Ben Franklin Technology Partners invests $675k in six early-stage companies [VC Roundup]

Welcome to the VC Roundup, where we’ll parse through venture capital news related to Philadelphia-based private equity firms and the companies they fund. Subscribe to the roundup as an email newsletter. If you have any VC-related news to pass along to us, please drop us a line.

MUST READS

Ben Franklin Technology Partners announced $675,000 in funding for six early-stage companies yesterday, according to a press release. Among those that received funding, with a mix of models ranging from business services, to healthcare, to social web, include Cross X Platform, GroupAppz, PeopleLinx, SnipSnap, Syandus and Zonoff. It’s not posted yet, but look for the release at BFTP’s website for details.

MIGHT BE WORTH YOUR TIME

As we reported on Friday, local venture capitalists Josh Kopelman (First Round Capital) and Adele Oliva (Quaker Partners) were recognized by Forbes in the publication’s top 100 VCs list. [h/t CityBizList]

GIVE A GLANCE

A new report says that more angels are investing more money across the country, according to an article by ReadWriteWeb. The 2011 Angel Market Analysis says that angel deals reached $22.5 billion in 2011, a 12.1 percent increase year-over-year, and the number of companies invested in climbed 7.3 percent.

Those angels are an important part of the forces disrupting venture capital, according to a cursory glance at the market by TechCrunch contributor Semil Shah, worth the read if you’ve not been following along.

Perhaps a lesson for Philadelphia coming out of Portland: a small startup market that, with a new initiative called Techlandia (note the play on words), hopes to grow 100 companies to a $100 million liquidity event or $100 million in sales.