Blue Cloud Ventures Announces Success of First Fund

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Sep 9, 2014) - Blue Cloud Ventures (BCV), a growth and late stage co-investment fund that focuses on cloud-based enterprise software companies, announced today the completion of its tenth investment. The fund portfolio includes some of the most innovative and disruptive SaaS companies in the market. All 10 investments were made within 20 months of launching BCV's first fund.

"Blue Cloud Ventures is uniquely positioned to partner with -- rather than compete with -- growth and late stage VCs," said Rami Rahal, Co-Founder and General Partner of BCV. "We work closely with tier-1 VC and PE firms on expeditiously co-investing in the last round of funding for their portfolio companies. With BCV, companies are able to raise appropriately-sized pre-IPO or pre-exit rounds and avoid bringing in a new late stage fund that could have a strict, large investment amount requirement and potentially extend the investment horizon."

BCV has two strategies for co-investing in growth and late stage software companies:

Growth Stage: BCV's growth stage strategy is focused on collaborating with fast growing software and mobile application companies looking to efficiently raise a growth round with little disruption to the business. BCV seeks to co-invest $2-7 million alongside leading VC firms in $10+ million growth rounds. After committing to invest in a company in an expedited manner, BCV works closely with entrepreneurs to connect them with the decision-making partners at the right VC firms to lead their growth round. Leveraging its top-tier VC network, BCV helps minimize the time spent fundraising and lets entrepreneurs focus on what they do best: growing their businesses. BCV typically co-invests along the terms set by the lead investor, but it may also lead or co-lead a round in some cases.

Late Stage: BCV's late stage co-investment strategy helps VC and PE firms raise the right amount of capital for their portfolio companies, minimizing unnecessary dilution and avoiding the resetting of the exit horizon. BCV seeks to invest $2-7 million alongside current investors in "last money" pre-IPO or pre-sale rounds. As a co-investor, BCV is comfortable with both setting new terms and following the terms set by existing investors. The fund's streamlined investment process is designed to minimize disruption to the business; BCV leverages the due diligence work from other investors and requires only a few readily-available documents to make an investment decision. BCV can also act as lead investor when current investors are looking for a third party to set terms for a new inside round of funding.

BCV's portfolio includes 10 growth and late stage companies across the enterprise software sector. BCV had its first exit earlier this year with the sale of AFS Technologies, a developer of subscription-based software applications for the F&B and CPG industries, to Court Square Capital. Current companies in BCV's portfolio include: Aras, BeyondTrust, BTI Systems, Cloudbees, Reflexis, The Resumator, Reval, Shift, and Vidyo.

"We are excited about our portfolio of market-leading SaaS companies and proud of our partnership with the industry's top-tier VC and PE firms," said Mir Arif, Co-Founder and General Partner of BCV. "Our SaaS sector domain expertise, strong industry relationships and unique co-investment model have positioned us as an ideal partner for software entrepreneurs and VC firms."

About Blue Cloud Ventures
Blue Cloud Ventures (BCV) is an innovative growth and late stage fund focused on co-investing alongside leading VC and PE firms in cloud-based enterprise software and enterprise mobile application companies. Based in New York City, BCV has assembled an investment team and advisory board consisting of over 25 entrepreneurs and investors with deep operating and investment experience in the enterprise software sector. BCV's software domain expertise and co-investment strategy of partnering with, rather than competing with, VC firms positions it as an ideal partner for entrepreneurs and VC portfolio companies looking to raise growth and late stage financing. For more information, visit www.bluecloudventures.com.