Participated · Series C · Dec 2023

WAmazing operates a tourism platform (OTA) that centralizes online reservations across five major inbound consumption categories: accommodation, sightseeing, shopping, transportation, and food & beverage. Its product suite includes WAmazing Discover, WAmazing Stay, WAmazing Shopping, WAmazing Transport, WAmazing Play, and WAmazing Snow, and it distributes free SIM cards via machines at 25 Japanese airports to grow membership. The company has three business lines: the OTA business, Regional Tourism DX (launched April 2020) and Inbound Marketing Consulting (launched November 2022). Main service markets are Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Southeast Asia, and Australia. WAmazing reported that overall sales in FY2023 were 5.5 times and OTA transaction volume (GMV) 3.8 times those in FY2020, and registered members exceeded 520,000 at the end of October 2023. Regional Tourism DX saw orders in FY2023 rise 1.5 times year-over-year and cumulative sales across the past four fiscal years reached approximately JPY 1.8 billion. The company says growth is accelerating post-pandemic and is recruiting urgently (more than 50 open positions) while seeking capital and strategic partnerships to support further expansion. WAmazing provides a tourism platform service for overseas visitors to Japan, offering OTA reservation services across accommodation, sightseeing, shopping, transportation, and food & beverage via web, app, and WeChat. The company operates three business lines: OTA, Regional Tourism DX (launched April 2020), and Inbound Marketing Consulting (launched November 2022), and offers services such as WAmazing Discover, Stay, Shopping, Transport, Play, Snow, and Insurance. WAmazing reported that OTA GMV in January 2023 was 2.2× January 2020 levels, owned-media monthly users were 3.5× January 2020, and registered members exceeded 400,000 at the end of January 2023. Orders in the Regional Tourism DX business in FY2022 increased 2.3× year-over-year, and cumulative sales for that business over the past three fiscal years reached approximately JPY 1 billion. The company uses free SIM distribution machines at 23 international airports to drive membership growth and has achieved seven consecutive fiscal years of sales and growth since establishment. WAmazing plans to use new capital to recruit talent, secure growth funding, and form capital and business alliances with strategic investors and regional banks to expand inbound business and revitalize local communities.

Participated · Equity · Jun 2014

Pathbrite, launched in 2012 and led by CEO Heather Hiles, provides a portfolio learning platform designed to enhance learning outcomes, program completion rates and job placement rates for students. The company serves more than 500 schools, colleges, universities and organizations across the United States. Institutional users include Fresno State University, Laureate International Universities, Stanford University and the University of Illinois. Pathbrite raised $3.7M in funding to support its growth. The company intends to use the funds for 2014 expansion plans focused on customer integration, sales force expansion, continued platform development and global expansion. The round signals investor support for scaling the platform within higher-education and related organizations. Pathbrite offers a web-based platform and templates for creating multimedia digital portfolios that aggregate content from YouTube, Google Drive, LinkedIn, Khan Academy, Coursera and other sources. The company targets students and educators but has broadened to serve anyone seeking a richer digital résumé; it also offers “Portfolios for Educators” that let teachers create courses and manage student portfolios. Pathbrite’s platform is free for teachers and faculty while students pay $10/year, and the company reports a presence at about 100 colleges and universities. Product plans include continued product development, expanded customer acquisition across higher ed and K‑12, broader distribution via partnerships, and the release of native mobile apps. Pathbrite has secured integration and distribution deals with partners such as Pearson (LearningStudio) and agreements with ACT, McGraw‑Hill, and Stanford University’s registrar to expand footprint and monetization opportunities. Pathbrite is a digital portfolio platform that enables students and lifelong learners to collect, chronicle and showcase digital artifacts alongside certified documents and credentials, aiming to provide a fuller picture of achievements. The company currently targets college students and has tested the product with high schools and younger users. Pathbrite positions itself as "credentials 2.0," aiming to liberate learner data (report cards, transcripts, earned credentials) typically held by colleges so official documents can stand side-by-side with other digital work. The service is available for free and the company says it will always offer a robust free plan while introducing paid features in the future. Pathbrite plans to launch an enterprise product with added security later this year. The company is led by CEO Heather Hiles and is based in San Francisco.