Participated · Series B · Oct 2021

TRAVLR offers a fully managed Travel-as-a-Service (TAAS) platform that lets media partners host discovery, planning and booking of curated, once-in-a-lifetime travel experiences under their own brands. Its software is licensed to media companies including Network 10's 10Travlr and Stuff.co.nz's Stuff Travel. The company reports 266% growth in TAAS partners over the past 12 months and has struck a new deal to power BBC Global News’s Discover Beyond, launching initially in Australia and New Zealand. Founders Simon te Hennepe (CEO) and Lani te Hennepe are former Melbourne Young Entrepreneur Award winners. TRAVLR says the raise will support roll‑out of landmark media partnerships and international expansion, with discussions underway to launch platforms in the US and UK. Management frames the business as well positioned for the reopening travel market and structural change in the industry.

Participated · Series C · Mar 2020

RoadRunner Recycling is a Pittsburgh, PA-based sustainable waste management company that provides customized and sustainable materials management solutions supported by proprietary technology. Led by CEO and founder Graham Rihn, the company serves thousands of commercial businesses across more than 20 industries. It leverages its technology and expertise to boost cost savings, improve recycling rates, streamline waste operations, and deliver customer experience. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate growth of its core business, expand its enterprise offering, and double down on its investment in technology. In January 2022 RoadRunner closed a $70 million Series D, and in October it acquired Compology, a waste and recycling smart metering technology company. The business has expanded into eight new U.S. markets, opened a second office in Phoenix, and grown headcount to nearly 600 employees. RoadRunner Recycling is a Pittsburgh, PA-based sustainable waste management company that provides customized materials management solutions supported by a technology platform. Its platform uses machine-learning to predict material volumes by industry and recommend efficient containers to organize waste and recycling streams. The company serves thousands of commercial businesses across more than 20 industries and operates in 40+ U.S. cities. RoadRunner’s solutions create customized plans to streamline waste and recycling operations, improve recycling rates, make sustainability goals measurable, and reduce costs while improving service. The company raised a $70M Series D to further develop its machine-learning and marketplace technology and grow its enterprise business offering. Total funding to date after the round is $129.5M. RoadRunner Recycling offers end-to-end waste and recycling management services powered by proprietary technology and AI/machine-learning to improve waste-stream management for commercial customers. The company serves more than 6,000 customers across over 20 industries and has helped divert approximately 130,000 tons of waste from landfill. RoadRunner reports increasing recycling rates by 10x the average and has saved customers more than $20 million on recurring waste and recycling costs. It plans to use new funding to expand into at least 10 new U.S. markets, further develop its AI/ML technology, and grow internal teams. Founded in 2014, the company emphasizes partnerships with customers and strategic investors to advance sustainability goals. RoadRunner Recycling, founded in 2014 in Pittsburgh, is a technology platform built for commercial recycling that combines proprietary data, marketplace dynamics and AI/ML to improve waste stream management. The company serves thousands of commercial businesses across more than 20 industries with custom recycling and waste solutions engineered to boost cost savings and recycling rates. RoadRunner reports surpassing 5,000 customers, facilitating 40,000 recycling routes, saving customers $20 million, and diverting more than 100,000 tons of recyclables from landfill. On average a single customer location working with RoadRunner increases recycling rates by 10x and recycles 8.6 tons annually that had been sent to landfills. The company plans to use new capital to double its team, further invest in AI/ML technology, continue U.S. expansion in current markets, and launch in up to 10 new markets including Austin, Phoenix and San Diego.

