Participated · Seed · May 2026

Benji provides a single API that enables brands across travel, hospitality, retail, food, and fintech to link loyalty programs for earning, redemption, transfer, and co-acquisition experiences. Its platform aims to reduce integration timelines from months to days, allowing loyalty teams to launch partnerships faster than custom, in-house approaches. Benji’s network includes major programs such as JetBlue’s loyalty program and those of Cook Unity, 1800-Flowers, and Chip City, totaling more than 50 million active members combined. The company plans to expand engineering and go-to-market teams in Chicago and New York using proceeds from its seed round. Benji was founded by serial entrepreneurs Nick Anastasiades, Jon Elron, and Arik Gaisler, whose prior startup 2ndKitchen was acquired by REEF Technology in 2021. The product supports operational use cases across industries to enable cross-industry loyalty partnerships at scale.

Led · Seed · Jan 2026

Yipy is a Salt Lake City startup that bills itself as the hotel sector’s first dedicated Hospitality Standards Management System. Its mobile-first platform lets hotel brands centrally author service standards, push them to frontline teams, audit execution continuously and track performance trends over time, turning static binders and checklists into living operational infrastructure. By sitting above existing task, training and communications tools, Yipy aims to become the connective layer that links standards to day-to-day execution without forcing properties to abandon their local individuality. Early adopters already include properties flagged as The Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott, indicating that the software can handle highly prescriptive, brand-centric environments. The company argues that consistent execution is increasingly critical as labor volatility, rising training costs and guest expectations pressure operators. Proceeds from its recent fundraise will expand product development and accelerate go-to-market efforts as Yipy works to scale beyond initial deployments. To date, the company has secured $1 million in pre-seed capital, and no additional financial or user metrics were disclosed.

Led · Equity · Jul 2024

OCN is a fintech platform led by CEO Mairon Sandoval that serves over 4 million gig economy entrepreneurs across the Americas. The company provides access to financial services for workers on major ride-hailing and delivery platforms such as Uber, DiDi, and Lyft. OCN leverages its financial-technology platform to underwrite customers often excluded from or overlooked by the formal financial system in Latin America and the U.S. The company intends to use the newly raised funds to expand operations and accelerate product and development efforts. The business focuses on addressing financial inclusion for gig workers through tailored underwriting and financial products. No revenue or profitability figures were disclosed in the article.

Participated · Seed · Jul 2024

Coldcart is the first orchestration and optimization platform for frozen and refrigerated parcel logistics, automating and optimizing every step from order to delivery. For each order the platform decides the optimal combination of routing, packaging, and shipping based on realtime factors including cost, on-time delivery, weather, and provider availability. Those decisions are executed across a growing network of 15 fulfillment centers and multiple carriers, and the platform powers a network that reaches 99% of U.S. residents and businesses. Coldcart reports its technology reduces perishable logistics costs by 15–50% per shipment and refundable shipments by 40–60%. With the new funding the company plans to grow its installed base of perishable shippers and logistics providers to amplify network effects and further increase operational efficiency. The market opportunity cited: in 2023 U.S. companies shipped approximately 3 billion perishable parcels and spent over $76 billion in warehousing, packaging, and transportation, with inefficiencies consuming over 40% of sales.

Led · Series A · Jul 2024

OCN offers financial products for gig economy workers, including a rental model for ride-share drivers who work on platforms like DiDi and Lyft. The company raised $86 million in a Series A that included both equity and debt capital. Management says the funds will be used to expand services — including into the U.S. — and to improve its technology stack and operational capacity across Latin America and the U.S. CEO and co-founder Mairon Sandoval highlighted the funding’s role in boosting tech and operations. i80 Group described OCN as having discipline and a profitable model worth supporting. The business positions itself to serve gig workers often overlooked by traditional financial services firms. OneCarNow provides all-inclusive car subscriptions that let gig workers use a brand-new vehicle for 36 months with a purchase option at the end of the contract. Borrowers must demonstrate experience as professional drivers on platforms such as Uber and DiDi, and payments are collected on a weekly basis. The company says it developed an underwriting model to serve underserved drivers who cannot afford proprietary cars. OneCarNow positions debt as a major component of its capital-efficient growth strategy to increase capacity to deploy assets for customers. Management aims to become the largest financing partner for the gig economy and to leverage its tech and data infrastructure to develop additional financial products for drivers. The company is backed by regional equity investors (unnamed in the article) and has secured asset-backed financing to expand its fleet.