• Blitsy

  Participated · Series A · May 2015

  Blitsy curates crafting supplies and trends from popular brands into a single online destination and pairs product selections with instructional video lessons. The site aims to inspire both beginners and experienced crafters through curated content and expert-led videos. Its core offering is a commerce platform focused on discovery and education within the crafting industry. Blitsy operates as an online community where users can find the latest designs and techniques. The company plans to use its new funding to expand operations. In July 2015 Blitsy closed a $3.6M Series A to support that expansion. Blitsy is a Chicago, IL-based online craft retailer that operates a marketing platform for craft suppliers. The platform enables craft suppliers to launch online promotions while providing members access to deals. The site also offers a stage for sharing inspirational project ideas and other community engagement features. The company is led by Ross Petersen, Chief Executive Officer, and Ryan Petersen. Financially, Blitsy raised $1m in funding reported in October 2013. Investors in the round included Chicago Ventures, FireStarter Fund, Lakewest Venture Partners and several individual backers.

• Rentable

  Participated · Series A · Jul 2014

  Rentable is a rental platform that operates one of the largest online apartment marketplaces in the U.S. and serves millions of renters—particularly Gen Z—each year. The company provides property managers with tools that digitize the leasing process, including market positioning and pricing, listing and ad management, and lead management. Rentable says it has helped tens of millions of renters find homes and works with property managers in all 50 states. Financially, the company achieved profitability in 2020 and reported revenue nearly doubled year‑over‑year, contributing to a meaningful increase in valuation versus its most recent financing. Rentable plans to continue scaling its products and services and will double its workforce over the next 12 months, focusing hiring on sales, engineering, product, and business development. The company also intends to expand its executive team with new VP hires in people, product, growth, finance, and customer success. ABODO is a hyper-local apartment search service that combines a mobile-first approach with a large, high-quality nationwide inventory of available apartments. It targets Millennial and young professional users with a modern, mobile-oriented rental search experience. The company reports 600% user growth over the past year and employs a team of 28. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Madison, Wis., ABODO positions itself as a leading apartment listing technology provider. The company will use the new funding for continued national growth, expansion, and product innovation in the apartment listing space. Financially, ABODO has raised more than $8 million to date, including the new $4.8 million Series A. Abodo operates an online rental marketplace focused on building a massive presence in targeted local markets to ensure a locally tailored search experience for renters. The company recently launched the ABODO Apartment Search iPhone app, which is available for free on iTunes, and says an Android app is expected in the near future. Co-founded and led by Alec Slocum, Chad Aldous and Adam Olien, with Michael Taus newly appointed vice president of Marketing, the team is targeting market-focused growth. Abodo currently serves Madison, Milwaukee, Columbus, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh and Raleigh-Durham and plans to expand into 25 additional markets in the coming year. Financially, the company closed a $1.25M Series A financing to support that expansion.

• ApartmentIQ

  Participated · Series A · Jul 2014

  ApartmentIQ provides real-time market intelligence, revenue management and AI-driven tools for multifamily operators and owners. Its core market survey platform supports 1,500 portfolios and covers 70 percent of the NMHC Top 50, and the company has surpassed 8 million customer units. In the past nine months it launched two products—Explore Pro, a market research tool for acquisitions and asset management, and Daylight, a revenue management tool—each tracking to exceed 1 million units in their first year. The company also launched MavenAI, an agentic marketing and automation product that integrates with property management software to take action on pricing, availability and marketing. ApartmentIQ reported profitability and a headcount of 135 employees, with plans to grow headcount by about 50 percent and to invest further in data offerings and agentic workflows. Management indicated it does not expect to need additional funding in the foreseeable future.

• Enmetric Systems

  Participated · Equity · Sep 2013

  Enmetric Systems sells a cloud-based, wireless plug-load management platform that delivers real-time energy use data, automated control, measurement, and communication for individual electrical plug loads. Its core technology is integrated into common electrical interfaces such as power strips, outlets, circuit breakers, and light switches. The platform collects granular data to support reporting, peak-load reduction, load shifting, demand response, space optimization, and device audits. Enmetric says its scalable, data-driven architecture is positioned to address large opportunity areas in enterprise energy management. The company plans to accelerate rollout of its plug-load management solutions following a recent financing. Enmetric’s CEO Jake Masters and board additions including Steve Capelli are cited as supporting the company’s growth push.

• NextSpace

  Participated · Equity · Aug 2013

  NextSpace operates a network of physical and virtual coworking spaces for freelancers, entrepreneurs and creative-class professionals. Led by co-founder Jeremy Neuner and founded in 2008, the company is based in Santa Cruz, CA and runs nine locations across California and Chicago. The community represents more than 1,200 active members and has served over 2,500 members company-wide. The company recently raised $500K and concurrently acquired The Coop, a Chicago-based shared workspace. NextSpace intends to use the funds to increase membership capacity and amenities at The Coop and to identify other expansion opportunities in the Midwest corridor. Its locations include three sites in San Francisco, plus Berkeley, Venice Beach, Santa Cruz, Los Angeles, San Jose and NextSpace River North in Chicago. NextSpace operates a network of coworking locations that prioritizes community membership and connections across its sites. The company launched its first location in Santa Cruz in 2008 and has expanded to six locations, including two in San Francisco. Co-founders Jeremy Neuner and Ryan Coonerty emphasize community as the primary product rather than merely desk rental. NextSpace plans to add two to three more locations this year, with Berkeley indicated as the likely next site. Leadership is exploring ways for people to join the community with little or no use of physical space. Financially, the company has raised $825,000 in new funding and has now raised a total of $1.7 million from assorted angel investors, friends, and family; David Gensler has joined the board.

No current team members are available.