BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - Dec 18, 2012) - RallyPoint, a rapidly growing gated professional network that empowers U.S. military service members to take greater control over their own careers, today announced it received a total of $1.55 million in seed investments in 2012. The company, heralded as the 'LinkedIn for the military,' previously received $550,000 investment monies in April. Aside from receiving those investments for equity, RallyPoint, in October, was selected from over 1,200 new ventures as the 2012 winner of MassChallenge -- the world's largest start-up competition -- and received a $100,000 award. RallyPoint also received funding from Harvard Business School for finishing as runner-up in its 2012 Business Plan Competition.
Military personnel rotate through positions every couple of years, and it can be difficult, both logistically and culturally, for individual members to play an active role in charting their own careers. After signing up for free at www.RallyPoint.com, a currently serving member of the Armed Forces can create his/her individual profile, grow their professional network of relationships across the military, and see via RallyPoint's graphical maps of the military's organization how their own connections can help them discover and pursue the best positions around the Department of Defense.
While current members of the Armed Forces can use RallyPoint to help navigate their military careers, an estimated 1 million military members will enter the civilian workforce over the next five years. RallyPoint, in 2013, will help its members discover the best career and educational opportunities outside the military -- earlier and more efficiently than has ever been possible.
Said RallyPoint CEO Yinon Weiss: "Some of the new investment funds will help us spread the word to active U.S. military personnel about RallyPoint's value proposition, accelerate RallyPoint member acquisition, and also expand our efforts to partner with trusted employers, academic institutions, and brands to connect them more precisely and cost effectively with the right service members at the right time."
Earlier this month, RallyPoint announced the addition of two recently retired 4-Star military leaders to the company's advisory board, which now represents a blend of experts in military career development, social media start-ups, sophisticated web application development, and entrepreneurship.
This month's seed investors include angel investors from Boston, Washington, DC, and London. Representing the investors on the Board is Jill Preotle, who was an early investor in Zipcar, TaskRabbit, and several other successful start-ups.
About RallyPoint
Founded by Yinon Weiss and Aaron Kletzing -- two Iraq War veterans who met first on the battlefield and reunited at Harvard Business School -- RallyPoint is designed to help service members take control over their careers. Widely heralded as "LinkedIn for the Military," RallyPoint is a free, military-only professional community for active service members. Headquartered in the Harvard Innovation Lab in Boston, RallyPoint was selected from over 1,200 new ventures as the 2012 winner of MassChallenge, the world's largest start-up competition. Service members with an active U.S. military e-mail address can register and begin taking greater control of their own career at www.RallyPoint.com.