× Mission Portfolio Team Updates Contact Mission Portfolio Team Updates Contact Laconia Capital Group is a venture capital firm investing in late seed stage B2B SaaS companies. We invest in startups solving immediate efficiency problems in markets and workflows. We search for entrepreneurs who demonstrate talent, passion, drive, and ability to collaborate while remaining humble. Stage We define the late seed stage as having an in-market product, paying customers, an established primary revenue stream, and signs of product-market fit. Sector We invest in B2B companies with relatively light future capital requirements in all sectors, excluding device healthcare, biotech, agriculture tech, energy, and military applications. Geography We focus on companies based in the New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and DC metro areas. Portfolio Current Investments Previous Investments From Our Partners AutoFi is an online, white-label, point-of-sale financing solution that facilitates financing a vehicle online. By leveraging institutional capital to fund the loans, AutoFi provides investors with the first platform that gives them direct access to secured auto risk. “The team at LCG helped turn an idea at its infancy and helped it grow into a fully funded business. The team is passionate and well versed in every aspect of the earliest stage of a companies lifecycle.” Jonathan Palan, Co-Founder ChannelCandy is a software suite designed to address the two fundamental problems of indirect sales -- communication and enablement. It is the #1 channel focused, mobile-first platform with everything your partners need at their fingertips to sell more. Branded, secure and targeted. Content Raven is the first Enterprise Content Enablement Platform. Content Enablement is the intersection of content storage, secure distribution for all content types, interactive tools, and analytics to deliver business results. Homer is a third party logistics provider in the restaurant industry. We replace the need for restaurants to manage an internal delivery team and allow them to specialize solely on what they do best, which is cooking great food. We combine custom software with cutting-edge operations to create the most efficient delivery solution available in this space. All of our workforce are employees, from software developers to delivery personnel, and our highest priority is creating a safe and transparent work environment for our delivery personnel. “LCG has become one of our most valuable investing partners. They are incredibly responsive, extremely supportive, and never afraid to get their hands dirty. I consider Homer lucky to have come across this group, and would recommend their team to any other founders.” ADAM PRICE, CEO SportsRecruits is a platform providing student-athletes and their parents with a suite of online tools to streamline every facet of their recruiting process. From researching schools to providing evaluation resources to colleges to making a final decision, the SportsRecruits platform empowers the student-athlete to pursue their dreams. Sports clubs can also use the platform to record data about each of their player’s recruiting process. “Laconia has been one of our most impactful investors. Jeffrey and David have helped us develop our vision and strategically plan to hit company milestones. The group's network has helped us overcome the numerous challenges a team faces while scaling.” Chris Meade, Co-Founder ALICE is a mobile and web request-management platform that empowers hotels to receive, manage, and execute all guest and internal requests for every department. Antengo is a free app, available on iTunes and Google Play, that connects local sellers and buyers in a mobile classifieds marketplace. It offers easy and quick listing creations and protected PayPal transactions. AxoSim's Nerve-on-a-Chip technology predicts clinical results from the benchtop, helping pharmaceutical companies develop safer and more effective drugs. The Nerve-on-a-Chip platform uses living human cells in a 3D environment as a more accurate, less expensive, and faster alternative to animal testing. Better Mobile Security is an advanced mobile endpoint technology that provide threat defense, application control, and app intelligence for a business's mobile devices. Better’s layer of technology can actively detect and prevent malware, potentially harmful apps and network attacks, stopping them before data is breached. Built for easy deployment and optimized for user and battery performance, Better seamlessly integrates into and operates in a shielded mobile environment. C3 Metrics is the world's first complete attribution platform, providing advertisers around the globe with all their true marketing metrics in one place. By combining cross-device, viewability, and real-time data collection and programmatic feedback in one intuitive platform, C3 Metrics gives marketers the ability to master the customer journey, understand demand creation, and increase ROI by 25 to 75 percent. CITIA is the only mobile-first, multichannel publishing platform with social media built in. Its beautiful card-swiping user interface, combined with a smart, cloud-based back end, delivers engaging and addictive experiences for brand storytelling, content marketing, white papers and other business communications. Crowdly is the only platform that powers influencer