Backed With $1.5M, CircleUp Aims To Be The AngelList For Consumer And Retail Startups

The funding environment for technology-focused startups these days is getting to be a bit ridiculous, so some tech industry folks may need to use their imaginations for a second to understand this concept. There are a lot of companies out there in the consumer and retail space -- with real products, real employees, and, yes, real revenues -- who have a very hard time finding the investors needed to take them to the next level of growth. The truth is, it's even more difficult than you probably think to start the next Clif Bar, Burt's Bees, or American Apparel. That's where CircleUp aims to help. CircleUp is a San Francisco-based startup that has built an online platform to allow consumer product companies to raise money from accredited investors. Much like AngelList does for tech startups and the angel investment community, CircleUp allows both retail companies and the people who would potentially like to invest in them to evaluate each other and communicate in a private social networking setting.

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