Q1 2023 Featured Founders
Top 10 New Majority founders currently fundraising from YOU
Hello New Majority Investor Circle!
Q1 has flown by and we are excited to share with you the top 10 New Majority founders who are currently raising from everyday investors like YOU. We hope you love the new format which aims to make it easy to skim and quickly understand who the company is, how it makes money, where it sits in the market, and potential impact.
We’d like to hear from you! Let us know which startups you loved and which ones left you on the fence.
Heads up - one campaign ends today!
As a reminder, Investor Circle members get access to the full top 10 list. Free subscribers see the top 3. We’ve also included a few bonus tidbits for accredited investors at the bottom of the list. These are founders who would love to see New Majority investors on their cap table and are actively raising pre-seed and seed rounds today.
Bibti
First, some context:
How many news reports do we see about women running in the park and they are attacked? Walking home and followed?
Who is this for?
📱💬 You're the friend that reminds everyone to text the group chat when they get home
🚌 🚕 You factor in how you think you're getting home/traveling that night when you make plans
🔑 You carry keys between your knuckles when you're out alone
Bibti is the “buddy system” scaled as a mobile app to increase safety in female public transportation use, starting in urban areas 👯♀️
Tell me more
Bibti is a B2G (cities) and subscription-based app that helps women connect with other women for safe transportation, building a safe, trusted, and fun community in the process.
The details
Industry: Tech, community, micromobility 🚶♀️
Impact: Gender equality (SDG 5), Sustainable cities & communities (SDG 11)
Team Diversity: Female founders
HQ: Washington, DC
Company size: <5
Year founded: 2021
Key investors: Grants & founder-funded to date
Investment type: Crowd SAFE
Deadline: None stated
Investor Perks: Ranges from t-shirts to launch party invitations to access to quarterly investor meetings
Early traction: Launched MVP and gained 86 users within the first 90 days with $200 in marketing spent, Georgetown Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize winner (also known as Bark Tank), Georgetown Global Impact Pitch Competition winner, Georgetown Global Social Innovation Lab winner
Founders
Emily Owen: Georgetown School of Foreign Service graduate, lived in Cairo and Istanbul for 7 years
Sena Ikiz: lives in Istanbul (2nd city slated to launch), product manager with built environment experience
Due diligence
Pros:
👩👩👧👧 Community building: for college students, it feels safe to be with peers. 17% month on month growth during the pilot at Georgetown University 🎓
🚶♀️ In line with microbility and sustainable trends: Sustainable (currently walking-based and will expand to public transportation)
✅ Focus on personal safety: Verification based on ID and community-based
💰 Multiple revenue streams: subscription model for users and municipal city contracts
Potential risks:
🌍 Growth plan is built on scalability to international cities which means the app has to work across different cultures, languages, and geographies
Privacy and safety concerns: Core driver of users to the platform
Competitors
SafeUp: available in 10 cities, allows users to see vetted “Guardians” around them and connect via video or phone if feeling unsafe, raised $715K
Sister:allows users to share locations and activate alarms
Wher: based in Italy, allows users to mark streets as safe or friendly for other women
Guardial: pre-launch, allows users to simulate calls, send location to emergency contacts, and record audio and video with one tap
Why Bibti: Most personal safety apps for women focus on deterrence and sending alerts while leaving users physically alone, whereas Bibti is connecting personal safety with public transportation leveraging existing infrastructure to actually bring women together - literally safety in numbers.
Pollie
First, some context:
You’ve noticed some changes within your body and are concerned it’s a broader health issue:
🩸 Your period is erratic, and yes, we just emerged from a pandemic and you were recently laid off, but you think it’s something beyond stress
😡 Your normally clear skin looks like it did when you were a teenager
🪒 In addition to shaving your legs, you have started to shave new hair patches on your stomach, chest, and back
🧴 Even though you just bought another new moisturizer, you can’t seem to get rid of the darker, thicker skin patch that appeared on the back of your neck
😖 After a year of doctor visits, you continue to get a recommendation for stress reduction
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is often misdiagnosed as its a collection of symptoms with no "single test to diagnose”
🙇♀️ 7M people within the US suffer from PCOS
PCOS costs $2k - 13k/year, and the status quo of discrete and reactive PCOS care fails to tackle the whole disease
Pollie redefines PCOS care in one mobile app with personalized, OBGYN-backed, and evidence-based PCOS care
Tell me more
Pollie is an app for women providing personalized, research-backed, and OBGYN-approved interventions to help you manage your hormones, metabolism, reproductive health, and emotional wellbeing across all life stages. Pollie focuses on complex, chronic conditions women face - that are underfunded, not well understood, and often misdiagnosed.
