Rick Bolander Discusses Gabriel Venture Partners’ Investment Focus

An experienced finance professional and venture capitalist, Rick Bolander currently works as a Managing Partner of Gabriel Venture Partners (GVP) in Redwood City, California. Founded in 1999 by Bolander and Phil Samper, GVP presently manages some $260 million in assets. The firm focuses its investment activity on early-stage startups, primarily those with passionate founders who offer new business models and next-generation technologies. Throughout all of its business activities, GVP makes use of a capital efficiency model, which focuses on small and early deals with a high potential for rapid growth and exits in the short term. In general, GVP seeks out those companies which will require less than $15 million in venture funding to reach an exit point or achieve cash flow positive status. Rather than seeking out long-term opportunities for billion-dollar valuations and very large initial public offerings (IPOs), GVP’s model allows for resiliency and diversification. To learn more about Gabriel Venture Partners, visit www.gabrielvp.com.

Rick Bolander: Kajeet’s Support of Right Back on Track (Part Two)

Part One of this article discussed the mission and municipal partners of the New York City Dropout and Truancy Prevention Network's (DTPN) Right Back on Track Mentoring program. Kajeet, a technology company focused on the emerging need for kids’ smartphones, is engaged with the program as a partner. The DTPN initiative emphasizes phone-based coaching and mentoring as a way of motivating at-risk teenagers to stay in school. Participating students carry mobile devices with them that have full text, data, and talk capacities. If they do not show up for classes and events as expected, the assigned mentor reaches out to the student through the phone and checks his or her location and expected arrival time. The strength of the program is that it combines the power of a mentoring relationship with greater communication capabilities. Kajeet assists in DTPN’s battle against student truancy by offering cost-effective, contract-free communications options. Augmenting its patented parental online controls are satellite-enabled device locators that allow parents to keep track of their children’s whereabouts. Rick Bolander, a leader at Kajeet, fully supports the company’s efforts in providing teenagers with empowering technologies.

Rick Bolander on School Guard: kajeet's Latest Tool for Child Access Management

With a focus on providing parents with the tools they need to supervise their children's mobile phone usage, kajeet, Inc., has revolutionized the smartphone industry with innovative products that empower kids and parents alike. The company's newest service, School Guard, brings these tools to administrators and teachers interested in better managing bring-your-own-device programs. Many schools have encouraged students to use their tablets and mobile devices in order to enrich the learning environment, and kajeet has made it possible for schools to manage students' usage of Android-based devices by creating Internet access policies. School Guard enables schools to approach Internet filtering with a granular methodology, providing the flexibility necessary for administrators to tailor the system to their own needs. Using kajeet's technology, teachers can create individualized policies for their own classrooms, and parents can join with their children's schools to manage Internet access at home. For more information on kajeet, visit the company's website at www.kajeet.com. About Rick Bolander: A Member of the Board of Directors for kajeet, Rick Bolander also serves as the Managing Partner and cofounder of Gabriel Venture Partners, a venture capital firm focused on innovative technologies and companies in the information technology sector.

Rick Bolander: Driving Early-Stage Success at Persistent Systems

With a reputation for nurturing successful early-stage ventures in the information technology, clean tech, and communications spheres, Rick Bolander serves as Co-founder and Managing Director of Gabriel Venture Partners (GVP). He has sat on the boards of a number of funded ventures, including IPWireless, NetScaler, Tut Systems, Inc., and Persistent Systems Ltd.

An established India-headquartered firm focused on technology services and the software-product life cycle, Persistent Systems has partnered with diverse technology brands over the past 22 years. The firm collaborates integrally with corporate clients to develop top-tier solutions spanning the consumer products, health care, life sciences, and financial sectors. Services extend through all stages of a product’s life cycle, including concept, design, engineering, and ongoing support and maintenance. The firm has entered into high-profile partnerships with industry leaders such as IBM Corp., Microsoft, and Cisco Systems, Inc.

With GVP, Rick Bolander is currently active on the boards of the tween-focused safe mobile education and mobile-services provider Kajeet, Inc., and digital textbook rental firm Chegg Inc.

Objectives of the National Venture Capital Association: An Overview

As cofounder and Managing Partner of Gabriel Venture Partners in Redwood Shores, California, Rick Bolander takes part in several key conferences each year and is involved with numerous industry groups. Among these, Rick Bolander holds membership in the National Venture Capital Association, the foremost trade organization representing the interests of venture capital professionals across the United States.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the National Venture Capital Association plays an active role in lobbying efforts for individuals and companies in the venture capital industry and frequently argues on behalf of innovation in public policy debates. With a focus on the ongoing development of professional and ethical standards, increased cooperation between corporate and governmental entities, and new sources of revenue for the economy, the National Venture Capital Association helps venture capitalists lead the country into a renaissance of ideas and industry.

Kajeet Featured in a September Issue of the New York Post

by Rick Bolander

Among kajeet’s recent accomplishments, it earned featured coverage in the September 1, 2012, issue of the New York Post, which praised the mobile service as one of “the hottest gadgets for kids this season.” Citing the service’s low cost, global positioning system tracking, and time-limiting function, the New York Post declared kajeet the favorite no-contract, Android-powered smartphone among parents and children alike. The article represents the latest in a string of victories for kajeet, as it takes the child- and parent-friendly phone service into the future.

About the Author: A Board of Directors member for kajeet since 2007, venture capitalist and early-stage technology backer Rick Bolander has facilitated the company’s growth from a promising concept in safe parenting into one of the most highly touted pay-as-you-go mobile phone services for children. Indeed, Rick Bolander and his colleagues have steered kajeet toward a number of key partnerships, media appearances, and professional hires to foster the company’s continued development in mobile markets in the United States and abroad.

Kajeet Announces Free Mobile Hotspot Access

Based in Northern California, Rick Bolander co-founded Gabriel Venture Partners. An active technology investor, Bolander serves on the Boards of Directors for multiple enterprises, including Kajeet, a cell phone provider that offers parental controls.

Kajeet furnishes an array of mobile devices to its customers, including Android models. Individuals who purchased Android units and Kajeet mobile web add-ons may now connect to the Internet on the go and, even more usefully, may use their Kajeet devices as wireless hotspots. Kajeet users can share this wireless connection with nearby friends and family who are using other devices such as laptops or tablets. This mobile hotspot is secure and password-protected, and connecting to the web in this fashion costs nothing extra. Of course, the device holder must have previously purchased a Kajeet mobile web add-on and is responsible for data usage under his or her normal monthly plan.

The Android devices eligible to take advantage of this feature include the Samsung Replenish, Galaxy tablet, Conquer, Kyocera Milano, LG Optimus S, and the HTC Evo Shift.