TipdOff Raises Over One Million in Seed Financing, Appoints Industry Experts to Advisory Board

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Jan. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- TipdOff, the disruptive financial social network which connects first-time and savvy investors, announced today that it has successfully secured more than $1M in angel funding and sports a roster of seasoned technology leaders to provide industry insight and expertise.

The following industry veterans will assist TipdOff's development and go-to-market strategies to help it grow into the leading social investing destination for sharing tips, trades and advice as advisors and investors:

• Raj Parekh – Formerly CTO and vice president of engineering for Sun Microsystems, and chairman, co-founder and managing director of Redwood Ventures, Parekh joins the company as an investor and board member.
• Bill Crane – Former vice president of engineering for LinkedIn and E-Loan, Crane joins as an investor and acting vice president of engineering for TipdOff.
• Shaun Coleman – Co-founder and former vice president of products for CloudVolumes (acquired by VMware) and Reconnex (acquired by McAfee), Coleman joins TipdOff as an investor and provides expertise in product management, fundraising and overall strategy.
• Matt Conover – Co-founder and former CTO of CloudVolumes and previously technical director of Symantec Research, Conover joins TipdOff as an investor, providing extensive security expertise and is actively involved with the technical team. 
• Todd Gerber – Former director of business engagement and development for Hewlett Packard and currently serving as a director of marketing for Adobe, Gerber provides industry expertise in marketing and business development.
• Steve Demeter – Founder of Demiforce and named Apple's first "App Millionaire" for developing the viral iPhone game Trism, Demeter provides gaming expertise and is instrumental in launching the site's unique paper trading platform.
• Dr. Michael Swinson – Current chief data scientist at TrueCar, Swinson provides guidance on analytical techniques for addressing data challenges to help drive business growth.
• Philip Inghelbrecht – Founder of Shazam, Inghelbrecht has also served as president of TrueCar and spearheaded sports and entertainment partnerships for YouTube. He has been instrumental with TipdOff's fundraising and provides valuable insight as an entrepreneur to assist the team with overall strategy.
• Jay Sethuram – Founder of Cerent and StratumOne, both acquired by Cisco, Sethuram is an active angel whose investments include TipdOff and Apigee, among others.

Raj Parekh, co-founder of Redwood Ventures, said: "Young investors today see the world differently – as skeptics. The TipdOff founders saw the need to develop a user-friendly social platform that creates a greater sense of confidence in investing. This innovative approach appeals to both social media mavens and experienced traders, and I look forward to being a part of shaping an environment that empowers and educates users on the strategic nuances of navigating the stock market."

Bill Crane, acting vice president of engineering for TipdOff, said: "I am excited to both invest in and help grow TipdOff. Transparency and security are key elements for any Web-based solution, particularly those that cater to the investment community. As we move closer to launching a cutting-edge social media investment platform, the engineering team is focused on delivering a feature-rich platform that combines bank-level security with an easy-to-use interactive social layer."

About TipdOff
TipdOff is an online financial social network that connects individual investors and enables real-time access to stock tips, trades and advice from trusted friends and proven experts. For more information, visit www.tipdoff.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Shannon Tierney
Nadel Phelan, Inc.
+1-831-440-2409
[email protected]

SOURCE TipdOff