Led · Seed · Dec 2024

Zimi provides a holistic platform and localized U.S. fulfillment centers to help international merchants reduce shipping costs, shorten delivery times, and manage tax, currency exchange, and compliance. Launched earlier this year and backed by Y Combinator, the company focuses on merchants selling into the United States. Founders Audrey Djiya and Peter Nsaka built the product from first-hand observations of cross-border commerce frictions and have been hands-on with early customers to refine the offering. Zimi attracted early customers via LinkedIn, Instagram, and direct outreach, and the founders personally helped onboard and troubleshoot initial orders. The company plans to use its seed funding to scale U.S. fulfillment networks and build and apply AI models to streamline the merchant experience. It is also launching a payment solution next year to help international merchants receive payments in U.S. dollars and intends to expand its customer base and team as it sees demand from Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

Led · Seed · Feb 2023

COMMUNITYx is a digital hub for activism that enables users to create and explore petitions, fundraisers, events, boycotts, and other cause-driven actions. Founded by Chloë Cheyenne, the platform says it has a global network of over 500,000 people and more than 50 cause-focused communities. Its product includes a cause-based community-building feature and a call-to-action tech toolkit (petitions, events, fundraisers). COMMUNITYx is preparing to launch a web and mobile platform and is extending capabilities for corporate and philanthropic partners to build digital advocacy campaigns, speed mobilization, and generate impact-report analysis. Through its Community Partnership Program the company works with over 200 activists, organizations, movements, brands, athletes, and public figures. The platform has hosted campaigns such as Justice 4 Tyre, which the company says raised over $1.2M and helped mobilize hundreds of thousands of people.

Participated · Series B · Oct 2022

Resilia provides a SaaS platform that delivers on-demand technical assistance, coaching, and capacity-building resources to nonprofits and funders. The product is designed to help organizations increase day-to-day capacity and allow funders to extend impact beyond monetary grants. The company reports over 300% annual revenue growth and net revenue retention greater than 150%. Resilia serves more than 15,000 nonprofit users and counts enterprise customers including Oxfam America, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Goldman Sachs’s One Million Black Women Initiative, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the United States Tennis Association Foundation, and The Boston Foundation. The company plans to scale its technology platform and expand access across North America to bring more organizations into its ecosystem. Resilia positions its platform as a pathway for funders seeking to support equity and justice efforts through capacity-building assistance beyond grants. Resilia provides a two-sided SaaS platform enabling grantors (cities, private foundations, corporations) to deploy capital quickly and helping nonprofits with compliance, management, training, and funding. Its product suite includes Nonprofit Formation (available in all 50 U.S. states), Nonprofit Pro and Plus for compliance and capacity-building, and an Enterprise solution for grantors to streamline data collection, budgeting, grantee management, reporting, and evaluation. The company emphasizes online training, webinars, and productized consultancy services to reduce costs and increase nonprofit capacity. Resilia reports more than 2,800 customers, including Oxfam America, Kellogg, The United Way, and Stem Library Lab. Founded in 2016 by Sevetri Wilson, the company is headquartered in New Orleans with a second office in New York City. Its stated mission is to democratize innovation across the nonprofit industry by pairing technology with human connection to bridge gaps between capital deployers and recipients.

Participated · Series B · Oct 2022

Partake Foods, founded in 2016, produces allergy-friendly snacks and mixes (cookies in multiple flavors, baking mixes, and pancake and waffle mixes) and operates with products made in a top-nine allergen-free facility. Allergy-friendliness is core to the brand and its product testing and manufacturing practices. Distribution expanded from about 5,000 stores at the end of 2021 to roughly 9,000 stores, including Target, Whole Foods, Walmart, and Kroger, and the products also appear on American Airlines flights and in certain offices. Revenue grew 200% between 2020 and 2021 and 100% between 2021 and 2022; headcount rose from one employee in 2020 to 20 in 2022. The company has raised $19 million to date and used the new capital to support hiring, retail sales leadership, operations, marketing, and product innovation. Planned initiatives include further distribution expansion, seasonal flavors, a new product category, partnerships with national brands, more hiring, and expanding channels beyond the grocery aisle.

Participated · Seed · Oct 2022

The Lip Bar, founded and led by Melissa Butler, started with lipsticks and has expanded into a diverse line of vegan, cruelty-free cosmetics and a secondary brand called Thread Beauty. The company positions itself to challenge the linear beauty standard and build an inclusive house of brands. TLB products are carried in more than 1,000 stores nationwide, including Target and Walmart. Butler has focused on hiring top-tier talent and expanding retail distribution since earlier funding. The company previously raised $2M in funding prior to the current round. Management says it will use the new capital to grow the team and better serve consumers across different divisions.