• TableSafe

  Participated · Series B · Jul 2013

  TableSafe, a five-year-old Seattle-area startup that rebranded from ViableWare last year, builds the RAIL hand-held device that lets restaurant customers self-swipe cards, split checks, and email receipts. The company says the device reduces fraud because servers never handle customers' cards and also enables restaurants to offer discounts, collect comment-card data, and sell specialty items. TableSafe recently upgraded RAIL hardware to include a point-to-point encrypted mag-stripe reader and an EMV-certified chip reader, plus NFC and scanner technology. The startup employs 26 people at its Kirkland office. Management said interest has grown with the approaching EMV deadline, rising security awareness, and new payment methods like Apple Pay. The company raised new capital to fund development of the upgraded RAIL hardware and to capitalize on increased market demand. Viableware develops RAIL, a table-based payment platform designed to look like a traditional restaurant bill while providing an electronic interface for secure payments, tip calculation, and bill splitting. The system supports credit/debit, PayPal, and smartphone payments and protects card data by letting customers swipe themselves without storing unencrypted card information. RAIL is sold as a package including hardware, support, and installation, with pricing from $300 to $550 per month per restaurant location. Currently two Seattle-area restaurants use RAIL, with three more launching next month and a wait list of 1,700 locations across 12 restaurant groups. Viableware targets upscale, leisurely-dining restaurants and positions RAIL to complement waitstaff rather than replace them. The company plans to use the new funding to roll out more RAIL systems nationwide and to expand its sales and technology teams. Viableware’s core product, Rail, is a patent-pending combination of hardware and software that lets patrons self-swipe credit cards at the table, split bills, auto-calculate tips, and email receipts. The system also captures basic surveys and can trigger manager alerts when reviews fall below set standards. Devices are roughly the size of a traditional credit-card book and connect to a base station; a 60-table restaurant would use about 18–20 Rails. Installation takes about half a day, and Viableware works with traditional POS vendors to handle customer interactions. The company charges a $3,000 installation fee plus $345 per month for service, with additional monthly fees for add-on applications. Viableware employs 12 people and outsources much of the hardware build to R&D shop Synapse; the founders are Joe Snell and Andy Pope, with Steve Stoddard serving as president.

• Concordia Coffee Systems

  Participated · Equity · Feb 2012

  Concordia Coffee Systems manufactures fully automatic, integrated self-serve commercial espresso systems that combine milk steaming, coffee grinding and brewing in one step. The company holds patents on its fully automatic espresso delivery process and integrates fresh milk, beans and sauces into a single system. Machines are manufactured at its Bellevue, WA headquarters and shipped worldwide, serving thousands of customers pouring millions of drinks every day. Key partners and customers named in the articles include Starbucks, Seattle's Best, Caribou Coffee, Hilton, Tesco, Costco, Google, United Airlines and several universities and foodservice operators. Management says the new capital will be used to ramp up international business and to fund the global market rollout of a new line of coffee systems. Concordia has raised new financing and maintains relationships with regional investors and strategic partners named in the articles.

• Yapta

  Participated · Equity · Jun 2009

  Yapta provides post-booking price-tracking tools—FareIQ for airfare and RoomIQ for hotel bookings—that alert customers when rebooking will yield savings. The company was founded in 2007 and pivoted to focus on corporate travel around 2012 under CEO James Filsinger. Yapta currently employs about 20 people and is used by over 135 companies, including Shell, Gap and the Gates Foundation. Its system finds savings on roughly 1 in 10 hotels or flights it tracks, and Yapta typically takes a cut of the recovered savings while returning the remainder to clients. To date customers have combined for more than $15 million in savings. The company plans to use new funding to expand staff, broaden its service footprint and improve system functionality to increase its success rate. Yapta develops FareIQ, a patent-pending Intelligent Price Tracking technology that continuously monitors corporate PNRs and alerts agents and travel managers when identical itineraries can be re-ticketed at lower prices. The solution integrates with agent workflows via email alerts, a web portal, and remarks posted directly in the PNR. Yapta says FareIQ customers have saved a combined total of more than $1 million in airfare, and the company previously delivered over $450 million in consumer airfare savings to more than 1 million registered members after launching consumer services in 2007. Management plans to use the Series D financing to scale technical development, sales, and marketing to expand penetration in the corporate travel market. The company positions itself as a tool for travel procurement and T&E cost reduction across enterprises. Yapta offers FareIQ, an intelligent price‑tracking product launched last year for corporate travel, and maintains a consumer service that tracks airfare purchases and issues cash or credits if prices fall. A company spokesman described FareIQ as “the world’s only independent and unbiased intelligent price tracking solution.” The firm recently took a $1.1 million bridge loan to continue operations while it seeks its next round of capital. That financing brings Yapta’s total funding to about $15 million. The bridge cash came from existing investors such as Voyager Capital. Last summer the company appointed James Filsinger, a former Sabre Holdings executive, as CEO. Yapta provides airfare and hotel rate tracking and price-assurance services to identify and capture travel savings. Its technology has conducted more than a billion price checks on millions of flights, revealing over $350 million in savings for travelers. Concur invested $5 million in Yapta and entered a partnership under which Concur will exclusively use Yapta’s airfare price tracking and price assurance services for TripIt Pro users. The companies also plan to explore additional opportunities to integrate Yapta’s services with Concur’s travel and expense management solutions. The $5 million investment brings Yapta’s total capital raised to $13.8 million. Yapta’s core product is focused on automated price monitoring and assurance across airfare and hotels to drive savings and expense-management integrations. Yapta provides fare and hotel‑rate tracking that lets users follow specific flights and rooms and receive alerts when prices fluctuate. The service helps users obtain refunds or credits from airlines with lowest guaranteed fare policies when purchased fares decline. Yapta began as a browser add‑on in May 2007, moved to a full website in 2008, and added hotel price tracking in 2009. The product covers most major domestic and international airlines. Financially, Yapta is in the midst of a $6.4 million financing round and has raised close to $3.5 million so far. CrunchBase data indicate the round will bring the company’s total funding to $14.4 million.

No current team members are available.