500 Startups 
37 posts and columns on 500 Startups
News Byte
Clip Gets $1.5 Million to Bring Square-Like Payments to Mexico
The mobile payments movement is getting another player — this time in Mexico. Clip, founded by two former PayPal employees, says it has received $1.5 million to bring its mobile credit card reader and software to merchants in Mexico. The company said it plans to eventually expand beyond Mexico to other countries with large Spanish-speaking populations, including the U.S. Investors include 500 Startups, Accion, Alta Ventures and PlaySpan founder Karl Mehta.
News Byte
Pict Launches Pretty Tools for Brands to Create “Shoppable Photos”
Pict today launches a set of free (for the moment) Web and mobile tools for brands to publish photos that include product information and sharing links to Pinterest and elsewhere. So, instead of a flat photo, this is a sort of embeddable rich media object (on Facebook, it looks like a video, where users click to play). Pict is backed by Lowercase Capital, Forerunner Ventures, Opus Capital, Angelpad, 500 Startups and others.
Fetch! BarkBox Raises $5 Million for Doggy Treat Deliveries.
It’s like Birchbox, minus the makeup, plus the chew-toys.
Voices
How Solo Founders Beat the Odds and Get Into Top Accelerators
Prestigious startup accelerators in the U.S. — like 500 Startups, TechStars and Y Combinator — generally “select against” solo applicants. But why reject entrepreneurs trying to follow in the footsteps of lone founders like Sara Blakely (Spanx), Jack Ma (Alibaba) or Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook)?News Byte
Facebook Commerce Startup Soldsie Raises $1 Million
Soldsie, a Facebook-based e-commerce startup that allows users to make purchases from within Facebook comments, has raised $1 million in seed funds, the company announced Wednesday. Participating in the round were 500 Startups, e.ventures and FundersClub, along with former Facebook employees Yun-Fang Juan and Jonathan Ehrlich and others.MyTime Wants to Create a One-Stop Shopping Destination for Local Services
The company wants to be the world’s first online open appointment superstore.
OpenTable Devours FoodSpotting for $10 Million in Cash
OpenTable gets more serious about mobile.
The Muse Career Site Raises $1.2M
The Muse, a site that tries to help people figure out what they want to do with their lives, has raised seed funding.
News Byte
Google Ventures-Backed Start-Up TrueLens Nabs $1.2 Million
Social analytics start-up TrueLens announced Monday that it closed a $1.2 million round of funding led by Google Ventures. Other participants in the round include Charles River Ventures, Common Angels, 500 Startups and Boston Seed, as well as a handful of other angel investors. After compiling and analyzing data from multiple social networks, TrueLens offers more granular customer information to brands for marketing campaigns.News Byte
Mobile App Platform BiNu Raises $4.3 Million
BiNu, the mobile app platform that brings Web-based apps and social functions to low-cost feature phones, announced Wednesday that the company raised $4.3 million in venture capital. Joining the series A round were investments from 500 Startups and PanAfrican Investment Co., among others, following previous participation from Eric Schmidt’s TomorrowVentures and the Savannah Fund. The company is currently focused on developing its business in emerging markets such as East Africa, South America, parts of Asia and other areas in which citizens access the Internet primarily through a low-end mobile device.Partner Advertisement