The details
Industry: Tech, wellness 🩺
Impact: Good health and well-being (SDG 3) & Gender equality (SDG 5)
Team Diversity: Female founders
HQ: Denver, CO
Company size: 4
Year founded: 2020
Key investors: Raised nearly $900K from angel, institutional, and corporate investors (Bayer’s G4A, HealthTech Capital, Joyance Partners, Social Starts)
Investment type: Crowd SAFE
Deadline: May 1, 2023
Investor Perks: Ranges from sponsoring 1 person’s participation in PCOS program for 3 months to an advisory role (min investment of $50K)
Early traction:
revenue generating ($89 / month and HSA and FSA reimbursable)
📈 83% of Pollie members report feeling better after 2 months
45% daily active users / monthly active user ratio (over 50% is stellar)
Founders
Jane Sagui: Co-founder & CEO, diagnosed with PCOS in college, previously at VC/PE firm NGP Capital and PwC
Sabrina Mason: Co-founder & COO, MPH, previously at Tempus, athenahealth, and Boston Children's Hospital
Due diligence
Pros:
🍎👩⚕️📚 Comprehensive focus: Help women manage PCOS symptoms through a comprehensive product that includes labs, a care team, a PCOS plan, an education library, symptom tracking, and supplements
Comprehensive focus that applies to broader market of complex, chronic conditions for females: $96B market including hormone, autoimmune, digestive, and thyroid disease
👍 Focused on behavior change: complements existing health care infrastructure and an approach with demonstrated individual and commercial success
👌 Organic growth: with no paid advertising, they had ~1000 app downloads and over 80% of members seeing improvement and over 95% expressing satisfaction with Pollie care team visits
Potential risks:
📲 App relies on user engagement and consistent tracking of symptoms making UI and design a big key to success and neither have that experience
📑 Current fundraising round is to expand users and conduct a study to demonstrate clinical effectiveness: study may show insignificant results
Large and competitive market: as Jane, the founder, points out herself, there are significant competitors in the virtual, behavior change, chronic conditions healthcare startup and incumbent space.
Competitors
Allara: all-in-one virtual care team providing personalized healthcare for hormonal, metabolic and gynecological conditions
Paloma: focused on end to end thyroid care through testing, consultations with thyroid doctors, and nutritional guidance with constant check-ins for a continuous supervision approach
Livongo: focused on managing diabetes with smart devices and 24/7 expert support
Omada: virtual chronic care provider focused on prediabetes, diabetes, hypertension, and muskuloskeletal
Why Pollie: Unlike many competitors Pollie combines behavior change with consultations. Pollie starts with behavior change, actions that a patient can take today, and complements these actions with data, physician consultations, evidence-based care suggestions to create a comprehensive care approach focused on immediate relief and sustained management of disease. If Pollie can succeed with PCOS, a notoriously difficult to diagnose and manage disease, then this bodes well for tackling other complex, chronic conditions.
The Cru
First, some context:
Are you?
A) 😵💫 Burned out, working in a toxic work environment, but have been promoted a few times, and now you’re not sure if you want to stay as you’re already on track for the next promotion or jump to a different company with a better, healthier balance
B) 👭 Have the itch to launch your own business but want a partner in crime to take the leap with you
C) 🤑 First generation to go to college, secured a prestigious, well-paid job, but…no clue what to do with your high income and how to actually achieve financial freedom
Women need meaningful connections in a constantly changing world that seems to throw one curveball after another…pandemic, working from home with young children, social media fatigue, Roe vs. Wade overturned, need I say more?
At work, "women in the middle" struggle to navigate their middle career direction; 4 in 10 women considered leaving their companies in 2021.
HR leaders frequently fail at retaining the necessary pipeline for women senior leaders due to job stress, limited time, and budget
The Cru provides an affordable and structured solution to help women in the middle connect with like-minded peers in a diversified network.
