with a great coach practice, and you’re going to see a lot of players working on ball handling, passing, layups, fouls shots, rebounding, screening—all of the basics that will make even an average team better against any team. Great coaches also recognize the individual talents of their players, and inspire them to develop those talents in ways they never thought possible. By the same token, successful startups need great coaches to instruct and inspire all on the team to reach their full potential, setting and achieving individual and collective goals for the betterment of themselves and the business.

7. Don’t give up:

In the first round of this year’s NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball tournament, BYU took on Iona. Near the end of the half, BYU was down by 25 points, not a huge surprise given that Iona is the highest scoring college basketball team in the Nation. The real shocker came as BYU battled back to beat Iona 78-72—the largest comeback in NCAA tournament history. BYU forward, Noah Hartsock, who scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half, summed up his team’s big win with a telling post-game observation, “This is a team that’s worked hard all year, that’s never given up.”; For startup entrepreneurs in today’s increasingly competitive arena, a winning mindset is a must-have.

[INFOGRAPHIC] Rock Bands Vs Technology Startups

Thomas Oppong — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 17:44:01 +0000

The process of building and growing a startups can be likened to starting a new band, at least this infographic explains the process well and it makes lots of sense. Building a business takes time and it even takes lots of time and perseverance to maintain and sustain it. That process is what kills seven out of every ten startups by year two. Successful businesses always go the extra mile to keep the momentum, passion and sustain the business. If you will be successful in the process like it’s explained in this infographic, you need more than funding to make that happen and it can be achieved. This infographic explains the seven stages in building a startup.

Funding Roundup of The Week: 12 Startups Secured Over $78 Million This Week

Thomas Oppong — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 22:26:24 +0000

Funding is a startups’ dream. Every startup need funding to expand and grow as fast possible. Lean startup advocates would argue that it is better to bootstrap and grow without funds you may not even need. A lot of startups have their own visions and goals and funding happens to be one of the means to achieve it. These startups raised over $78 million in funding this week and it may not have been an easy task.

# StormPath, a developer of unified identity management software for the enterprise, raised $1.5M in a seed funding round. The round was led by Flybridge Capital and New Enterprise Associates.

# StyleSeat, a developer of online schedule booking services for hair stylists and salons, raised $775,000 in a new, seed funding round. The round came from Ashton Kutcher, A-Grade, Founders Fund, and Sophia Bush.

# Averail, a stealth mode developer of enterprise mobility software, raised $6M in a funding round. The round came from Foundation Capital and Storm Ventures.

# ClearStory Data, a developer of big data visualization tools, scored a funding round from Google Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, and angels.

# Wantful, a startup developing a service to deliver custom, curated gifts to gift recipients, secured $5.5M in a funding round, the firm said today. The round was led by Polaris Venture Partners.

# Integrate, a developer of performance marketing optimization and analytics services, scored $11M. The Series B funding round came from Comcast Ventures, Liberty Global, and Foundry Group.

# Red Robot Labs, the developer of mobile games which is headed by Mike Ouye, secured $5M in funding, as it enters the Asian market. The funding came from strategic partners Next Media.

# Buysight, which provides advertising retargeting and performance display advertising services, raised $8M in a Series B funding round. The round came from existing investors ONSET Ventures and Rembrandt Venture Partners.

# Yummly.com, the online recipe search site founded by David Feller and Vadim Geshel, scored $6M in a Series A round. The round was led by Physic Ventures.

# PubNub, a developer of real-time messaging software for the mobile and web application market, scored $4.5M in a Series A funding round. The round came from Relay ventures and the Silicon Valley TiE Angels.

# oDesk raised $15M in a funding round, led by T. Rowe Price. oDesk said this morning that it has raised $15M in a funding round, led by T. Rowe Price.

# Spigit, a developer of enterprise collaboration tools which use game mechanics and social algorithms, raised $15.2M in a Series E funding round. The round came from private equity firm Warburg Pincus.

Why You Should Consider Joining A Startup

Thomas Oppong — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 14:08:42 +0000

Startups have risky beginnings but tend to have its own long-term benefits. When offered the opportunity, you should take it and explore the many benefits that lies ahead of your career in a startup. Startups may not have lots of money to fully compensate you for all your efforts and work but they can offer you a percentage of the company. In actual fact, when given the option to take equity, you should take it instead of a full salary.

Compensation can be grouped into salary, benefits and incentives. Salaries in a startup are usually competitive whilst incentives are the drivers of attracting and retaining the best employees in startups. In some startups employees are rewarded based on attainment of performance-based goals, others also use a profit-sharing bonus schemes where bonuses are generally paid out once a year in the form of cash or on a deferred basis.

In most cases when it comes to stock options, employees receive the option to buy company shares for a set price during a specified time frame. Option can be exercised by the individual at any time during the agreed-upon term and subject to any vesting schedule.

