Chalkfly is a web-only e-commerce platform focused exclusively on office and school supplies, offering over 50,000 products. The company differentiates itself with a charitable model that donates 5% of every sale to a teacher or school selected by the customer (or to a nearby school if no recipient is chosen). It emphasizes customer experience with a simple storefront, free overnight shipping, 365-day returns and 24-hour customer service. Within six months the site has attracted thousands of users and clients, more than 1,000 teachers signed up to receive donations, and is on pace for $2 million in revenue this year. The founders left Google and IBM last year to launch the business, and the Detroit-based company plans to use new capital to double its five-person team and invest in technology and resources to improve ordering and customer service. Chalkfly aims to compete with big-box office-supply retailers by being web-only, easy to use and mission-driven through its donation program.

Total raised

$1M

Funding rounds

1

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Apr 2013