Tell me more
The Cru is a platform to help women meet their life goals and help companies retain women by matching individuals in small accountability circles for mutual peer coaching.
The details
Industry: Tech, HR
Impact: Gender equality (SDG 5) & Reduced inequalities (SDG 10)
Team Diversity: Black, woman founder
HQ: NY, NY
Company size: 5
Year founded: 2018
Key investors: Raised $5M from VCs, including Betaworks, Bloomberg Beta & Fearless Fund
Investment type: Crowd SAFE
Deadline: May 1, 2023
Investor Perks: A membership to The Cru or a virtual keynote by the founder at the company event depending on investment amount
Early traction:
$8M pipeline from 16,000 applicants, $696K ARR, 91% retention
92% of members feel The Cru has helped them to realize their intentions
Founders
Tiffany Dufu: CEO and founder, prev. President of White House Project, Launch team for Lean In, CLO (Chief Leadership Officer) of Levo, author of NYT bestselling book Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less, pillar behind Girls Who Code, Girl Scouts USA & Visible Figures
Due diligence
Pros:
👩💼 A meaningful and on-demand program that helps unleash women's potential, promotes DEI, and advances women to higher leadership positions in the workplace
A huge market opportunity that remains to be tapped into: TAM for “women in the middle” is $23B, with an expected buying power market of $5T.
⚽️ High-level leaders are coaches with the help of an effective 2-sided model to improve odds of members' success.
Potential risks:
Scalability of the 2-side model requires knowledge of data management and technology integration that current leadership has no experience on.
Cyber security threats, breaches of sensitive, and confidential information.
Competitors
Pavilion: a community-powered learning for high-growth leaders
Uvaro: a community-based Career Success company that offers lifelong support to experience both financial health and fulfillment from work.
Chief: private membership network connecting and supporting women executive leaders
Why The Cru: In a world where progress for equality has stalled, women are willing to pay to build meaningful connections that further their careers. Companies are increasingly willing to pay to retain their pipeline of women leaders. The Cru offers a structured and cost-effective solution for women in the middle to connect with peers who share similar interests within a diverse network.
Mightly *closes 3/31*
First, some context:
🌱 You're a GenX or Millennial mom who cares about sustainability.
Your child is energetic, always coming home with a new stain on their shirt, and seems to grow out of their clothes overnight. 👶 🧒 👵
💸 It’s a fine balance between clothing your kiddo in high-quality, ethical items that don’t break the bank.
Millennial parents are shifting toward sustainability and willing to pay, to an extent.
Enter Mightly with sustainable and affordable children's clothes.
Tell me more
Mightly is an organic, sustainable kid (0-14 years) clothing brand run by 3 moms - who know exactly what their customers are going through.
The details
Industry: Sustainability, Fashion & Apparel 👕 🌱
Impact: Responsible consumption & production (SDG 12)
Team Diversity: Female founders
HQ: Oakland, CA
Company size: 3
Year founded: 2019
Key investors: Previously founder-funded, currently backed by Anna Binder - head of people at Asana
Investment type: Preferred stock
Deadline: March 31, 2023
Investor Perks: Ranges from Mightly Activity Book or item to virtual meeting with Founders to pre-access to sales and product launches
Early traction:
revenue generating - over $1.5M to date, 260% YoY growth
35,000 loyal and happy customers with average review of 4.7 stars
Founders
Tierra Forte: prev. at PACT Apparel, Fair Trade Certified Factory Program, founded Del Forte Denim, consultant for Patagonia.
Barrie Brouse: prev. at Gap, Marimekko, Sweet Potatoes, Dr.Seuss, Reebok, and Disney, won multiple awards for children's wear designs including the National Parenting Products Award.
Anya Marie Emerson: an attorney who graduated from prestigious schools, involved in retail consumer and e-commerce businesses as an investor and advisor, prev. at littlemissmatched.
Due diligence
Pros:
🤰👩🦳 👸 Experienced team: 3 moms with a combined 50 years of the apparel industry and sustainable supply chain expertise.