Most startups commit lots of resources to hire the very best and passionate individuals who will stop at nothing to make sure the business succeeds. Best case scenario: You happen to be one of the first few employees, you contribute to the development and creation of a great product that could end up as a global product, you gain great knowledge about how startups begin from an idea phase to a lasting global company, and best of all you own a part of the company and its value keeps increasing with the growth of the company.

In a startups the first employees shape and create the company’s values, mission, culture and ethics. The process of creating a lasting company culture that works takes time and patience. Most startups try different ways of working as a group, but only settle on what actually produces the results. Its easier and faster to stick with what works and abandon what does not work. Compared to existing businesses with already existing company values, startups shape their culture right from the beginning and are able to adopt new ways faster.

You may not fancy joining a startups because of its associated risks including shutting down, running out of money or going bankrupt at any time, uncertainty of the short-term future, but joining a startup has a lot more associated long-term benefits than a corporation or an existing business. In a startup the small team work together in a small unit.

Startups are all about team work. Aside stock options and long-term startup compensation benefits, you learn how to build a company and product from scratch and also how to wear many hats and take various responsibility which will help you in the future when you set up on your own.

Top Mobile Apps For Startups

Guest Author — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 20:00:38 +0000

Start your business off right with technology for entrepreneurial success!

Starting your own company is in no way easy—in fact, it’s downright scary. However, when you consider all of the support and resources we have access to in the current day, starting your own business is a lot easier than it was in the past. One of the things entrepreneurs can be most thankful for are the cheap, and even free, smart phone applications that will help you build a profitable business and keep it afloat in times of economic stress.

As an entrepreneur, starting a new business can be very overwhelming and knowing where to invest your money and time when it comes to day-to-day business concerns—including finding an office space, setting up office infrastructure even when you might be asking yourself, “what is a data plan?”, creating an online presence for your business, making contacts, registering a business name, and backing up your most precious files—can be a full time job for 20 let alone one person. So because your plate is already more than full, I’ve put together a handy list of bare-bones apps that will help kick start your small business and take the guesswork out of running a successful start up venture…

1. Start up Checklist (Free – for Android)

Attention start-up entrepreneurs: How would you like to have access to a tool that teaches you the ins and outs of dealing with the U.S. Government and guides you through all the necessary steps you need to take to set up and get your small business running—legally? Um yes please! The Start-up Checklist is like your welcome kit to the world of entrepreneurship. It contains everything you’ll need—including resources, tips, advice, and timelines—to get your small business registered and making profits. The thing that sets most entrepreneurs back is doubt and fear. However, this app will tell you straight up what you need to know about legally setting up your business and provide the proper sequence of actions to take in order to do so. Think of this app as your 36-step checklist head start package for business owners. It contains all of the information you need to set up your very own business—including all of the necessary government forms, spreadsheets and templates for setting up business plans and websites—to set up and grow your dream enterprise.

2. Yammer (Free – for iPhone)

Creating open dialogue is vital for any company—including small businesses trying to work together for one common goal (i.e., to lure new customers). An app like Yammer is vital for creating a strong common mission for start-up enterprises that everyone involved feels a part of. Yammer does this by creating a sort of mini Facebook within your company, to allow secure, private, real-time communication between employees and teams working together on projects. And like, Facebook, Yammer features the same rich communication tools, by letting employees to set up and invite coworkers to discuss projects, provide feedback on ideas, and invite others to attend work events, share links, videos, and images for inspiration. Plus, the Yammer app, let’s employees tag and group their posts and messages using specific key word topics, sender name, and etc., making information easily searchable.

3. Business Card Reader Lite (Free – for Android)

When starting any new business venture contacts are vital to laying the groundwork. Apps like Business Card Reader Lite makes collecting and managing contacts a synch. You can collect and store business cards in 3 simple steps:

I. Snap a photo of a business card

II. Save the contact in the Business Card Reader Lite app

III. Collect more information about your contacts via their LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter profiles—such as addresses, phone number, company name, job title, email, website, education, specialty skills, and even hobbies

This app will save all of your business contacts and corresponding info to your searchable address book.

4. Dropbox (Free – for iPhone)

Utilize the power of cloud computing with the Dropbox smart phone app. This app will simplify your business life by allowing all users (your employees) to share, edit, and download files from one another in a secure, collaborative cloud environment. Plus, if this business mobility wasn’t enough, Dropbox also provides a simple, secure backup for business owners, which is far superior to hard drives and multiple USB sticks, and provides adequate bandwidth for start-up enterprises.

