Two businesses selected by BRIDGE Angel Investors to receive their financial support in 2020 both provide technological bridges to help connect and engage people virtually in vastly different ways. Both use online capabilities, one to connect students with tutoring support and one to broadly distribute books that stimulate thinking and discussion on a global level.
Knack (https://www.joinknack.com/) capitalizes on the peer-to-peer tutoring needed by many to succeed in college, made all the more difficult with social distancing. Originally developed to help the University of Florida move scheduling of peer tutoring sessions online, Knack allows students to schedule sessions with the tutor they choose, likely one who recently completed the same course. Now providing services to other colleges and universities, Knack recently began helping link high performing college students with children in south Florida in need of tutoring, which is offered free through Community Partners of South Florida and Florida Power & Light Co.
Next Big Idea Club (https://www.nextbigideaclub.com/) selects, distributes and manages discussions and support materials for newly released nonfiction books. Curated by best-selling authors Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Susan Cain and Daniel Pink, the company describes itself as “a book subscription community.” Subscriptions to ebooks or hard copy editions, distributed quarterly, include access to original author interviews, e-courses and podcasts, and a new app that offers audio and text summaries of “the best books of the season” delivered by the authors themselves. Past selections include “Humankind: A Hopeful History,” “Weird” and “Think Like a Rocket Scientist.”
“Being able to help companies, particularly those poised to thrive in today’s climate by keeping us all connected and engaged when we may otherwise be apart, is a key driver for BRIDGE,” says Wendi Chapman, BRIDGE Executive Director, “and investing at this stage of a business is extremely rewarding, particularly now when companies need it most.
“We have such amazing resources in business acumen in the retirees and successful businesspeople in this area, and when they collaborate to fund and mentor growing businesses, anything is possible.”
Information about applying for membership in BRIDGE Angel Investors or submitting a funding opportunity for consideration is available at BRIDGE Angel Investors.
For more information, contact Wendi Chapman at wchapman@bridgeangelinvestors.com.
About BRIDGE Angel Investors
BRIDGE Angel Investors is a group of experienced private, accredited investors located in Sarasota, FL, committed to supporting entrepreneurship on a local, state and national level by providing capital and mentoring to assist early-stage businesses towards growth. BRIDGE investments may be augmented with individual member investments and through a network of other fund and angel investor group syndicates. Through such networks, Bridge has contributed more than 1M in capital, in primarily Florida-based companies, resulting in a diversified portfolio. For more information, visit BRIDGE Angel Investors.