👚 Affordable & Authentic: Due to the fully integrated and transparency of supply chain, Mightly can keep prices low even though it uses high quality material (certified and FT organic cotton, no GMOs, toxic dyes, or flame retardants)
Accessible: Available at Amazon and Target+ where busy parents shop
🏭 ♻️ Ethical & Sustainable: Fair Trade-certified factories must adhere to rigorous standards and pay Fair Trade premiums to the workers. Mightly also uses 100% recycled content packaging and reusable shipping bags
Potential risks:
🇮🇳 Supply chain disruptions: Mightly currently depends on only 1 manufacturer in India, if problems occurs, Mightly will run out of inventories and depress sales.
👩💻 Small founder and management team: Anya works on several side projects that can diminish time committed to Mightly; adverse effect if lost members, hard to attract and retain appropriate personnel
Competitors
Finn + Emma: mid-range performing brand that produces organic, eco-friendly, and non-toxic baby and children's clothing and accessories.
Hanna Anderson: premium children's apparel and lifestyle brand who follows GOTS and ethical Code of Conduct.
Burt's Bees Baby: brand that targets parents of babies and toddlers specializes in providing natural and organic clothing.
Why Mightly: Mightly produces eco-friendly kid clothes and sells directly to consumers, with a focus on increasingly eco-conscious, higher-income GenX and Millennial parents. The company was founded by three mothers who identify with their target customers and the right experience and skillset to build the business
Zencastr *closes 4/3*
First, some context:
Who is this for?
You're a freelancer and interested in making your own podcast but unsure where to start.
Now you recorded your podcast but still need to fine-tune it to perfection.
💸 Your podcast is super interesting and has a million downloads, but you make $0.
In order to make money, you need sponsors from aligned-value brands, but you haven't had those connections in your network.
📈 Out of the pandemic, the podcasting industry keeps growing due to the increasing adoption of e-learning.
Top podcasts have an immense supportive network that other podcasters don't get access to.
Zencastr democratizes professional podcasting by creating a network for everyone.
Tell me more
Zencastr is an all-in-one podcast platform that leverages AI technology that allows creators to record, produce, host, analyze, and monetize.
The details
Industry: Tech, Media 🎧
Impact: Reduced inequalities (SDG 10)
Team Diversity: AAPI
HQ: Salt Lake City, UT
Company size: 30-50
Year founded: 2014
Key investors: Raised a total of $4.6M over 3 funding rounds from VCs including Forward Venture Capital, and most recently with Kickstart Fund as the lead investor for the crowdfunding campaign
Investment type: SAFE
Deadline: April 3, 2023
Investor Perks: Get early access to Zencastr's monetization network
Early traction:
More than 30,000 actively podcasters
Established with well-known customers including Spotify, NPR, CBS, and Netflix
Founders
Josh Nielsen: President, CEO; developer in residence for Techstars Boulder, 2x winner of Node Knockout, bootstrapped Zencastr to profitability solo.
Adrian Lopez: CPO, prev. at Quickride, ByteDance, and Flipagram
Due diligence
Pros:
Zencastr earns revenue using a freemium SaaS/Ad-supported model: $2M ARR + $230k Advertising YTD
A veteran team of startup founders, technologists, and marketing experts
🎧 Both the podcast industry and podcast advertising market are growing exponentially leading to more prospects for earnings
Democratizing focus creating opportunities for remote and small creators
💰 Multiple revenue streams from SAAS and creator revenue share
Potential risks:
Zencastr is betting on creators' desire for revenue share; if creators lose interest, the business might not scale.
Increasing competition with low barrier to entry
Competitors
Squadcast: a SaaS platform that empowers content creators to collaborate from anywhere in the world, with remote recording studio and cloud-based technology prevent audio syncing issues or lost recordings.
Adobe Podcast: AI powered audio with big name backers, still in beta mode
Zoom: No need to link, one of the easiest ways to record a podcast
Why Zencastr: Podcasting is still a growing industry, even after receiving a boost during the pandemic. Zencastr is making it easier for new and professional podcasters to share and monetize their work, not just record beautiful audio.
Superphone
First, some context:
You're a new brand owner who needs to advertise your products; you have already identified your customer segmentation but are unsure how to target it.
📧 Knowing most marketing emails go straight to spam or trash without being opened, you prefer personal communication with your customers.
💬 Younger generations are in texts not emails
💬 > 📧 Text outperforms email in both open and response rates.
After sending a mass of texts, you have no way of tracking ROI - did your text marketing campaign work?
Superphone helps businesses to reach their customers where they are via text.
