Led · Series C · Jan 2024

UrbanStems is an NYC-based floral gifting company that creates and delivers floral designs and gifts. The company serves seven major metropolitan cities: Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, New York City, Jersey City, Chicago, Atlanta, and Miami, and offers coast-to-coast next-day delivery. Led by CEO Meenakshi Lala, UrbanStems combines floral design with logistics to provide timed gifting options. The company raised $5M in a Series C funding round to support growth. UrbanStems intends to use the funds to expand operations and broaden its business reach. Investors in the round include SWaN & Legend and DF Enterprises alongside existing backers. UrbanStems is a modern floral and gifting company that launched on Valentine’s Day 2014 with the aim of disrupting an outdated floral delivery system. It offers expressive bouquets, plants, and curated gift options, working with designers to create a gift-like experience including personalized notes and packaging. The company provides coast-to-coast next-day delivery and same-day courier service in NYC and DC, and has grown to a team of over 100. UrbanStems reported 130% growth in 2020 and says it has grown 500% since its Series B in 2018; it entered its biggest revenue week approaching Mother’s Day. The brand has formed partnerships with Vogue and Bumble and engages in philanthropic partnerships with organizations including the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Trevor Project, ACLU, World Central Kitchen, and Baby2Baby. With the new funding, UrbanStems plans to continue hiring, build on its gifting technology platform, and scale infrastructure to support accelerated growth. UrbanStems sells flowers, plants and curated gift boxes through two delivery models: bike couriers who provide two-hour delivery in NYC and Washington, D.C., and a third-party shipping partner that offers next-day delivery nationwide. The company has expanded its assortment beyond bouquets to include plants and curated gift boxes, with retail price points mentioned in the article (flowers from $35, plants $50, gift boxes $55). UrbanStems recently partnered with Vogue for editor-created bouquets and says gifting product expansion is a key growth area. The company does not charge an extra delivery fee regardless of delivery method. UrbanStems has been using new funding to push national expansion while continuing to deploy bike-courier operations where demand warrants. Seth Goldman, who joined as COO in 2017, became CEO in May of last year and is leading the growth efforts. UrbanStems operates a D.C.-based flower delivery service that sells seasonal and limited-edition bouquets directly to customers. It launched a collaboration with Vogue that lets customers choose from eight seasonal collections designed by Vogue editors, including Sally Singer, Nicole Phelps, Selby Drummond, Hamish Bowles, and Anna Wintour. The limited-edition bouquets are seasonal and priced at $138. The article highlights three inaugural arrangements — The Sally, The Nicole, and The Selby — each styled by a Vogue editor. UrbanStems has pursued brand partnerships before, including a summer collaboration with 2Chainz. In June the company raised a $6 million funding round to support long-term changes to its delivery model after a challenging Valentine’s Day in 2017. Led by Ajay Kori, UrbanStems operates an on-demand flower delivery service that designs bouquets in-house and works directly with Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms. The company hand-delivers seasonal bouquets by bike messengers, promising delivery within one hour. It leverages a vertically-integrated supply chain to reduce waste and eliminate unnecessary costs. UrbanStems intends to use new funding to accelerate growth in New York City and Washington, D.C., and to expand to other major U.S. cities starting with Philadelphia and Baltimore. The service is positioned to address common industry problems such as dead flowers, late arrivals, and high prices. No revenue or user metrics were reported in the article.

Participated · Equity · Apr 2021

Territory Foods operates a technology-enabled, direct-to-consumer meal delivery service that offers nutritionist-designed, chef-crafted meals tailored to personalized dietary preferences. The company powers a decentralized back-end marketplace that partners with local chefs and health-forward restaurants across its service regions. Territory highlights community impact: 42% of partner chefs are women-owned and 38% are BIPOC-Latinx led, and the brand donates proceeds, meals, and volunteer hours through a partnership with Feeding America. Territory says it serves over 20 major U.S. markets and achieved 250% year-over-year growth. The company plans to use the new funding to expand its chef community, broaden menu options, and drive national expansion. Territory launched in Alexandria, VA in 2012 and emphasizes values-driven, diversity-focused growth. Territory Foods delivers diet-specific prepared meals (paleo, whole30, keto, vegetarian, etc.) using a proprietary food recommendation engine to match subscribers to personalized menus. The company leverages a distributed network of local gig chefs who provide ingredients, work as contractors, and prepare Territory-designed menus, enabling an asset-light operating model with high chef retention. Meals are priced at $10.95; the company creates over 400 new dishes a year and emphasizes quality control across its chef network. Territory reports profitability in core markets such as Los Angeles and Washington. The company recently hired Abby Coleman as CEO and plans to use fresh funding to accelerate expansion beyond its current East/West coast and Texas hubs. Planned expansion geographies named by the company include Baltimore, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and the Washington metropolitan area. Territory delivers professionally prepared, nutrition-focused meals made by partner chefs and restaurants to health-conscious consumers. The company partners with best-in-class chefs (REAL-certified) and has built menu filtering for specific dietary programs including Whole30, MedStar Healthy, Mediterranean, new and expecting mothers, and macro-friendly options. Territory initially scaled through gyms and fitness studios and now serves multiple regions including Southern California, the Washington D.C. area, Baltimore, Dallas/Fort Worth, and the San Francisco Bay Area. It delivers to over 300 locations and has delivered more than 2 million meals, with customers averaging six meals a week. The company announced a $6.7M Series A and plans to use the capital to expand delivery to new markets and further build out its product and menu. Power Supply operates a subscription meal delivery service with a core emphasis on health—its meals are all sans gluten and dairy. The company sources food through a decentralized network of small-batch producers, including restaurants and caterers, instead of relying on central production kitchens. It launched in Los Angeles and has expanded to Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, while evaluating additional cities such as New York, Seattle, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas and Miami. Pricing varies by market; in the Bay Area a smaller meal is $10.50 and a standard meal $13.50 (450–600 calories), with three- or five-meal weekly recurring plans; one-time deliveries cost 5% more and pickup at Power Supply locations waives delivery fees. The company also delivers to fitness community locations and emphasizes relationship-first engagement with those communities. Power Supply recently raised a $5 million seed round and plans to use the funds to expand into new markets and to improve its technology for matching subscribers to meals based on taste and health goals. Power Supply is an Arlington, VA–based startup that produces table-ready meals available to professionals at gyms and studios. Led by CEO Patrick Smith, it operates an online marketplace that leverages a network of local chefs to provide meals and snacks tailored to customers' diets and tastes. Local chefs in the network can reach new customers and expand use of their staff and facilities. The company has over 50 distribution locations in the DC area and plans to expand to other regions. Power Supply recently raised funding from CIT GAP Funds; the amount was not disclosed. It intends to use the funds to accelerate development of its food commerce platform and a meal review analytics engine.