marketing with a brand’s proven, authentic brand advocates. Instead of renting influencers, Crowdly's unique technology allows brands to surface, unlock, and effectively leverage the tremendous asset of the passionate loyalists they have already earned. FLOW is a cloud-based platform for creating intelligent Internet of Things applications and solutions that makes real-time data immediately actionable with end-to-end data workflow. FreeWheel manages the economics of content for the enterprise-class world of entertainment, offering technical infrastructure for revenue rights management and business operations, wrapped in advisory services. Sold to Comcast Manages the economics of content for the enterprise-class world of entertainment, offering technical infrastructure for revenue rights management and business operations, wrapped in advisory services. Kik is a chat network with more than 240 million registered users that connects friends, groups, and brands and their fans with its chat-based services. Used by 40 percent of U.S. teens, Kik connects the world through chat. LeagueApps is a web-based software system that helps sports-program organizers manage their leagues and teams and connect with participants. LocalVox is a simple, effective and affordable online marketing platform that helps local businesses connect with new customers. Through deals, mobile, social media, maps, syndication, search, reviews, article writing, email and websites, LocalVox drives more leads to businesses of all types and sizes—from single-location shops to multi-location franchises—all with the touch of one button. Sold to THE BERRY COMPANY Localytics is a mobile lifecycle engagement company that helps businesses interact with users regardless of whether they are trying to acquire, engage, grow or retain them. By using all the data surrounding users Localytics creates the insights and targeting needed to drive precise and personalized engagement. Media Armor is a technology company that helps brands market more effectively by connecting data across every device and tracking point-of-sale activity through integrated customer records. Sold to Nomi Mine Hill Distillery has a commitment to craftsmanship and authenticity. They honor the determination and Yankee Ingenuity of the Industrial Revolution to make things once again in Roxbury. Mine Hill supports its community of local craftsmen, farmers, artists and other businesses. OneQube is an audience development platform that enables business and brands to easily build, manage, engage, and maintain their social and digital audiences at scale in real-time. PageScience is page-level targeting technology that scans the web for consumers who are actively researching an exact category, such as healthcare, financial services, or other context-focused categories, to present a marketer's message to a hyper-targeted audience for higher conversions, better brand experiences, and a more efficient media spend. PayPerks is an education, engagement and behavior-change platform that improves the health and well being of low- and moderate-income consumers. PublicStuff is online community service that allows individuals to notify the right local departments to get things fixed. Sold to Accela Rumble offers high-energy group fitness classes that combine boxing jabs and circuit training with blasting bass-filled beats. With 10 rounds of full-body strength training and conditioning, playlists that blend hip-hop and house with timeless classics, and specially designed, tear-drop style, water-filled punching bags, Rumble is the latest fitness craze. SetJam offers a personal, interactive and social TV that can be watched online. Sold to Motorola Mobility Sightly is a video-advertising technology company revolutionizing how people view and interact with advertising. The company empowers advertisers and agencies to deliver the most relevant messages to the most receptive viewers in hyper-local areas through YouTube and other online networks. Sokanu is a platform that optimizes human capital, using its unique science and technology to help people find their perfect careers and help companies better understand and leverage their talent. StrongDM is an early-warning system that detects when database changes—such as unexpected schema changes, ETL failures, or changes in growth patterns—impact downstream dependencies so database managers can rest easy. SyncOnSet is the leading entertainment technology company for digitizing physical production and managing creative content. SyncOnSet was born out of a simple idea: replace the three-ring production binder with professional software. Now embraced by thousands of TV series and films around the world, SyncOnSet has grown into a software suite that reimagines and streamlines the creative process. TripleLift is a native programmatic platform with RTB capabilities for buying and selling native advertising. Leveraging pioneering computer vision technology, TripleLift seamlessly transforms content, such as images and videos, into native ads that match the unique look and feel of a publisher’s website. Big Data platform provides businesses with predictive analytics for their high volume, time-ordered data sets. Our first solution is focused on the Advertising & Media vertical where we help data aggregators, ad networks, and ad agencies maximize the utilization of their first-party, proprietary data