It’s been a good year for InCrowd Capital and the Shmerlings
(UPDATE: Shmerling reports that members in total have now invested $100,000 in Initial State and $120,000 in InvisionHeart.)
By Tom Ballard, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Initiatives, Pershing Yoakley & Associates, P.C.
For Phil Shmerling and InCrowd Capital, this year has started out on a very positive note, both personally and professionally.
When we caught-up with the Nashvillian recently, he proudly reported that there has been an addition to the Shmerling family – a son named Sam – who was born in February. Mother and son are doing fine.
As far as InCrowd Capital, Shmerling says that “things are going great’ and “the momentum is building.”
We have posted several articles about the company founded by the former analyst with Morgan Keegan who says his goal is to “get entrepreneurs funded.” To do so, Shmerling must move accredited but non-participating investors from the sidelines to the playing field.
In our most recent article, he noted that about 8.7 million U.S. citizens are accredited investors, but only a fraction – 268,000 to be exact – actually are active angels.
Today, InCrowd Capital has 34 members, all but two in Nashville, and the angel fund has already invested $40,000 each in two start-ups – Initial State and InvisionHeart. Both went through an accelerator program, a mandatory requirement for any start-up seeking investment through InCrowd Capital.
“Our members have been pretty active,” Shmerling says, adding that he has begun to list companies from Memphis as part of his previously stated strategy to branch-out across the state and beyond.
After developing Memphis, Shmerling plans to come to Knoxville. Other targeted cities for local InCrowd Capital groups are Atlanta, Louisville and maybe Chattanooga.
Shmerling was an attendee at the finale in February for Launch Tennessee’s “The TENN.”
Describing it as a great event, he said, “I really liked the Vendor Registry guys and have followed Teja (Yenamandra, Chief Executive Officer of gun.io).”