Participated · Series C · Feb 2019

Rockets of Awesome ships personalized seasonal boxes of children’s apparel based on a short style quiz, letting parents keep what they want and return the rest. Launched in 2016 by Rachel Blumenthal out of her earlier startup Cricket’s Circle, the company combines data-driven merchandise R&D with human editorial curation. Individual pieces in each box are priced roughly $16–$38, and the company’s “whole box” deal is $150. Historically focused on its subscription boxes and direct e-commerce, Rockets of Awesome is moving to expand an omnichannel retail presence via a partnership with Foot Locker. The company plans an experiential retail location timed for back-to-school and will have Rockets of Awesome assortments in Kids Foot Locker stores as well as on kidsfootlocker.com. According to Crunchbase cited in the article, the company’s total funding is now $49 million. Rockets of Awesome is a year-old, New York–based subscription service that sends curated boxes of kid apparel. It ships 12 pieces of clothing per child at the start of each season and charges parents only for the items they keep; returns are free and the company says it learns from returns to improve recommendations. Unlike many adult-focused subscription services, Rockets of Awesome designs and makes its own apparel and says no two boxes contain the same items. Individual pieces are priced between $12 and $36, below many comparable retail brands. The company evolved out of founder Rachel Blumenthal’s earlier startup Cricket’s Circle. The business model focuses on convenient discovery for parents and iterative improvement through customer feedback and returns. Rockets of Awesome is a direct-to-consumer kids' apparel company that operates a personal shopping service sending seasonal curated boxes of 12 mix-and-match items (11 clothing pieces and 1 accessory) four times per year. Parents sign up free, complete a style profile for sizing and preferences (the service supports boys and girls, sizes 2–14), receive a box and only pay for the items they keep, returning the rest by mail. The company designs and manufactures its entire catalog in-house, enabling price points of $12–$36 per item while targeting quality comparable to $40–$120 pieces. Customers also get a personalized online shop that refreshes with new styles every two weeks, and Rockets of Awesome uses purchase and box-keep data to inform future designs. The concept grew out of founder Rachel Blumenthal's prior site Cricket's Circle, which had 50,000 members and provided early access; Cricket's Circle will be winding down as the new site launches. Design leadership includes Zia Taylor, whose background includes Gap Kids, American Eagle, JCPenney and The Children's Place. Rockets of Awesome is backed by $7 million in seed funding from General Catalyst, Forerunner Ventures and LAUNCH and is launching now for back-to-school shopping.

Participated · Equity · Jun 2018

Vbrick provides enterprise-grade video software through its Rev platform, used for live streaming, recording executive webcasts, employee communications, and consolidating recorded video. Since launching Rev in 2015, Vbrick has added over 300 new customers and reported over 100% annual subscription revenue growth. Fortune 500 customers use the platform to stream and record executive webcasts, connect employees globally, and maintain a single system of record for consistent messaging. The company has strong partner momentum—Cisco named Vbrick its Global Independent Software Vendor Ecosystem Partner of the Year in 2018 and partner bookings increased 96% in the past year. Vbrick plans to accelerate innovation, expand sales and marketing, and grow its partner ecosystem to meet rising enterprise demand. The company positions video as a central channel for executive communications, collaboration, and training. VBrick is a privately held provider of IP video services headquartered in Wallingford, CT. The company offers comprehensive streaming solutions that operate over standard IP networks and the Internet to create, publish and distribute rich media content. Its products support a wide range of live and on-demand applications, including meeting and event broadcasts, employee collaboration, distributed learning, digital signage, TV distribution, and video surveillance. VBrick's solutions are deployed through value-added resellers. The company reports over 9,000 corporate, education and government customers and 60,000 installations worldwide. According to an SEC filing, VBrick raised $5 million in a venture capital round.

Participated · Equity · Nov 2017

GoCater is a corporate catering marketplace that aggregates hundreds of catering companies on a single platform. It operates in France and Germany and works with customers such as Le Pain Quotidien and LeNôtre. For corporate clients it offers Deliveroo-like menu selection, centralized billing (one monthly invoice), user management with optional approval workflows, whitelists and order histories. For vendors it supplies back-office tools including accounting, billing, CRM and inventory control so caterers can manage both online and offline orders from one system. GoCater spun out from La Belle Assiette and has raised $710,000 from a group of investors. The company aims to build the missing technology brick to help a fragmented, low-tech catering industry modernize and optimize workflows.