for advertising and media initiatives. We are integrated with 10+ companies ranging from web to mobile data owners and have shown great results in market. Sold to AOL Zlien is a cloud-based construction payment platform optimizing the exchange of preliminary notices and lien waivers, making lien rights easy and fair for all construction participants. Founded by experienced construction attorneys and technology experts, Zlien is also the nationwide leading publisher of construction payment resources and opinion, credit and financial risk analysis, and mechanics lien and bond claim resources and data. Team David Arcara Managing Director Jeffrey Silverman Managing Director David Lee Managing Director, LVAM Geri Kirilova Associate Robert Mancuso Operating Advisor Alain Bankier Operating Advisor Patrick Hoogenijk Operating Advisor Vamsi Sistla Operating Advisor David Arcara Managing Director @LaconiaCapital LinkedIn Angelist CrunchBase David Arcara is the co-managing member of the General Partner and the Management Company. Mr. Arcara has over 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and general manager of young high-growth and turnaround media and marketing businesses, both digital and traditional. Mr. Arcara has raised, either as lead entrepreneur or as part of the founding team, nearly $100 million dollars of angel and venture funding. In 2010, Mr. Arcara founded Rubber Soul Ventures to contribute his personal capital and operational expertise to emerging digital technology companies and entrepreneurs. Rubber Soul Ventures currently has a portfolio of over a dozen early stage ventures based primarily in the Northeast corridor including LeagueApps, LocalVox, Page Science and Wymsee. Mr. Arcara was also the co-founder of TalkSix, a consumer facing interactive streaming video start-up with a significant B-to-B component. Mr. Arcara has also served as General Manager of Imaginova Corporation’s digital publishing division, including the flagship property Space.com, founded by CNN’s Lou Dobbs and former astronaut Neil Armstrong. Earlier in Mr. Arcara’s career, he co-founded Alliance Custom Communications, to create custom content for marketers seeking to enhance their brands’ customer engagement. Mr. Arcara was ultimately approached by Random House Publishing to re-launch and lead the business as Random House Custom Media. Mr. Arcara was also a co-founder of UGO Networks, which ultimately consisted of over 500 independent affiliate web publishers reaching over 15 million users a month and became one of the nation’s largest 18 to 34 male-targeted online entertainment content networks. The UGO founding team was among those pioneering the concept of an online ad-supported publishing network. Mr. Arcara served as UGO’s Executive Vice President and led multiple operating functions including affiliate network development, sales, and marketing. UGO was purchased by Hearst Corporation in 2006 for approximately $100 million. In 1992, Mr. Arcara formed DJA Media, Inc., which focused on turning around underperforming radio stations by improving product and sales. In 1996, DJA Media formed Radio Enterprise, Inc., a joint venture with Clear Channel Communications, through which Clear Channel provided financing to allow Radio Enterprise to expand to a total of four stations under Mr. Arcara’s leadership. Radio Enterprise was sold to Clear Channel in 1998 after more than doubling its asset value at the peak of government-deregulated consolidation. Mr. Arcara is a member of New York Angels, one of the country’s leading angel investor organizations, as well as Harvard Business School Angels. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he earned a BA in Philosophy, and holds his MBA from Harvard Business School. Jeffrey Silverman Managing Director @JSilverman22 LinkedIn Angelist CrunchBase Jeffrey Silverman is the co-managing member of the General Partner and the Management Company. Mr. Silverman has over 20 years of experience building early stage media and technology companies and has been involved in all aspects of business management. In 2015, Mr. Silverman founded Laconia Ventures, LLC as an investment platform to contribute his personal capital into emerging digital technology companies and entrepreneurs. Through Laconia Ventures, Mr. Silverman has evaluated over 1000 businesses for potential investment and built a portfolio containing over 24 seed and early stage companies within the B-to-B and B-to-C markets. Mr. Silverman assists his entrepreneurs with all aspects of their business, including strategic planning, business development, sales, marketing, and operations. Laconia Ventures’ portfolio investments include TripleLift, Wymsee, ALICE and C3 Metrics. Prior to founding Laconia Ventures, Mr. Silverman spent seven years as the CEO and President of Integrated Color Solutions (ICS), a B-to-B software company which pioneered color accurate monitor proofing for the graphics arts industry, where Mr. Silverman was responsible for developing and implementing ICS’s strategic and operating plans. During Mr. Silverman’s tenure, ICS raised over $25 million in multiple rounds of financing from private equity investors and strategic alliances. Between 1997 and 2002, Mr. Silverman held several senior-level positions at DoubleClick, the leading provider of software tools designed for advertisers, markets, and web publishers to plan, execute, and