Author bio: Jane Johnson is a writer for GoingCellular, a popular site that provides cell phone related news, commentary, reviews on popular providers like T-Mobile

This Week In Startup Funding: Over $190 Million Was Raised By These 11 Startups

Thomas Oppong — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 22:48:40 +0000

Another week has ended and startups as usual were busy pitching and negotiating for funding. Some startups were successful at raising funds and others would have continue next week. Raising funds is not easy and does not come cheap. These startups were some of the few once that closed their funding round. Over $190 million was raised by a total of 11 companies. Yammer, a San Francisco-based company with a focus on corporate micro-messaging headed by former PayPal founder David Sacks, raised a whopping $85M, the highest of our list this week. The list of some of the few funded startups this week includes:

# Wayin, an online social polling and entertainment site which was founded by Sun Microsystems’ Scott McNealty, raised $14M in a Series B funding. The new round came from U.S. Venture Partners and Others.

# GameClosure, which develops JavaScript game SDK’s which help customers develop HTML5 games, scored $12M in a funding round. The round was led by Highland Capital.

# Ruckus Wireless raised $21.7M in a funding round. The funding was led by Meritech Capital Partners and SingTel Innov8. Ruckus Wireless develops indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi equipment.

# Duo Security, a provider of phone-based, two factor authentication software and services, raised $5M in a funding from Google Ventures, True Ventures, and Resonant Venture Partners.

Tello, the developer of mobile applications and software to gather instant customer service feedback from customers using mobile devices, raised $2.7M in a funding round.

# Amplidata, a developer of petabyte-scale, object data storage products, secured $8M in a Series C round of funding. The funding came from Big Bang Ventures, Endeavour Vision, Intel Capital and Swisscom.

# Kontiki, a provider of video content delivery services to enterprises, raised $5.1M in a Series C funding round. The funding came from existing investors MK Capital, New World Ventures, Cross Creek Capital and Hatteras Funds, along with its Chairman, Todd Johnson.

# SugarSync, which operates a file synchronization and online backup service, raised $15M in a Series D round. The round was led by Coral Group, and included prior investors Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Sigma Partners, Hatteras Venture Partners and Hercules.

# Eye-Fi, the developer of wireless memory cards which synchronize digital photos with cloud photo services, scored $20M in a Series D funding. The funding was led by NTT DOCOMO.

# San Francisco-based Yammer, the corporate-focused micro-messaging firm headed by former PayPal founder David Sacks, raised $85M in a new funding round, its fifth round of funding. Yammer has now raised $142M in funding. The round was led by DFJ Growth.

# Omidyar Network, the investment firm of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, along with ACCION International, backed Mobile Transactions International, a Zambia-based company which is enabling mobile financial payments and transactions. The two investors said they invested $3.2M in the firm.

This Week In Startup Funding: These 11 Startups Raised Over $100 Million

Thomas Oppong — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 19:54:26 +0000

A lot of startups were under our radar this week. After multiples of investor meetings and negotiations, these 11 startups secured funding from existing and new investors. Entrepreneurs looking for funding spend lots of time researching and seeking advice to get the right appointment for an investor pitch. The National Venture Capital Association in a survey of hundreds of venture capitalists found out that Startup funds will be harder to find in 2012.

Fluid, a developer of design and consulting services for for such brands as The North Face, Quidsi (Diapers.com, Wag.com), Sears, and others, raised $24M in a growth equity funding. The funding came from Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

Intel Capital, the venture capital arm of semiconductor giant Intel, invested in two, Brazilian companies, Fashion.me and Coquelux. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed. Fashion.me is a provider of a social, e-commerce platform focused on fashion on the Internet. Coquelux is an online shopping club focused on premium and luxury flash sales.

Stitch Labs, a developer of cloud-based, small business inventory management software, raised $1M in a seed funding round. The round was led by True Ventures.

nScaled, a developer of cloud-based, backup and disaster recovery services, raised $7M in a funding round. The Series A founding was led by Almaz Capital and Doughy Hanson Technology Ventures.

Wheelz, the operator of a peer-to-peer car sharing company focused on college campuses, raised $13.7M in a funding round. The firm said the Series A round was led by Zipcar, and also included Fontinalis Partners.

Scan,, Inc., a startup which develops a QR code reader for Apple iOS and Android phones, secured $1.7M in a seed round. The funding came from Menlo Ventures, Google Ventures, Charles River Ventures.

CrowdStrike, a stealth mode, security software firm headed by former McAfee CTO George Kurtz, raised $26M in a funding round.

Luminate, a developer of applications which help make images and advertising more interactive, scored $10.7M in a Series C funding round. The round was led by Nokia Growth Partners.

Pinger, which develops iOS and Android texting and voice chat applications, raised $7.5M in a strategic investment, the company said this week. The round came from T-Venture.

Milyoni, a developer of social entertainment and games for Facebook, secured $11M in a Series B funding. The funding was led by Oak Investment Partners, and also included ATA Ventures and Thomvest Ventures.