Tell me more
Superphone is a mobile messaging platform that allows direct communication via text. It includes a fully featured scalable text inbox and CRM, filtering and segmentation to precisely target recipients, update broadcasts, and automation. The platform also includes KPI tracking and data analytics to optimize campaigns.
The details
Industry: Marketing tech
Impact: Reduced inequalities (SDG 10)
Team Diversity: Black founder
HQ: NY, NY
Company size: 12
Year founded: 2014
Key investors: Raised $8.3M over 8 rounds, previous investors include Ben Horowitz (Andreessen Horowitz) and Bessemer Venture Partners
Investment type: Crowd SAFE
Deadline: April 21, 2023
Investor Perks: Ranges from listing as an investor, a limited edition t-shirt to exclusive investor dinner with the Founder at Harry's on Wall Street
Early traction:
over 98% customer base acquired organically
over 175 million messages sent since 2019
revenue generating by subscription plans based on volume(64% YoY growth since 2019, between 10-25% per year considered good)
Founders
Ryan Leslie: Founder & CEO, Grammy nominated recording artist, Harvard graduate, built 4 companies - SuperPhone, WealthPlan, Black Phoenix Enterprises, and NextSelection Lifestyle Group.
Florian Erlemann: CPO at SuperPhone, CTO at Dash Radio, co-founder Mandaris
Bojan Babic: CTO at SuperPhone, CEO at lambdaworks
Lee Williams: CCO at SuperPhone, Chief of Staff of Black Phoenix Enterprises
Due diligence
Pros:
👌 Differentiated from other competitors by personalized communication (Global 1-to-1 Messaging - "Never Lose Touch" feature, IVR& Voice Capabilities, Public API)
🤌 A viral touch with multiple campaigns including Miley Cyrus, Zayn, Cardi B, and Bad Bunny
Backed by prominent VC and angel investors
Potential risks:
🤯 Competing commitments of executive officers and key personnel: each member also holds positions in other companies that can reduce time dedicated to SuperPhone
⁇ What’s the next marketing medium? Physical mail, phones, email, texts, what’s next?
Competitors
Sendinblue: based in Paris, a cloud-based digital marketing all-in-one suite platform that includes the entire chain, suiting the needs of growing SMBs in tough markets.
EZ Texting: based in San Francisco, #1 SMS marketing leader that provide easy-to-use, self-service mass texting services for US & Canada businesses
Klaviyo: a marketing automation platform for email and SMS powered by a built-in CDP to analyze and scale e-commerce brands.
Why Superphone: Companies using Superphone report their customers actually prefer to be reached via text, especially when the messaging is helpful (targeted and differentiated). They have a notable ability to attract star talent and household name investors.
Emile Heathe
First, some context:
💄 Beauty consumers today are looking for founders and brands that look like them and care about our environment, without sacrificing high quality in cosmetics.
🧼 Check any girly’s social media For You feed - it’s all about clean beauty trends and luxury brands.
Seems like everyone is beauty loving, sustainability-focused, and loving the luxe packaging.
Emilie Heathe was created to address customers' values of luxury beauty, clean beauty, and conscientious beauty combined. Its core values as a brand are quality, inclusivity, and sustainability.
Tell me more
Emilie Heathe is a heritage luxury beauty brand that introduces inclusivity and sustainability to a market that has traditionally been Eurocentric and price exclusive.
The details
Industry: Beauty 💋
Impact: Good health and well-being (SDG 3) and Responsible consumption & production (SDG 12)
Team Diversity: AAPI and female founder
HQ: NY, NY
Company size: 5
Year founded: 2020
Key investors: Bootstrapped, Columbia Alumni Virtual Accelerator, Columbia Business School Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center alum (other notable alum went on to build Betterment, Beyond Meat, Daily Harvest, IT Cosmetics, ShopKeep, Zocdoc, Soko Glam, and Thursday Boot Co.)
Investment type: Reservation
Deadline: Not yet stated
Investor Perks: Discounts off orders, complimentary product, beauty consultation with founder
Early traction:
Multi-channel retailer with a presence in multiple upscale brick & mortar stores (Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Ave, Anthropologie, Nordstrom, and C.O. Bigelow) and strong business via their e-commerce site. 🛍
Organic social media growth and multiple notable brand partnerships (most recently, Warner Bros)
Popular with several celebrities wearing their products (Emma Stone, Simone Ashley, HoYeon Jung).