analyze their marketing programs. Mr. Silverman’s positions included President of DoubleClick’s Media Division for North America and VP of Global Sales and was also actively involved in identifying, evaluating, and selecting strategic business alternatives for DoubleClick’s Media Division in the fast changing post Dot-Com Bubble marketplace. Mr. Silverman helped facilitate the successful sale of the Media Division to its competitor L90, which was later acquired by IAC. Mr. Silverman’s early career included sales and marketing positions at TeleRep, CBS-TV, and Cover Concepts. Mr. Silverman received a BS in History from Tulane University and attended Columbia University’s Executive Education Program. He is a member of Tulane’s President’s Advisory Council; a member of New York Angels, one of the country’s leading angel investor organizations; the Vice-Chairman for the New York City-Southern NY Chapter of Multiple Sclerosis; a Board of Trustees member of the landmarked Park Avenue Armory, a nonprofit New York City cultural institution; a Board of Trustees member at Project Morry, a nonprofit year-round youth development organization. Mr. Silverman is also the Co-Founder and Chairman of the Connecticut grassroots environmental non-profit, Friends of the Lake. David Lee Managing Director, LVAM @dleect LinkedIn David Lee is the Managing Director of Laconia Venture Asset Management. Mr. Lee has over 20 years of experience in the alternative asset management industry. In 2017, Mr. Lee joined Laconia Capital Group to build and develop a venture capital advisory service for family offices and their venture capital activities. Prior to joining Laconia, Mr. Lee was Managing Director of CSat Investment Advisory, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor that managed several hedge funds that utilized proprietary customer satisfaction data for its investment strategy. Previously, Mr. Lee was Chief Operating Officer or RNK Capital, an alternative asset investment firm that focused on the environmental and emissions market worldwide, the global carbon markets, and early stage environmental compliance projects. Mr. Lee's venture capital experience includes working at Investor AB, the publicly-trading Swedish holding company controlled by the Wallenberg Family, where he was Managing Director and Head of Technology Growth Investing; and as a Principal in Private Equity for Moore Capital Management and Eos Partners. Mr. Lee started his career as a consultant with McKinsey and Company. Mr. Lee received a BA in History from Harvard College and an MBA with highest honors from Harvard Business School. He is member of the Board of Visitors for the Orthopedics Department at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and is also a board member of the American Platform Tennis Association. Outside of work, Mr. Lee enjoys golf, tennis, platform tennis, poker, and wine. Geri Kirilova Associate @geri_kirilova LinkedIn Angelist CrunchBase Geri Kirilova is an Associate at Laconia Capital Group (LCG). Prior to joining LCG full-time, Ms. Kirilova was a Business Associate at Techstars IoT, a mentorship-driven accelerator program partnered with GE, SAP, Verizon, Bosch, and PwC to support companies rewiring legacy industries such as construction, healthcare, and transportation through connected devices, artificial intelligence, and drone technologies. In addition to facilitating program operations, Ms. Kirilova worked directly with the ten portfolio companies on customer acquisition, growth strategy, fundraising, business development, and messaging and storytelling. Additionally, Ms. Kirilova has worked in venture capital in Central and Eastern Europe (LAUNCHub in Sofia, BG and Credo Ventures in Prague, CZ). Beyond the venture space, Ms. Kirilova has operational experience managing a branch of Kweller Prep, a boutique educational services firm, leading hiring, training, sales, program management, client relations, and curriculum development. Ms. Kirilova graduated summa cum laude from NYU Stern, with a B. S. in Business with specializations in Information Systems and Management. Robert Mancuso Operating Advisor @LaconiaCapital LinkedIn Angelist CrunchBase Robert F. Mancuso is the Advisory Partner to the Management Company. Mr. Mancuso was the first President and Chief Executive of Merrill Lynch Capital Partners, Inc. (the management and investment arm of Merrill Lynch’s private equity business) as well as the chief executive officer of Mancuso & Co. and The Dellacorte Group) which he also subsequently founded. Prior to Merrill Lynch, Mr. Mancuso was associated with Lazard Freres & Co. and practiced law with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. Mr. Mancuso has also served on the board of directors of twelve companies, including Dictaphone Corp. , where he served as Non-Executive Chairman, Life Fitness, now a part of Brunswick Corp., and Denny's Restaurants. Mr. Mancuso has experience guiding companies through various economic cycles, interest rate environments and changing competitive landscapes, which LCG believes will help provide strategic and operational counseling to Portfolio Company management teams. Given Mr. Mancuso’s 36 years of corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity experience, LCG believes Mr. Mancuso will contribute further valuable insight to Portfolio Company management teams. Mr. Mancuso