Led · Equity · Mar 2023

FinChat operates an investment research analytics platform that leverages generative AI to help users research publicly traded companies. The service is offered via subscriptions to retail investors and professional portfolio managers, and the company also sells an API for trading platforms and investment firms to integrate AI chat experiences. FinChat is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, and was founded by Dennis, Ryan White, Adrian Iwanicki, and Kevin Bojan. The company says it will use the new funding to further develop the platform and expand its market presence. In December 2023 FinChat secured $1.5 million in seed funding to support those plans. Stratosphere offers a research terminal that aggregates public company financials, company-specific segments, KPIs, consensus analyst estimates, filings, press releases, and news into a chartable, comparable interface. The platform provides access to financials on 40,000+ stocks with 35 years of historical data and tools to chart and build custom comparisons. It serves both DIY and institutional investors and is used by organizations including Fidelity, TD Securities, RBC Capital Markets, and Cornell University. Growth has been supported by its podcast, The Canadian Investor, which the article says has over 2.5 million listens per year. The team overhauled the product to make it faster and more intuitive and acquired 10kreader.com in 2022 to expand its capabilities. Following the recent funding, Stratosphere plans to accelerate product rollout and expand its reach to more investors.

Led · Equity · Aug 2022

Filljoy builds technology that enables retailers to offer bring-your-own-container refill shopping to cut plastic waste. Its weighing system integrates with point-of-sale systems so patrons weigh a container, scan a smart tag, fill goods, and complete checkout when they return. Launched in 2019 and based in Berkeley, Filljoy is used by more than 50 low-waste refill and grocery stores in North America and has helped retailers divert over 500,000 plastic containers. The company is expanding into the United Kingdom and New Zealand and aims to move from a point solution to a broader sustainability platform. Filljoy joined the TinySeed accelerator and raised $150,000 to accelerate product development and growth. The company positions itself to help retailers meet growing consumer demand and policies that eliminate single-use plastic.

Led · Equity · Aug 2022

PromoPulse builds sales and marketing software tailored to promotional product businesses that buy, brand, and resell swag. Its branded product marketing service, AMP, helps resellers craft outbound marketing emails, schedule social media campaigns, and collect new leads. The company targets small swag distributors that lack resources for consistent marketing and aims to simplify marketing while driving sales. PromoPulse has partnerships with four of the top 10 resellers in the promotional products industry, including Facilisgroup, AIM, American Solutions for Business, and HALO. Launched in 2019 and based in Gardner, Kansas, PromoPulse was founded by Jason Nokes. The company plans to add more tools leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence to become a go-to solution for swag businesses.

Led · Equity · Jul 2022

Spraye is a lawn management software provider launched in 2020 and based in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. It offers business management tools for lawn spraying companies including routing, invoicing, scheduling, estimates, chemical tracking, and compliance. The platform is designed to help lawn-care businesses operate more efficiently across operations and regulatory tracking. In July 2022 Spraye raised $200,000 in funding led by the TinySeed accelerator, with additional investment from co-founders Caitlin and Brian Schlichting. The company intends to use the funds to improve its product and dedicate resources toward user growth.

Led · Equity · Jul 2022

Automata, founded in 2015 by Andy Fraine and Andrew Melchiorri, offers marketing teams a software platform that transforms blogs, white papers, webinars and other assets into fresh content like social media posts, email campaigns, PR copy and summaries. Users upload existing materials, and Automata’s AI analyzes both the customer’s corpus and competitive content to generate channel-specific collateral while continuously fine-tuning models for each account. This capability helps marketers cut the time and cost of content creation and extract more value from assets that would otherwise be under-utilized. The system also supports a repeatable distribution strategy, ensuring content reaches multiple channels efficiently. Although no revenue or customer metrics were disclosed, management positions the product as a cost-saver within the 25–50 % of marketing budgets typically devoted to content creation. Automata operates from Boston, Massachusetts, and targets B2B marketing departments seeking scalable content workflows.