Founders
Emily Rudman: 17+ years of industry experience in product development, creative production, and hair/makeup styling. Formerly at: MAC, AVON, Bobbi Brown, Briogeo, Chanel, Cartier, Montblanc. Columbia Business School alumna.
Due diligence
Pros:
🌱 Love the commitment to sustainability and health: they utilize 50% post-consumer recycled glass and FSC-certified recycled paper for packaging, their nail polishes are 10-free, and 1% of sales are directed towards eco causes.
🏆 Products are award-winning and were featured in InStyle, Allure, The Zoe Report, Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Marie Claire, and The Cut + brand partnerships with Warner Bros (their 🦇 Batman nail polish collection!), MISA Los Angeles, Citizens of Humanity, and more.
M&A activity from major beauty brands has picked up, especially amidst a surge in self-care activities and values that began during the early pandemic.
Recent success/exits in this industry: Topicals ($10M raised in 2022 from CAVU Consumer Partners, Gabrielle Union, Kelly Rowland, and Marcy Venture Partners (Jay-Z)); Olaplex (majority investment from Advent International, IPO launch 2 years later and raised over $1.5B); and Beauty Bakerie (2020 Series A funding with 645 Ventures, now sold in Ulta).
Potential risks:
The beauty space is highly competitive, companies have a high need for consumer approval and the “it” product changes rapidly.
For beauty, investments can be very personal or hard to weigh if you have not used the product directly.
Competitors
Saie: Beauty brand focused on clean origins and sustainability, sold in Sephora. Last funding round closed in 2020, and seed funding was provided from G9 Ventures (Oura, Caraway, Supergoop!) and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Kosas: Clean beauty focused on color cosmetics, sold in Sephora. Lead investor from last funding round was Stripes (ON, Parade, Erewhon).
ILIA: Clean beauty movement leader, sold in Sephora. Last funding round in 2020, funders include Silas Capital (Makeup by Mario) and Sandbridge Capital (Peach & Lily, Youth to the People, The Real Real, Bonobos)
Why Emilie Heathe: We need to make space for BIPOC leaders in the beauty/cosmetics/self-care world, and Emily Rudman has a background of incredible work history to be competitive.
Tomu
First, some context:
🛫 Travel is up post-pandemic and travelers are increasingly seeking non-traditional (aka hotel/resort) lodging, and there is a shortfall in the hospitality lodging supply 🏨
🏘 At the same time, we continue to face a housing (un)affordability crisis and a climate crisis and a greater need for sustainable housing structures (whether for vacation or not) are built.
And if you’re the sustainable globetrotter, the travel influencer who finds the new places off the beaten path, or a real estate investor looking for new opportunities, Tomu might pique your interest.
Enter Tomu, a design + manufacturing firm that designs highly-efficient scalable architecture systems to create greener and more economical solutions for new hospitality development.
Tell me more
Tomu is a design + manufacturing firm that designs highly-efficient scalable modular architecture systems to create greener and more economical solutions for new hospitality development compared to traditional site-built projects.
The details
Industry: Green real estate 🌱 🏡
Impact: Industry, innovation & infrastructure (SDG 9), Sustainable cities & communities (SDG 11) and Life on land (SDG 15)
Team Diversity: AAPI
HQ: Washington, DC
Company size: 4
Year founded: 2020
Key investors: Bootstrapped
Investment type: Convertible note, 6% interest rate, maturity date: 2/13/2025, 20% discount rate
Deadline: April 30, 2023
Investor Perks: Invites to investor community, online store credit, or discounts off MSRP of units.
Early traction:
Lots of buzz: American Inno 40 Startups to Watch, Washington Business Journal Top 10 Startups to Watch 2022
Working the DC connections: A model unit featured at the Department of Housing & Urban Development Innovative Housing Showcase on the mall
Fast fundraising: Broke $100K milestone in 1st week of launching StartEngine campaign
Founders
Chris Osaka, CEO: brand marketing and customer experience at Hilton and Nike/Jordan
Malcolm Johnson, COO: 40+ years of experience in residential and commercial construction project management
Due diligence
Pros:
The environmental/sustainable focus for hospitality development is in demand and they are meeting this demand without sacrificing design, in fact the design is gorgeous and a differentiator.
