The Venture Codex

Participated · Seed · Sep 2023

MessageDesk, led by CEO Clint Vernon, provides text-messaging software that lets businesses text-enable their phone lines, send mass broadcasts, optimize delivery rates, and route, assign, and automatically manage conversations across an organization. The company is based in Reno, NV. MessageDesk plans to use its recent funding to accelerate growth and expand into new markets. It aims to surpass $1M in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in 2023 and expects to reach 1,000 SMB customers by the end of Q1 2024 while also expanding its mid-market customer base. The product and GTM focus are centered on improving business SMS delivery and conversation management for SMBs and mid-market customers. The company intends the seed proceeds to support those operational and market-expansion efforts.

Participated · Equity · Feb 2020

Your Fare provides an online ordering management solution that integrates multiple third-party delivery services into a single platform for restaurants. Built for restaurant operators by restaurant operators, the company works directly with restaurants to create customized strategies for using online ordering platforms. The Restaurant Portal tracks order details, accounting data and customer information, while the Tablet Application and POS integration allow staff to receive orders directly in the kitchen. The system is designed to increase operational efficiencies and profit margins for restaurant operators. Led by CEO and co-founder Chris Monk, the company plans to use new funding to expand the team, drive growth and invest in its software. Financially, the company completed a $2.4M equity raise to support those initiatives.

Participated · Seed · Jul 2019

Tivic Health Systems develops FDA‑cleared bioelectronic devices that use microcurrent waveforms to treat allergy‑related sinus pain without drugs. Its first consumer product, ClearUP Sinus Pain Relief, is clinically proven, available without a prescription and priced at $149. ClearUP delivers low‑level electrical stimulation to nerves under the cheek, nose and eyebrow bone. The company, founded in 2016 and led by CEO Jennifer Ernst, has raised capital in a series of tranches. Tivic recently closed the most recent tranche of an $8M seed financing and intends to use the proceeds for marketing of ClearUP. Backers include angel groups, a physician network and individual investors.

Participated · Seed · Dec 2018

Seattle-based Membrion, led by CEO and founder Greg Newbloom, provides adaptive water-infrastructure solutions built around its proprietary ceramic desalination membranes. The technology is designed to process the toughest industrial waste streams, allowing manufacturers to reclaim usable water and valuable minerals while meeting evolving environmental regulations and climate-driven pressures. Membrion positions its membranes as a reliability tool for future-proofing production facilities against regulatory shifts and supply-chain risks. With the fresh capital, the company plans to scale operations and accelerate product development. Since inception, Membrion has raised a cumulative $43 million. No revenue or customer counts were disclosed in the article, but the company emphasizes industrial adoption and continued R&D as key growth drivers.

Participated · Equity · Nov 2016

Metacert builds the Security Bot that detects malware, phishing and pornography in direct messages and channels on enterprise messaging platforms. The bot currently works on Slack and HipChat and the company plans to expand support to Skype, Microsoft Teams and Facebook Messenger. On HipChat administrators can block specific links in addition to the more than 700 million links Security Bot already blocks. Metacert also provides an analytics dashboard that categorizes links into 60 categories and lists all links and files shared on chat platforms, and it offers bCRM, a marketing management bot. Developer.metacert.com lets developers add security to their apps, and the company has offered a Chrome extension and an iPad web browser for blocking malicious content since 2012. The company announced a $1.2 million financing to support its messaging security and bot solutions.