Participated · Seed · Nov 2023

EarlyBird operates a community-focused app that lets parents create custodial UGMA accounts to invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other securities on behalf of their children. The platform emphasizes social features: every investment can include a video memory to contextualize the gift. EarlyBird currently focuses on the 0–7 demographic but plans to serve the full 0–18+ lifecycle and to transition teens to take ownership at 18. Product roadmap includes multiple customized portfolios, the ability for parents and children to pick individual stocks together, and exploration of integrating 529 college-savings plans. The company reported total funding of $10.9M and will use the new capital to scale its community-based investing features and expand its investment services. EarlyBird positions itself as both a savings vehicle and a time-capsule for family milestones. EarlyBird is a Chicago-based gifting platform that enables parents, family, and friends to collectively invest in a child’s financial future. In minutes, parents can set up an investment account, choose from a range of diversified portfolio options, and start investing on behalf of their child. The platform also lets a child’s broader network send gifted capital accompanied by video and photo memories for birthdays, holidays, and other occasions. EarlyBird plans to expand its community-first approach to childhood investing and to broaden the types of assets users can gift and invest in, including cryptocurrencies. The company intends to use new funding to grow its engineering, product, marketing, and operations teams. The product and roadmap details reflect the company’s current focus rather than disclosed financial metrics or user counts. EarlyBird offers a mobile app that simplifies creation and management of custodial UGMA accounts, enabling parents to invite family and friends to contribute investments and attach short video “memories” to gifts. The product includes fixed and customizable ETF-based portfolios from conservative (bond) to aggressive (equity), a rebalancing engine, and age-based financial literacy features that progressively expose children to their accounts. Accounts are held with Apex Clearing Corporation, a registered broker-dealer and SIPC member, which protects investments up to $500,000; EarlyBird plans to transition to its own broker-dealer in time. The company charges a $3 per month management fee (and $1 per month for each additional child) and is currently a very early-stage startup only weeks old. EarlyBird says it will expand into 529 plans within a year and may add brokerage lending and other revenue programs once it has a sizable user base and assets under management. The app is free to download on iOS. The company was founded by CEO Jordan Wexler and COO Caleb Frankel.

Participated · Equity · Sep 2023

Hearth Display produces a 27-inch digital whiteboard that helps families manage tasks, assign chores and share routines. The hardware is sold alongside a $9-per-month subscription that unlocks features such as to-dos and kids’ routines. The company ran an Indiegogo campaign that sold more than 1,000 units at $499 and later opened preorders at $599 with slots for over 3,000 customers; it has started shipping those orders and aims to complete them by year-end. The product is currently in more than 1,200 households and is used by over 3,500 people. Hearth currently manufactures in Asia but plans to diversify its supply chain as it scales, and it is exploring AI features including information extraction and predictive workflows while being cautious because the product is exposed to kids. The latest bridge funding is intended to accelerate shipping and support production. Hearth Display builds a first-of-its-kind operating system that pairs beautiful hardware with smart software to create a central hub for family decisions, tasks, and plans. The product is designed to replace disaggregated bulletin boards, to-do lists, and fridge notes by consolidating family management in one place. The company planned to launch pre-orders on July 12th and complete final product development to ensure delivery by early 2023. Hearth intends for its software to evolve and grow alongside customers and adapt to their needs. Financially, the company has raised just over $3M in combined VC and angel funding to date. The most recent financing was announced in July 2022 and should fund the next phase of product rollout and software development.

Participated · Seed · May 2023

Grapefruit Health builds a remote-work solution aimed at addressing the healthcare workforce shortage. The company announced it recently hit its one-year mark and is continuing to develop and scale its offering. It raised a $1.3 million pre-seed round that was 30% oversubscribed, providing early capital to expand operations. Investors in the round include Antler, GoAhead Ventures, Hustle Fund, Litquidity Capital, LongJump, SUM Ventures, Sweater, and Everywhere Ventures (The Fund). The company also received grants from Google for Startups, Village Capital, Rhetoric, and P33 Chicago, and credits mentorship from TechRise Chicago. Leadership frames the raise as the start of growth toward fixing healthcare staffing challenges.

Led · Seed · May 2023

Founded in 2021, Pear Suite offers an AI-enabled software platform and wrap-around services that equip community health workers (CHWs), community-based organizations, and health plans with tools for care coordination, reimbursement, and data insights. The product lets CHWs use their lived experience to close care gaps and address social determinants of health while unlocking sustainable Medicaid and Medicare payments. Beyond software, Pear Suite is building a national provider network that already connects more than 300 provider organizations with over 25 health plans. The company has empowered 2,500+ CHWs, promotores, doulas, and other frontline workers to deliver trust-based interventions. With its new funding, management plans to increase the size of this provider network tenfold, deepen Medicaid relationships, and expand aggressively into Medicare contracts. The ultimate goal is to cement CHWs as a foundational part of U.S. healthcare by supplying the contracting, clinical, and claims infrastructure they need to thrive. While the company has not disclosed revenue figures, it recently strengthened its balance sheet with a $7.6 million Series A round.

Participated · Seed · Jan 2023

After.com offers an internet-focused experience that enables families to pre-plan or arrange cremation and funeral services in minutes with simple, affordable, and transparent pricing. The company’s mission is to shift power to families experiencing loss while saving them time, money, and energy. After.com currently serves customers in Arizona, Southern California, Colorado, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. The business cites the U.S. death care market as a growing opportunity, with Spherical Insights valuing it at $27 billion in 2022 and projecting growth to $41 billion by 2032. After.com plans to use its recent financing to enter new markets, add talent across the organization, and further enhance marketing to support both pre-need and at-need business segments. After.com provides an internet-first experience for pre-planning and arranging affordable direct cremation and funeral services, allowing families to complete arrangements online in minutes. The company also offers funeral insurance and a tech-enabled approach to cremation, with a founding team that includes a fourth-generation funeral director alongside seasoned tech entrepreneurs. After.com expanded from a pilot in Phoenix to fully staffed operations in three states and four markets and says it has helped thousands of families. The business reported over 400% year-over-year growth in 2022. The company plans to use new funding to expand into additional states and markets nationwide and to build new products and services to help families navigate end-of-life. As of the close of the seed round, After.com has raised $5M in total capital.