Tech companies of all stages are well represented at the Internet Summit. But what do investors think?
Jason Caplain, general partner at Bull City Venture Partners, took a few minutes to chat with WRALTechWire about his observations on the technologies startups are developing today along with investment trends. From Caplain’s standpoint, this year’s summit is pretty representative of the technologies that his firm has been exploring for investment: software, e-commerce, digital media and health IT.
Caplain said that BCV is particularly interested in companies that offer software-as-a-service because increasingly, it’s something that customers want. From a technology standpoint, it can be offered at a lower price point. Also, monthly subscriptions mean recurring revenue.
“We like software-as-a-service a lot,” Caplain said. “We like the ease of use of it. From the financial aspect, it’s a recurring revenue stream. So our companies have the ability to forecast their revenue.”
Caplain said he’s often asked about what technologies are attractive to him. But he said that when considering an investment, he’s more interested in the people behind the company.
BCV is an investor in StepLeader, a Raleigh company that delivers news, information and advertising to mobile devices. The company was spun out of Capitol Broadcasting, parent to WRALTechWire. Caplain said that he made the introductions that led to Microsoft veteran joining StepLeader this year as the company’s CEO. StepLeader was one of 15 North Carolina companies that presented in the Internet Summit’s “Startup Showdown.”
Caplain also admires James Avery, CEO of Adzerk. The Durham company has developed a platform to deliver advertising for online publishers and one of its biggest clients is Reddit. He’s also a fan of FilterEasy, a Raleigh company that is selling online the air filters used in home heating ventilation and air conditioning systems. Started by Thad Tarkington and Kevin Barry, two former N.C. State University students who dropped out of school to launch the venture, the founders say energy savings from routine air filter changes more than pays for itself in cleaner air and energy savings as HVAC systems run more efficiently.
BCV emerged earlier this year raising a round of $25 million. The firm is led by Caplain and David Jones, Caplain’s colleague from Southern Capitol Ventures. Like Southern Capitol, BCV is interested in making tech investments, particularly in the Southeast region. And BCV is now actively looking companies in need of a capital infusion. Caplain says he’s spent recent weeks making the rounds traveling across the Southeast and mid-Atlantic states exploring possible investments.
