Adapted from the original post here by Stephen Babcock for Technical.ly Baltimore.
The venture capital fund, which is run by Johns Hopkins University students, made its first investment decision in the form of Yet Analytics this Fall. Here’s what went into it.
Yet Analytics’ seven-figure seed funding round made a splash, this was notable as the final US$1.3 million figure represented was far higher than the US$750,000 that the data analytics company initially set out to raise. Out of the many venture capital investors who were assembling behind the company, at US$10,000, A-Level Capital in comparison does not have the most eye-catching investment, but it’s a milestone for the firm, nonetheless. The Yet Analytics deal marked the first for the six-month-old venture capital fund that is run by students at the Johns Hopkins University. “It took a sleepless two-day sprint to finish the deal”, A-Level Capital’s founding partner Corey Li shared with Technical.ly. Li was satisfied with the group’s first check. In the end, the vote among A-Level Capital’s student partners was unanimous.
“I believe they will be super successful,” Li said of Yet Analytics, which is commercializing Department of Defense developed technology to make different types of job training data interoperable.
Laying the Foundations to Make That Investment Decision
The seeds of the deal were planted when Li met Yet Analytics’ CMO Margaret Roth at a stakeholders’ breakfast during Baltimore Innovation Week 2015. Upon meeting Li, Roth was interested in grabbing coffee and learning more about A-Level Capital. Apart from her being an alumna as she completed her Bachelors and Masters work at the Johns Hopkins University is Yet Analytics’ CEO Shelly Blake-Plock who also completed his Masters in the same school. Fellow co-founder of Yet Analytics, Rose Burt studied at the Peabody Institute, which is also run by the Johns Hopkins University.
After the meeting over coffee as well as more follow-ups, Roth and Li realized that an investment deal is possible, all it needed was a decision to be made. Yet Analytics was looking to finish its seed round, and A-Level Capital had its first venture capital funds available for investments.
“The timing just worked out really well,” Roth said.
The check took more than just a handshake, as Li and the A-Level Capital team set out to do their due diligence. Over several weeks, a team of students did market analysis and evaluated UX. Yet Analytics also pitched the company to the 15-member team. After discussion, the partners made their investment decision final by voting on the deal. A-Level Capital’s rules dictate that the investment deal can go forward with 70 percent of the vote, but in this case the decision was unanimous. The deal then had to be approved by A-Level Capital’s advisory board for a vote, which includes co-founders Elizabeth Galbut and Demi Obayomi, and A-Level Capital’s venture capital fund investors like Dave McClure of 500 Startups.
Learn More About A-Level Capital
Read more about A-Level Capital Li said A-Level Capital will typically look to fund companies at an approximate of the US$10,000 to US$25,000 range. With start-ups led by students, they believe that the amount of venture capital funds provided will be enough to get operations off the ground. The Yet Analytics deal shows they aren’t limited to student-run companies though. Li said it accents the other side of A-Level’s offerings: relationships.
“Besides venture capital there is also the venture into human capital, and all the other resources and networks we provide them,” Li said. He recently finished his Bachelors in Math and Economics at the Johns Hopkins University and is currently working on his Masters Math.) In addition to the investment money, the two entities are also looking at internships for Johns Hopkins University’s students at Yet Analytics.
In that sense, the deal provides the three Yet Analytics co-founders a way to be looped in at the university where they already have close ties. Roth also noted that A-Level Capital is helping students learn more about entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial related skills in school.
“It’s creating a really authentic experience for students by giving them the opportunity to learn about investment and the entrepreneurship cycle, and to be able to meet entrepreneurs and have that access in a way they’ve never had it before,” she said.
