Ali Pey, the founder and CEO of Ottawa-based startup MessageHopper, has been named as a victim of the Ukrainian airline plane crash that occurred in Iran earlier this week.

According to CTV News, friends and family have confirmed that Pey was killed in the Boeing 737 plane crash that occurred in Tehran, the capital of Iran, on January 8.

Pey founded MessageHopper in 2017, which is based in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata.

It is with profound sadness that we mourn the loss of Ali Pey.

Speculation about the cause of the plane crash has continued, despite Iranian officials originally pointing to mechanical failure. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578601806.084249/Ottawa-startup-CEO-Ali-Pey-named-as-victim-of-Ukrainian-plane-crash?ref=audio_experience

For existing homeowners, the process becomes a bit more stressful when they need to consider selling their old home.

Our Buy and Sell service allows our customers to buy their new home before selling their old home.

That way customers don’t have to miss out on their dream home because they haven’t sold their current one.

Orchard customers work directly with an Orchard licensed agent to find a new home they’ll love.

Since Orchard customers are making cash offers, they’re more likely to be chosen by sellers. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578600011.4226165/Orchard-Raises-Another-$36M-To-Let-You-Buy-Your-New-Home-Before-Selling-Your-Old-Home?ref=audio_experience

BioSkryb, a Durham, N.C.-based single cell genome sequencing company, raised $11.5M in seed funding.

The round was led by Anzu Partners with participation from law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

Led by Jay West, PhD, cofounder and Chief Executive Officer, and Charles Gawad, MD/PhD, cofounder, BioSkryb is a developer of genomic amplification technologies that deliver higher coverage and fidelity for gene sequencing.

The company’s proprietary genomic amplification technology allows scientists working with scarce genetic material to achieve high quality gene sequencing data.

Dr. Kadia previously served as President and CEO of EAG Laboratories in San Diego, CA, and President, Life Sciences Division at Life Technologies Corporation, a company that was acquired by Thermo Fisher in 2014. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578598309.7718394/BioSkryb-Raises-$11.5M-in-Seed-Funding?ref=audio_experience

IsoPlexis, a Branford, Conn.-based developer of single-cell functional proteomics, raised an additional $20m in its Series C financing, bringing the entire Series C round to $45m.

The round was led by Northpond Ventures with participation from existing investors.

The company intends to use the funds to drive the global commercial expansion of its IsoLight single-cell proteomic analysis platform.

The IsoLight single-cell system is used globally by leading biotech, pharma, and academic medical centers to solve critical challenges in cell therapy, cancer immunology, and inflammatory disease.

IsoPlexis has recently expanded its operational, manufacturing, and commercial team across the US, Europe, and Asia, with 130 employees. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578596406.2514064/IsoPlexis-Raises-Additional-$20M-in-Series-C-Financing?ref=audio_experience

What some managers are not aware of is that it is just as important to listen and give your employees a voice, to ensure that they feel heard, respected, and valued.

It is imperative that managers learn how to listen to their employees in order to promote an environment of mutual respect and camaraderie, which is proven to lead to success.

Ensure that your employees know that the changes taking place are a result of the ideas suggested in the survey.

Use eye contact and active listening so that your employees know that you hear them.

Just like with the surveys, your employees need to know that they can share openly without retribution. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578594608.7096863/Your-Employees-Want-To-Be-Heard:-5-Ways-to-Listen-&-Measure-Success?ref=audio_experience

Founders looking to raise capital to power their growing companies have more options than ever.

Traditional bank loans are an option, of course.

As is venture capital.

Firms like Clearbanc are rising to meet demand for capital with more risk appetite than a traditional bank looking for collateral, but less than an early-stage venture firm.

And, some firms that disburse money to growing companies without an explicit equity stake are finding a way to connect capital to them. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578592807.423275/How-some-founders-are-raising-capital-outside-of-the-VC-world-–-TechCrunch?ref=audio_experience

Deciding how much equity to give your key employees Equity is your most valuable currency — here’s how to use it well for hiringAnu Shukla had found the perfect VP of Engineering to help her build her latest startup, a company called RewardsPay.

It helps keep employees motivated with the tantalizing prospect of a big payday when the company is sold or goes public.

But how much equity should founders grant the first engineers hired to help them build their product and the new hires that follow?

Over time, founders will need to tinker with the option pool as everyone’s shares are diluted with each venture round.

But take the time to understand the value of what you’re giving away, and bring discipline to the process early by creating an employee pool. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578591006.6696808/Deciding-how-much-equity-to-give-your-key-employees-–-TechCrunch?ref=audio_experience

Invoicing basics: Set up your start up for successLaunching your own start up is both an exceptionally exciting and daunting undertaking.

A great place to start is with implementing a professional invoicing system from the beginning of your venture.

Don’t let your start up flounder due to bookkeeping errors - start here by mastering the basics of invoicing.

Invoice number - To track and organize invoices, assign each invoice a specific number that’s clearly displayed on the page.

How invoicing software can helpWhile not always an enjoyable task, invoicing is essential to ensure the prosperity of your business. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578589207.4000862/Invoicing-basics:-Set-up-your-start-up-for-success?ref=audio_experience

Sisense, an enterprise startup that that has built a business analytics business out of the premise of making big data as accessible as possible to users — whether it be through graphics on mobile or desktop apps, or spoken through Alexa — is announcing a big round of funding today and a large jump in valuation to underscore its traction.

(It did not disclose valuation in 2018, when it raised a venture round of $80 million.)

Insight is in the news today for another big deal: wearing its private equity hat, the firm acquired Veeam for $5 billion.

The company has also made some key acquisitions to boost its business, such as the acquisition of Periscope Data last year (coincidentally also for $100 million, I understand).

This was also one of the big reasons why Salesforce gobbled up Tableau last year for a slightly higher price: $15.7 billion. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578587407.0491352/Sisense-nabs-$100m-at-a-$1B+-valuation-for-accessible-big-data-business-analytics-–-TechCrunch?ref=audio_experience

Soul Machines today announced that it’s raised $40 million in series B from Temase with participation from Lakestar and existing investors Horizons Ventures, University of Auckland Inventors Fund, Salesforce Ventures, and others.

Soul Machines’ Soul Engine is serves as the brains of the operation, simulating basic cognitive processes that control attention, learning, sensing, and behaviors.

Soul Machines’ assistants also use existing AI engines, such as IBM’s Watson, which supports several languages.

It might sound a bit hyperbolic, but Soul Machines says it has the numbers to prove its technology is superior to the rest.

But Soul Machines appears to have captured investors’ imaginations in a way few others have. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578585606.5906258/Soul-Machines-raises-$40-million-for-AI-powered-customer-facing-digital-avatars?ref=audio_experience