is the author of numerous articles that have been published in a variety of industry leading journals and websites including Chief Executive.net, TheDeal.com, Mergers and Acquisitions, Pensions and Investments and Forbes.com. Alain Bankier Operating Advisor @abankier LinkedIn Angelist CrunchBase Alain Bankier is an Operating Partner to the Management Company. Mr. Bankier is a serial entrepreneur and an active early stage investor, with over 20 years of experience investing in early stage and start-up companies. Until late 2013, Mr. Bankier was Co-President and chief executive officer of The Manischewitz Company. In 2002, Mr. Bankier co-founded the Saveur Food Group (“SFG”) to create, acquire and build branded food companies and in 2008 Manischewitz was merged with SFG. In the mid 90’s, Mr. Bankier was the co-founder of a leading New York based angel investment group, which was the precursor of the New York Angels. As a leading member of the New York Angels, Mr. Bankier invests in a wide variety of technology, media and content companies, as well as companies in France and Israel. Mr. Bankier is a board member and advisor to a variety of companies and has been instrumental in achieving exit opportunities for several of these business. Combining his operating experience and his knowledge of the technology startup world, Mr. Bankier has focused on investment opportunities which leverage technology and data to disrupt, or add efficiencies, to traditional media and manufacturing industries. Before being involved as the chief executive officer of operating companies, Mr. Bankier was a founder of an international boutique investment bank, which he sold to BNP Paribas and where he remained as the head of mergers and acquisitions-corporate finance North America for over 10 years. Mr. Bankier has a has a BA in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, a BS in economics from The Wharton School and an MBA from New York University and from HEC, Paris. Patrick Hoogenijk Operating Advisor @LaconiaCapital LinkedIn Angelist CrunchBase Patrick Hoogendijk is an Operating Partner to the Management Company. Mr. Hoogendijk is the Managing Partner and CFO of EIM Capital, a $1.5 billion private equity energy platform based in Mexico City. EIM Capital invests in exploration and production, energy infrastructure, power, and specialty projects in Mexico and surrounding Latam countries. From 2004 to 2013, Mr. Hoogendijk was Partner & CFO at Capital E Advisors, a private equity asset manager in New York, NY, which he helped build from $400 million to $1.5 billion in assets under management. Previously, Mr. Hoogendijk was in charge of private equity funds at Citco Fund Services and was a partner at Kickstart Ventures, a pan-European incubator. Mr. Hoogendijk has over 15 years of experience in private equity investing, operations, administration, and portfolio company assistance. Mr. Hoogendijk has worked on a diverse set of structures (fund-of-funds, secondary funds, direct investments) and across a broad range of investment stages and industries (including real estate, hardware, software, natural resources, and petrochemical). Mr. Hoogendijk is also an active angel investor and board member of the New York Angels, the largest and most active angel investor group on the east coast. He holds a portfolio of 15 startup investments, of which he is a director on three boards. Mr. Hoogendijk holds an MSc in chemical engineering from the Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands) and an MBA from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University. He is a chartered financial analyst and a certified RCA chief compliance officer. Vamsi Sistla Operating Advisor @vsistla LinkedIn Angelist CrunchBase Vamsi Sistla is an Operating Partner to the Management Company. Mr. Sistla is an innovative technologist with over 18 years of experience in the Television, Digital Media & Financial industries. He has built various enterprise quality software and technology (Web and Mobile) platforms. Vamsi currently serves as CTO for OfferBoard and Technical Advisor to various early stage startups. Previously, Vamsi co-founded – Telvetto (2nd Screen Social TV Platform), Mogozz (Mobile Events Platforms) and Captivision Networks (iTV Educational Channel). Vamsi is an active Angel investor in ARC Angels, Eniac Ventures (1 & 3) and TIE SV Angels. He is also active in social & impact enterprises as a mentor (Microsoft Ventures, The Unreasonable Institute, TechStars London IoT Spring 2013 Session, 37Angels and Americas Amazing Teens Project), advisor to various early stage startups and a board member (The Good Life Organization & Chaupal India). Updates Recent Blog Posts So, you bet your SaaS on IoT! Vamsi Sistla Feb 28, 2017   more... NYC Tech Leaders Oppose Trump Immigration Ban David Arcara Jan 31, 2017 On January 30, 2017, New York tech leaders came together to stand in opposition to President Trump’s executive orders suspending entry for citizens of certain countries and limiting the refugee program. See the letter we sent to the President and  you can add your name here. more... View More Recent Tweets Laconia Capital @LaconiaCapital • May 12 12 KPIs you must know before pitching your startup tcrn.ch/2ksZg6g # via @techcrunch Laconia Capital @LaconiaCapital • May 12 Great time yesterday at Rumble: Silicon Alley! Thanks to everyone who got sweaty with us