There’s no shortage of professional networks available to those looking for salaried jobs, but job seekers in search of hourly shifts are pretty much limited to either scouring Craiglist or simply hoofing it from business to business. Chicago-based Shiftgig hopes to change that by focusing on the overlooked.

BodyShopBids, a Chicago-based online and mobile platform that customers can use to solicit custom auto repair estimates, today announced that it has secured $1M in series A financing led by OCA Ventures. New World Ventures and Lightbank also participated in the round. Jim Dugan, managing partner of OCA Ventures, and Jeff Maters, vice president of [...]

Power2Switch said it raised $1.3 million in a round led by OCA Ventures. Hyde Park Angels, New World Ventures, I2A and several private investors participated in the investment. Power2Switch of Chicago will use the financing to hire additional employees, accelerate sales and marketing, and expand the business into other deregulated states. PRESS RELEASE POWER2SWITCH RAISES [...]

Chicago-based startup Power2Switch has raised $1.3 million in capital. Power2Switch will use the financing to hire additional employees, accelerate sales and marketing, and expand the business. The investment round was led by OCA Ventures. Hyde Park Angels, New World Ventures and I2A, along with private investors, also participated in the investment. In addition to Power2Switch [...]

The Chicago-based venture firm OCA Ventures has brought aboard Gabe Greenbaum as a senior associate, as well as parted ways with general partner Eddie Lou, who joined the firm in 2001 and was president and CEO of PlanetHVAC, a business-to-business software company, prior. OCA Ventures says Lou has left to “entrepreneurial interests.” PRESS RELEASE: 2011 has brought [...]

Red Foundry has raised $1.1 million in a first round of financing from OCA Ventures and I2A Fund, Reuters reported. The startup develops technology that allows anyone to design and create mobile applications without needing to know programming code. The company is based in Chicago, and will use the money to expand its staff and to launch its technology, which is currently in beta testing.

Chicago-based cloud storage company Cleversafe has raised $31.4 million in an extended Series C funding round. Venture investors include Chicago-based OCA Ventures; Sunnyside, Calif.-based Motorola Ventures; and Menlo Park, Calif.-based New Enterprise Associates. The company will use the money in part to expand marketing of its dispersed storage platform.

National Billing Partners LLC, a Chicago-based provider of financial services for healthcare providers, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from OCA Ventures.

CampusExplorer.com, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based college search portal, has raised $2.25 million in Series B funding. OCA Ventures led the round, and was joined by Origin Ventures and return backer Rincon Venture Partners.

OCA Ventures of Chicago has closed its second fund with $50.1 million in capital commitments. Limited partners include O’Connor Partners Investment Office, the Illinois’ Technology Development Fund and the Iowa Capital Investment Corporation PRESS RELEASE OCA Ventures LLC, a leading early stage technology venture capital firm, announced effective September 30, 2008, the final close of its [...]