Participated · Equity · Jul 2020

CYR3CON operates an AI-based threat-intelligence platform that predicts and prioritizes the latest cyber threats to help CISOs understand attacker behavior and emerging attacks. The company’s underlying algorithms are validated through academic research, peer-reviewed publication, and government-backed grants. CYR3CON has established customer relationships with multiple Fortune 500 firms and major cybersecurity companies seeking threat prediction capabilities. The product roadmap described in the articles expands use cases beyond vulnerability management to application security, security operations, enterprise cyber-insurance underwriting, and risk management for private equity and venture funds. Management reported over a 70% increase in annual recurring revenue in 2020 so far and disclosed nine patent applications submitted in the past 12 months. The new funding will be used to fuel growth and product development as CYR3CON seeks to carve out a differentiated niche in the cybersecurity market. Cyr3con leverages a patented hybrid of artificial intelligence and darkweb mining to automatically scout hacker communities and predict which vulnerabilities attackers are most likely to exploit. Its machine-learning models help prioritize vulnerabilities to prevent future cyberattacks before they occur. The company was originally funded by U.S. government grants and gained attention for predictions related to major incidents such as WannaCry and NotPetya. Cyr3con has gained traction with multiple Fortune 500 enterprises and cybersecurity service providers, including MSSPs. Led by CEO Paulo Shakarian, the company recently joined Dreamit Venture’s SecureTech accelerator, which is introducing Cyr3con to a variety of Fortune 500 companies and potential follow-on investors. The business is based in Tempe, Arizona.

Led · Series A · Feb 2020

PetPlate produces human-grade, fresh-cooked dog meals formulated with the help of veterinary nutritionists and delivers personalized meal plans based on breed, allergies, activity level and body condition. Customers provide data and an algorithm recommends specific meals and portioning; meals are produced at a food kitchen in Dallas and shipped to customers or retail partners. The business is subscription-first, with nearly 95% of revenue coming from subscriptions while the company is beginning to build a brick-and-mortar presence. Average customer spend is about $100 per month; since launching in 2017 PetPlate has delivered 15 million meals and reports roughly 100% year-over-year growth. The NYC-based company employs about 25 people; Renaldo Webb serves as CPO and Gertrude Allen is CEO and was an early investor. Pet Plate is a NYC-based subscription service offering personalized, fresh-cooked meals formulated by veterinary nutritionist Dr. Renee Streeter, DVM, DACVN. Meals are prepared in a USDA facility and contain no rendered meats, by-products, artificial preservatives, or additives. The service is personalized for pets at all stages of life and has delivered more than 9.2 million meals to over 300 breeds across 48 states and Washington, D.C. Pet Plate plans to expand its product offering with new recipes, organic treats, and nutritional supplements to provide a more holistic solution for online shoppers. The company will also expand its team and corporate infrastructure to scale the business and grow its customer base. In February 2020 Pet Plate raised $9M in a Series A to fund these initiatives. PetPlate is a NYC-based direct-to-consumer subscription service that delivers fresh-cooked, human-grade meals for dogs. Founded by Renaldo Webb in 2016, the company sells pre-portioned meals that can be served from the fridge or warmed in a microwave. Its meals are kettle-cooked in a USDA facility using fresh meat, produce, and a proprietary blend of vitamins and minerals. Recipes are formulated for a dog’s diet by the company’s veterinary clinical nutritionist, Dr. Renee Streeter. PetPlate closed a $4M seed funding round and will use the funds to scale operations to meet demand.

Led · Seed · Jul 2019

Coplex is a venture builder that partners with industry experts, entrepreneurs, and corporate innovators to found and accelerate high-growth tech companies. The firm has helped start over 300 tech companies with an aggregate market value of more than $4.5 billion, and its portfolio companies have raised over $1.5 billion in venture capital. Coplex operates from Phoenix with additional locations in Seattle, Denver, and Los Angeles and merged with AZCrown Ventures LLC about a year before its latest round. With a recently closed $2.5 million Series Seed, the company plans to expand its market presence and build infrastructure to support the creation of more ventures. It aims to support starting over 60 high-growth tech companies in 2019 and is launching a Corporate Venture Builder Program for enterprises seeking to spin out tech businesses. Leadership emphasizes scaling to start hundreds of companies annually and leveraging its network of seasoned entrepreneurs and industry veterans to accelerate venture formation.