João-Pierre arrived in 1997 at the door of NJBIZ, then known as Business News New Jersey, as an intern and was hired that same year as a staff writer. For more than 12 years he has covered the retail, technology, and media industries in the state. He also handles principal online news writing at NJBIZ.com. João-Pierre is a lifelong resident of the state and graduated from Rutgers University. 
Small technology companies that advance their ideas in spite of the challenging economy may yet land much needed funding, according a local angel investor.
Early-stage company ConnectYard Inc., in Wayne, said Tuesday it completed a series-A round with $500,000 in financing from the Jumpstart NJ Angel Network
The company, which provides a social media communications platform for use by educational institutions, said it will use the additional capital for expansion and investment in technology, as well as to ramp up sales, marketing and business development.
ConnectYard CEO Donald Doane said the announcement marks the company’s first outside funding source. “We are currently partners with a number of companies including Blackboard, which is a provider of learning management solutions for higher education,” he said.
Doane said ConnectYard also is in discussions with Pearson Learning Solutions.
“We plug into make them more social and engaging,” he said. Doane said the funding will help with technology integration and expand sales resources. ConnectYard has a staff of four, he said, with new hires in the works — though Doane did not yet have specific plans.
ConenctYard’s growth strategy includes mining clients beyond higher education — such as the K-12 market — as well as corporate learning and professional education. Doane said he expects the company to conduct its first pilot programs with high school-based solutions in the fall.
Gina Tedesco, managing partner with Amala Ventures, in Bernardsville, joined ConnectYard’s board. Tedesco was Jumpstart’s lead investor in ConnectYard.
She said investing activity has perked up a bit. “We’ve been seeing better deals lately,” Tedesco said. “Things were pretty bad last year, in terms of people not wanting to part with their money.”
She said ConnectYard already tested its service and rolled it out to customers before looking for investors. “They already had people looking at their product, and their product was already working,” Tedesco said.
In the past, she said, entrepreneurs sought funding for concepts that had yet to be developed. ConnectYard’s management also impressed investors, she said, with their plans to expand in the market. Tedesco said she sees an opportunity for ConnectYard to leverage its prospects.
“I think the education market is going to take off,” she said. “There’s a lot of disruption in the market. There’s a lot of new technologies.”
She said ConnectYard is bridging the gap between older learning management systems and new modes.
Tedesco said finding an early-stage company like ConenctYard with its own resources already in line is rare, though more entrepreneurs are working on their own to move their ideas to the next stage.
“A lot of people have bootstrapped their companies to a certain level,” Tedesco said. “That makes it more interesting for an early-stage investor.”
E-mail João-Pierre Ruth at jpruth@njbiz.com
Follow me on Twitter @jpruth