Vertical integration and modular design increase efficiency - units are manufactured at their facility, then shipped directly to the site, 95% ready for final installation.
Multiple types of buyers - Tomu sells directly to developers as well as to private recreational homeowners/investors looking for short-term rental use and can meet multiple price points (priced from $99,500 - $259,500, not including raw land, site prep, foundation, utility, and permit costs).
Potential risks:
📍Adapting the pre-fabricated materials and design for different geographic locations/climates
🟩 Greenwashing upon scale: If someone would like to purchase these units for a location on the other side of the world, would travel costs ultimately outweigh sustainable benefits?
🛑 Business may be severely impacted by different zoning regulations. Long delays can contribute to a highly variable pipeline.
Competitors
Minim Homes: DC-based micro home designer and builder. Founded in 2013, and the first Minim House won 3 AIA design awards.
And all the pre-fab builders, with Home Depot jumping in.
Why Tomu: Tomu sits right in the Venn diagram overlap of drool-worthy design (commands $$) and eco-conscious (growing consumer trend). What sets Tomu apart is its modular design, leading to easy construction and easy customization, and vertical integration with its own manufacturing firm, making it a one-stop-shop that can move fast.
Ponix
First, some context:
The global population continues to rise, and with that comes our need for food - preferably fresh produce! 🥒 🥕 🥦
However, traditional agriculture practices consume 70% of the planet's water and arable land reserves have been depleted in recent years. We need a sustainable approach to ensure food security and access. 💦
And where do you sit in this global crisis?
You do your best to shop locally for your food + ingredients (love farmers market Sundays)
You already subscribe to businesses like Hungry Harvest, Misfit Foods, or other food reduce organizations like Too Good to Go 💪
You care about food justice, equity, and access and ensuring this for future generations. 👩👧👧
Enter Ponix, a modern farming company providing fresh product to communities, with a focus on food deserts.
Tell me more
Ponix has a propriety vertical, indoor grow system that is smart - it automates, monitors, and controls the grow environment, ensuring consistent supply and preventing seasonal shortages and related price changes. And while we all think of farming on big open spaces, Ponix is focused on urban spaces - growing the food right next to the consumer.
The details
Industry: Agriculture, Tech 🥬 🍎 🥦
Impact: Zero hunger (SDG 2), Good health and well-being (SDG 3) and Decent work and economic growth (SDG 8)
Team Diversity: AAPI
HQ: Atlanta, GA
Company size: 15 (most part-time)
Year founded: 2014
Key investors: Bootstrapped with a talent for grant money
Investment type: Common stock
Deadline: May 26, 2023
Investor Perks: Bonus shares, t-shirts 👕 or Ponix Mini home gardens
Early traction:
🍑 A proof of concept is currently being planned in Atlanta: a 10-acre flagship farm is expected to be capable of producing 22M lbs of produce annually!
4 patents have been filed, and 3 products have been fully developed.
$550K revenue in 2022
Founders
Michael Hyon Choi, CEO: 10+ years experience in hydroponics, formerly an engineer at Delta
Patrick McGowan, Co-Founder: NGMI Global (VC) Founding Member, has played key role in fundraising for tech startups, raising over $4M in equity
Due diligence
Pros:
👨⚖️ Backed by the Administration via a $5M grant from the USDA for Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities in efforts to tackle climate change, food insecurity, and racial injustice alongside the Propel Center (backed by Apple, Southern Company, and in partnerships with HBCUs)
👌 Zero-waste approach uses 99% less fuel, 95% less land, and 90% less water compared to conventional soil farming
Potential risks:
A key part of its success will be overcoming a cultural distrust of vertical farming from traditional farmers (a key buyer)
🏦 Limited capital and resources are available to BIPOC farmers in an industry that has taken on a lot of debt to do the work (making it a tough sell)
Competitors
Bowery Farming: NY-based vertical farming and digital agriculture company with farms in NJ/MD/PA. 8 funding rounds with lead investors KKR, Lewis Hamilton 🏎 and Jose Andres
Freight Farms: Boston-based high-volume crop production units from recycled shipping containers. 8 funding rounds with lead investors Aliaxis Group, Ospraie Ag Sciences, and Spark Capital (Twitter, Discord, Slack).
