The Venture Codex

Participated · Seed · Oct 2023

Goodhood is a subscription-based tech company that connects car owners to mechanics for at-home maintenance and repairs. Its Auto Club monthly subscription and mobile app let users browse, book, and manage service appointments. The company is led by founder and CEO Prashant Salla. Future plans for the Auto Club include adding roadside assistance and insurance services and launching a new Auto Club subscription offering. Goodhood says it will use recent funding to develop its technology and operations and to expand into new geographies nationally. The company currently serves customers across Michigan, Texas, and Arizona. FixMyCar operates a mobile-mechanic managed marketplace that brings certified mechanics to a customer's driveway or workplace, offering diagnostics, battery and starter replacement, brake and engine repairs, routine maintenance, and used-car inspections. The company emphasizes convenience with extended hours and weekend availability and promises a 24-month/24,000-mile warranty on parts and labor. FixMyCar positions its service as 20–30% cheaper than dealerships and repair shops due to lower overhead while paying mechanics higher salaries. The company is launching an annual membership program to save customers money and plans a MyCar Marketplace to add towing, washing, and buying/selling/renting cars from customers' driveways. FixMyCar currently operates in Detroit, Dallas, and Houston, with plans to expand soon to Austin and other major metropolitan areas and ultimately nationwide.

Led · Series B · Oct 2022

FEMSelect develops EnPlace®, a minimally invasive, meshless system for pelvic floor ligament fixation cleared by the FDA to manage symptomatic uterine prolapse. The technology enables a procedure in under 30 minutes, and clinical studies report women can return to normal activities within a few days. FEMSelect has partnered with LiNA Medical USA and has spent the past year educating physicians on the technology. The company obtained a CMS procedure code earlier this year, enabling healthcare facilities to receive reimbursement for the procedure. EnPlace is currently available in more than 25 US states. FEMSelect plans to use the Series B proceeds to support growth and market penetration of EnPlace, primarily in the US; the company is led by Co-CEOs Debbie Garner and Renee Selman. POP Medical Solutions Ltd. develops NeuGuide, a minimally-invasive, meshless and dissectionless surgical system to treat pelvic organ prolapse (POP). NeuGuide combines a Nitinol-based anchor, surgical sutures and an innovative attachment method and has received FDA clearance. The device was tested in a 15-patient trial in Israel and is currently being used by US physicians in a post-marketing study. POP plans to use new funding to complete the post-marketing study, obtain European CE Mark certification, transfer the product to mass production, and build a US commercial organization for an early 2019 launch. CEO Deborah Garner leads the company and MABA founder Bernie Rudnick will join POP's board as part of the financing.

Participated · Series B · Jul 2022

Spruce is an Austin, TX–based provider of lifestyle services to the multifamily industry offering Housekeeping, Chores, Pet Care, and Laundry through an app that lets residents book certified, insured, background-checked professionals. The company serves residents at more than 2,300 select apartment communities nationwide and operates with a fully distributed workforce. Over the past year Spruce announced three major new partnerships, expanded into the Twin Cities and Jacksonville, FL, and launched a full-service short-term rental turnover vertical that includes customized turnovers, inventory management, and linen management. It initially entered the short-term rental market through a national partnership with RealPage and has since expanded that offering. Spruce plans to use the new capital to nearly double headcount with hiring focused on product, engineering, and sales, and will expand its Austin headquarters to accommodate staff. Leadership changes include newly appointed CEO Steven Pho and founder Ben Johnson moving to President; Manish Narula of SoftBank will join the board as an observer. Spruce provides housekeeping, chores, pet care, laundry and dry cleaning services to the multifamily industry through a resident-facing app. Residents can book services from certified, insured and background-checked professionals. The company currently serves more than 750 apartment communities across the US and has more than 40 employees. Led by founder and CEO Ben Johnson, Spruce connects property residents with on-demand service providers. The company plans to use new funding to expand its offerings to more residents and properties and to continue its national roll-out. Spruce provides hotel-inspired services to the multifamily industry, offering daily chores, housekeeping, pet care, laundry and dry cleaning. Led by founder and CEO Ben Johnson and based in Houston, Texas, it serves more than 200 select communities owned and/or managed by 13 of the 15 largest Texas apartment companies. The company manages logistics and operations of local service provider partners and requires background checks, insurance, comprehensive training, scheduling processes, quality-control standards, and Spruce-branded uniforms. Spruce also operates a dedicated national customer service team that provides full-time support via text, email and phone directly to residents. The company continues development of its software platform to support operations. It plans to use new funds to expand market presence outside Texas, beginning with Denver, and to scale sales and marketing capabilities.