Interesting martech startups raising capital on Wefunder
Here are a few exciting martech startups that are forgoing traditional fundraising routes and instead opting to crowdfund on Wefunder.
In the past few years, crowdfunding sites have become a viable alternative to traditional fundraising for startups seeking growth capital. Launched in 2011, US-based Wefunder has emerged as one of the hottest places to connect startup firms with individual investors.
Earlier this month, as many as 40 Y Combinator businesses launched their crowdfunding campaigns on Wefunder, further providing a stamp of approval for the site.
Through Wefunder, individuals can invest in American companies with as little as US$100. In exchange, investors can earn a return from one of the four investment types: debt, convertibles, stock without dividends, and stock with dividends.
Here are a few exciting martech startups that are currently crowdfunding on Wefunder.
Sircles
It is a social recommendation app in the US. It wants to destroy Yelp’s dominance and help people recommend trusted businesses.
Financials: Sircles is raising US$1 million at a valuation of US$23 million in exchange for future equity.
Traction: Close to 20,000 downloads and more than 400,000 app opens since its launch in February 2021.
Founders: John Worthington, Todd Fiore, and Danny Hinkle. All three worked together and scaled computer service firm Tech 2U to almost US$10 million in annual recurring revenue.
Business model: product subscription for businesses.
Agora
It is a search engine for local products in the US. It allows users to find which local offline stores are selling specific products. Agora is a graduate of Y Combinator.
Financials: Agora is raising US$100,000 at a valuation of US$8 million in exchange for future equity.
Traction: 25 stores in Boston.
Founders: Allie Walsh, a Harvard graduate and a former private equity investor.
Business model: ads, product placement, and analytics.
Businessonbot
A SaaS firm that enables D2C brands and SMBs in India to build a storefront on WhatsApp and automate sales using a commerce bot. Businessonbot is a graduate of Y Combinator.
Financials: Businessonbot is raising US$100,000 at a valuation of US$10 million in exchange for future equity.
Traction: Since its launch in January 2021, Businessonbot has partnered with 25 DTC brands. It has booked onboarding with 80 more brands and 2,000 SMBs. The firm is poised to generate US$8,000 in monthly recurring revenue in April 2021.
Founders: Mohit Kumar, Aditya Chintapalli, and Kirushanth Kumar. Together, they have experience in WhatsApp marketing, working with D2C brands, and AI.
Business model: Product subscription.
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Vyrill
A Google for videos. The firm’s AI will analyze text, audio, and images from online videos. This will help brands track user-generated videos at scale.
Financials: Vyrill is raising US$300,000 at a valuation of US$8 million using convertible notes.
Traction: Undisclosed
Founders: Ajay Bam (built and sold a mobile shopping app firm, with 15+ years studying shopping behaviors) and Dr. Barbara Rosario (Ph.D. in computer information sciences).
Business model: Product subscription.
Where’s The Foodtruck (WTF)
As the name implies, the startup helps customers discover and locate food trucks in the US.
Financials: WTF is raising US$100,000 at a valuation of US$2.5 million in exchange for future equity.
Traction: 22,000 customers, with 200% increase in new food truck accounts post-pandemic.
Founders: Nicholas Spindel has ten years of experience in the retail and F&B industries.
Business model: Freemium model for food truck operators.
Withfriends
The startup helps Shopify businesses create subscription boxes. Withfriends is a graduate of Y Combinator.
Financials: Withfriends is raising US$250,000 at a valuation of US$15 million in exchange for future equity.
Traction: 3,000 members subscribed to 21 businesses, resulting in US$444,000 annual GMV and US$27,000 in annual recurring revenue.
Founders: Joe Ahearn and Kunal Gupta, each having more than ten years of entrepreneurship experience.
Business model: Product subscription.
HelloWoofy
This martech startup helps marketers simplify their social media and blog marketing activities with a text, emoji, and hashtag recommendation engine, as well as other functions (like post scheduling and translation).
Financials: HelloWoofy is raising US$250,000 at a valuation of US$9.5 million using convertible notes.
Traction: 7,000+ customers, generated US$200,000 in revenue in 2020.
Founders: Arjun Rai has eight years of entrepreneurship experience.
Business model: Product subscription.
Worth Network
The firm helps companies incentivize their followers with money to share branded content on social media. The Worth app can also help companies discover their biggest fans based on what they’ve said about the brand online.
Financials: Worth is raising US$500,000 at a valuation of US$6.5 million in exchange for future equity.
Traction: After launching in Q3 2020, the team quickly generated US$93,000 in revenue that year.
Founders: Patrick Kim (serial entrepreneur with one exit) and Aditya Mitra (ex-VC analyst).
Business model: Product subscription.
Kyndoo
This startup provides an analytics platform to help brands get in-depth influencer data (branded content performance, data of real followers, etc). Participating influencers can also build a real-time media kit to share with clients.
Financials: Kyndoo is raising US$200,000 at a valuation of US$10 million in exchange for future equity.
Traction: More than 3x growth from 2019 to 2020.
Founders: Kelly McDonald (17+ years of experience in sales and operations) and Jin Yu (serial entrepreneur with one exit, expert in AI).
Business model: Product subscription.
See: Martech startup funding news: 48+ investments and acquisitions in 2021
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