Contact: Sarah Seagraves
i2E Vice President for Marketing
(405) 813-2403 or email sseagraves@i2E.org
The i2E OK Angel Sidecar Fund and StartOK Accelerator Fund recently closed a $100,000 investment in Oklahoma City-based SIVI, part of a $340,000 investment round that also included the SeedStep Angels and the VentureSpur accelerator.
A recent graduate of Oklahoma City’s VentureSpur accelerator, SIVI has created an online education product called LaunchLeader that combines activities, challenges and rewards to help aspiring entrepreneurs advance their concepts toward the marketplace.
“The funding will be used primarily for personnel and product development,” said Ashok Kamal, SIVI co-founder and CEO. “We’re creating a virtual incubation platform that not only prepares entrepreneurs for launch but also evaluates entrepreneurs for investors. Once we complete the beta version of LaunchLeader we’ll also begin aggressive marketing.”
The OK Angel Sidecar Fund and StartOK Accelerator Fund are two of three Accelerate Oklahoma! investment vehicles created in 2011 by i2E through a partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and the U.S. Treasury State Small Business Credit Initiative. These funds invest alongside angel groups, individual investors and other organized funds to increase the value of an investment round in an individual company.
The SeedStep Angels were founded by i2E in 2009 and now have chapters in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Ardmore. Investments by SeedStep Angels members now total more than $4 million since the group was founded.
About SIVI: SIVI is a gamified platform for activating entrepreneurs. By merging academic science with engaging design and social technology, SIVI identifies and develops aspiring innovation entrepreneurs and startups. SIVI’s LaunchLeader product combines e-learning with a series of activities and challenges and rewards entrepreneurs with tangible resources.
About i2E, Inc.: With offices in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, OK, i2E’s nationally recognized services include business expertise and funding for Oklahoma’s emerging small businesses.
