Participated · Series C · Mar 2020

Second Nature began as FilterEasy, a D2C subscription service to help homeowners remember to change air filters and has expanded into partnerships with HVAC companies, real estate agents, utilities and commercial properties. Its core products are recurring air filters and a new water‑filtration line launching with refrigerator filters; the company is positioning itself as a broader “home wellness” brand. The business reports hundreds of thousands of customers and around 150 employees, roughly two‑thirds of whom work in fulfillment and distribution across warehouses in Ardmore, OK and Wilson, NC. In response to COVID‑19 it has retooled manufacturing to produce masks for hospitals, with materials on hand to make ~800,000 masks and capacity to produce up to 2 million per month as materials allow. The company says demand has generally risen even as some commercial channels were hurt, and it plans to use new funding to expand, hire and advance first‑party products in R&D with an emphasis on product/process improvements and environmental benefits. FilterEasy is a subscription-based HVAC air filter fulfillment service launched in 2014 and based in Raleigh. It uses a proprietary web-based platform to guarantee correct-size HVAC air filters are delivered to a customer's doorstep so they may be replaced on a regular cadence. The service addresses the common problem of consumers forgetting to change air filters and aims to simplify that task so filters are changed "on time, every time." Proper filter replacement is presented as improving indoor air quality and human health, and the company cites potential reductions in monthly heating and cooling expenses of 5%–15%. FilterEasy announced a $6.9 million Series B1 financing led by One Better Ventures and joined by Lead Edge Capital. The company says the funding will be used for product innovation and development, expanding warehouse and fulfillment capabilities, and accelerating growth. FilterEasy is a Raleigh, North Carolina-based company offering a subscription-based HVAC air filter fulfillment service via a proprietary web-based platform. Co-founded by Thad Tarkington and Kevin Barry, the company focuses on residential HVAC filter subscriptions and fulfillment. Its filters are manufactured in the United States by AAF Flanders, the nation’s largest residential HVAC filter manufacturer and a supplier to NASA and U.S. hospital systems. In July 2017 FilterEasy raised $6.9M in a Series B led by Arsenal Venture Partners. The round brought the company’s total funding to $11.4M. The business operates as a direct-to-consumer subscription fulfillment service for residential HVAC filters. FilterEasy operates a subscription-based air-filter replacement service for homeowners, letting customers pick filter size and quality and choose how often replacements ship. The site offers over 40 filter sizes and three quality levels, and pricing is the same as retail but sold on a recurring basis. The company partners and co-locates with U.S. manufacturer Flanders to ship filters directly to customers at store cost. Since launching out of beta in March 2014, FilterEasy has signed up over 10,000 paying subscribers and is running at a revenue run rate of more than $1 million per year. The team of 13 plans to use new funding to expand marketing and is beta-testing a commercial program for businesses such as gyms and restaurants. FilterEasy was founded by former NCSU students Kevin Barry and Thad Tarkington and is based in Raleigh, N.C.; the founders participated in The Iron Yard accelerator in Greenville.