Steve Mercil is the CEO of RAIN Source Capital, a multi-state network of angel investment funds that he founded in 1998. Steve is also Treasurer of the Angel Capital Association (ACA) and Chairman of the Board of Directors with the National Association of Seed & Venture Funds (NASVF).
RAIN Source Capital currently oversees 23 funds across six states with approximately $20 million in committed capital from around 450 individual angels. Since inception, the firm has funded over 70 startups for which RAIN Source raised a cumulative $150m.
Via Minnov8
“…Next we have on our main guest, Steve Nielsen, to discuss his next adventure MacroVentures, an investor in early stage companies in the technology and medical spaces.
Most recently, Steve served as President and CEO of PartnerUp, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deluxe Corporation (NYSE: DLX) and is a veteran internet and technology executive, having started and led a number of technology-focused ventures since 1996.”
Based on SEC documents filed earlier this week, Duluth-based GeaCom has secured an unattributed $812,499 in an equity financing round.
Phrazer, GeaCom’s core technology, is the convergence of hardware, software and media. As a hand held device, Phrazer aims to find a patients native language and culture (in 15 seconds or less), discover immediate medical issues, gather vitals and connect to medical history through an EMR system.
By Scott Carlson, Finance and Commerce
“The Dolan Company, the Minneapolis-based corporate parent of Finance & Commerce, is taking a stake in BringMeTheNews.
Dolan and Padilla Speer Beardsley, a Minneapolis-based public relations firm, are investing a cumulative $1 million in the Twin Cities-based news aggregation and radio broadcast news service. As a part of the investment, The Dolan Company CEO James P. Dolan and Padilla Speer Beardsley CEO Lynn Casey are joining the board of BringMeTheNews, which currently includes company founder Rick Kupchella and GoKart CEO Don Smithmier.”
via News Release
“Field Solutions announced today completion of its first outside investment round of $1.5 million. The investment group is led by StarTec investments whose president, Joy Lindsay, will join the company’s board of directors.
Other investors in the consortium include Invest Northwest LP, L&C Private Equity II LP, and VKO Investors, Inc.”
Field Solutions CEO, Mac Lewis, is a also founding partner of Sherpa Partners — a VC firm started in 2001 with Rick Brimacomb and Steven Pederson.
Fridley-based Aveso 
recently raised $1,040,000 in equity financing according to a document filed with the SEC on July 30th, 2010.
Aveso is a provider of thin, durable and flexible patented (6879424; 7599192; 7054050; 11/961,412) electro-active ink technology for high volume, mass consumer applications such as credit cards, sensors and smart labels. The company’s products are specifically designed for situations where it’s historically been impractical or impossible to integrate displays due to cost, form factor or scalability.
Released today were the transactional details of the 2nd quarter 2010 PricewaterhouseCoopers & National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree Report (PWCNVCAMTR), based on data by Thomson Reuters.
While innumerable opinions were cast about the fate of Venture Capital back in July when the initial Q2 press release went out, we stayed calm and quiet since there wasn’t any relevancy around Minnesota tech startups at the time.
But — what can we learn from the new data revealed?
Minneapolis-based 3D Sports Technology, Inc. (formerly F5-Sports in Motion) made a move earlier this month when they disclosed intent to raise $1m.
The company develops software and visual animation tools to “improve how coaches teach, how players learn and how spectators enjoy their games.”
Listed on the website are two unique products (with a third forthcoming):
By John Vomhoff Jr, Minneapolis-St.Paul Business Journal
“Fair Isaac Corp. announced Wednesday it has completed a private placement of $245 million of senior notes.
The notes were issued in four series, with maturities ranging from six years to 10 years. On average, the notes have an interest rate of 5.2 percent and maturity of eight years.”
Minneapolis-based 
Zipnosis, an “on the go” provider of remote diagnosis and treatment solutions for individuals suffering from basic health ailments, recently filed notice that the company aims to raise up to $2m in investment capital.
While the SEC Form D (Notice of Exempt Offering of Securities) filed on June 25th indicates that only $62.5k has been raised to date in this offering, securities attorney Michael Schley of Larkin Hoffman explains that “It’s not uncommon for startup companies to file their Reg D exemption notices early in their funding cycle, sometimes even before the first sale. Although an issuer must file amendments upon certain material changes, sales up to the stated amount do not require such a filing and the Form D will suffice for a period of up to one year while the issuer completes its offering.”
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Zach Robins / capital
Robins is an associate with Aethlon Capital, a private investment bank. He received his JD from William Mitchell College of Law and his BSBA from The University of Arizona.
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