Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Local VCs help fund CollegeWikis

By Mass High Tech Staff

Portsmouth, N.H.-based eCoast Angel Network, Boston-based Boston Harbor Angels and New York venture capital firm Richmond Management have all participated in a $2 million financing round of CollegeWikis, a student-run web messaging and information platform. The funding was led by HighBAR Ventures, of Menlo Park, Calif.

Since a 2007 launch, Stanford, Calif.-based CollegeWiki has spread to more than 200 colleges, 50,000 students and 600,000 topics, company officials report. Rather than a social networking communication tool, CollegeWiki serves to share college-relevant information with other peers through group messaging on topics regarding schools, courses, dorms, admissions, jobs and events, for instance. Like other wikis, CollegeWiki is editable on the site.

Founded in July 2000, eCoast Angel Network consists of 28 investors working with e-commerce, health-care, industrial product and high-tech companies in early stage. The group has also funded party planning website operator Punchbowl Software Inc.

Four-year-old Boston Harbor Angels brings together 36 angel investors who have participated in 25 high-growth, early-stage companies to date.