AeroFarms: Newark-based B-corp, owns and operates world's largest vertical farm (+ 3 other farming facilities) with their patented aeroponic growing system. Lead investors include the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, Ingka Group (IKEA), and Meraas.
Why Ponix: There are many other companies providing similar products in a tough industry, but Ponix offers a sustainable solution to farming with strategic partnerships to build industry growth and with the validation and funding of the Biden-Harris Admin USDA.
Arcay Chocolates
First, some context:
🎁 How much time have you spent looking for the perfect gift? You want something beautiful, local, and preferably edible.
Who is this for?
You want to welcome your friend to DC with a locally-made gift.
You want to congratulate your BFF on getting a promotion!
You want to thank your reference for helping you to land a new gig.
💝 You want to treat yourself!
Arcay Chocolates saves the day with its beautiful chocolates.
Tell me more
Arcay Chocolates is a family-run and award-winning chocolate studio based in Northeast DC and originating from Venezuela. With 15+ years of experience, they offer a range of chocolate bonbons, bars, and confitures in amazing flavors like lemon basil, blackberry cardamom, and passion fruit.
The details
Industry: Food & Bev 🍫
Impact: Responsible consumption & production (SDG 12)
Team Diversity: LatinX and female co-founder
HQ: Washington, DC
Company size: <10
Year founded: 2006
Key investors: Bootstrapped
Investment type: Bond, 10% interest rate, 36 months
Deadline: April 16, 2023
Founders
Anabella Arcay: Founder and master chocolatier, started Arcay Chocolates from her kitchen in Venezuela.
Due diligence
Pros:
🇻🇪 Home-grown and made: started in the Arcay family's home kitchen in Venezuela in 2006, and after quickly growing their business and winning awards at the International Chocolate Awards, they moved to the US in 2017.
🔧 Equipment acquisitions in 2021 allowed them to increase their income by 166% in a year and create 2 full-time and 2 part-time jobs.
🛍 Expanding brick-and-mortar footprint to Georgetown, and a growing presence throughout DC with custom partnerships: lavender bonbons to be paired with gin drinks from OnePart at HouseBar in Navy Yard, bonbons are being offered through a special 🌸 cherry blossom 🌸 package with Kimpton Hotels in DC.
Potential risks:
With growth comes new hiring - will the company be able to grow from having an all-family team?
🍫 Rising prices of ingredients may change pricing. Their chocolate is single-origin.
Unsecured debt offering via SMBX.
Competitors
Capital Candy Jar: also located in NE DC, sold through retailers and its e-commerce website.
Chocolate Chocolate: based in downtown DC, targets more corporate clients.
Harper Macaw: small batch bean-to-bar chocolates, original factory based in NE DC.
Artisan Confections: based in Northern Virginia, also targets corporate clients but has a brick-and-mortar store.
Why Arcay Chocolates: The experience of picking out each individual piece of chocolate is special, and made even more so because you interact directly with the master chocolatier herself. We love the homegrown and local aspect of their work, and easy access to other Latinx food creators at La Cosecha.
To the accredited investors in The New Majority Investor Circle:
Myles Powell, founder and CEO of 8Myles, is wrapping up his seed round. Mac n cheese fans check out his investor deck here and click the button below to request an email intro.
Pauline Idogho, founder and CEO of The Mocktail Club, has just opened her first fundraising round. If you’ve been to any Whole Foods in the Mid-Atlantic or perused the aisles of the always trendy Erewhon Market in LA, these premium crafted mocktail cans will look familiar. If you are an accredited investor, bonus points for experience within the CPG or beverage industry, click the button below to be intro’ed.
And rounding out the food & beverage theme, Tory Pratt, founder and CEO of Pratt Standard Cocktails, is wrapping up her seed round. After years perfecting her syrups and 3 years of thriving during the pandemic, Tory’s fundraising to scale. Click below for an intro.
Myya is the first direct to consumer, fully encompassing post mastectomy care brand that connects breast cancer survivors across the country to certified mastectomy fitters using telehealth technology and home try on kits. Jasmine Jones is the powerhouse behind Myya, one of the few Black women to raise over $1M in venture capital and a Techstars and Halcyon founder and will be closing her round shortly. Check out her pitch deck here and click below for an intro.