Participated · Series D · Apr 2021

Classy is a B Corp certified social enterprise that provides online fundraising software and tools to nonprofits of all sizes. Its platform enables organizations to raise money, engage communities, and advance missions; customers have raised $3 billion and the platform has powered tens of millions of donations from over 190 countries since 2011. The company plans to use the new funding to accelerate product development and to double the size of its product and engineering organization over the next two years. It also intends to enter new markets, such as corporate giving. Leadership recently changed: Christopher Himes was named CEO and co-founder Scot Chisholm will transition to full-time Executive Chairman to lead M&A and new market expansion. Following a year of record growth, Classy will immediately repay its Paycheck Protection Program loan. Classy offers a software-as-a-service platform that enables 501(c)(3) and other nonprofit organizations to run crowdfunding, online and mobile campaigns, awareness events, and fundraising initiatives under one roof. The platform is deeply integrated with Salesforce and supports donation processing and receipts in at least 100 currencies. Classy works with more than 2,500 organizations, including Oxfam, Teach for America, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Girls Who Code, and Ushahidi, and employs 190 full-time staff. The company is investing in artificial intelligence and marketing automation to improve donor retention, addressing average nonprofit churn rates it cites of 60–70% per year. Classy reports it is on target to hit a $1 billion run-rate on donations made via its platform in 2018 but does not disclose specific revenue figures. The firm plans to use new capital for hiring, product development, and expansion both within and beyond the U.S. Classy provides a customizable SaaS platform that powers fundraising campaigns, event management, and donor communications for nonprofits and social enterprises. Customers pay a monthly fee to launch branded campaigns quickly and accept online donations. The platform is used by more than 1,500 organizations, including Oxfam, The World Food Program and National Geographic, and has helped raise hundreds of millions of dollars. Classy reports an average donation of $90 and a largest gift of $75,000; the company says customers see fundraising growth averaging 220% year over year. The company was founded in 2011 and operates with a team of about 80 employees, including a 15-person engineering team. Classy plans to use new funding to triple its engineering headcount and expand across the U.S.

Led · Seed · Apr 2020

Twine began as a video-chat startup and shifted to focus on online events, offering small-group professional networking tools for event owners. The product drops a handful of event attendees into intimate video chats (the team notes chats over five people become webinars) to recreate elevator‑ or lobby‑style serendipity. Event hosts can embed Twine or link out to it; there is a free tier for events up to 30 users and paid packs sold on a per-attendee SaaS basis. Feature set includes digital business-card exchanges, analytics and reports for hosts and attendees. Customers include Microsoft, Amazon and Forrester, and Twine has about 25 customers with some running 10–15 events; the company was on track for $1 million in bookings in 2021. The co-founders come from DoubleDutch, and Twine plans to hire in sales and customer success, improve accessibility, expand the platform and experiment with asynchronous matchmaking. twine is a group video chat app that matches users into digital gatherings where each participant has four 1-to-1 conversations of eight minutes apiece, for a total 40-minute session. Participants choose from a library of more than 250 'deep' questions and are matched with others who want to explore the same topics. The app is available on iOS and web and is currently in private beta with a waitlist of around 1,000 users, mainly from New York City and San Francisco. twine requires pre-approval to join, collects email/phone/ZIP at onboarding, asks users to rate conversations, and enforces permanent bans to deter trolling; the company says it aims to move toward real-ID-only access in the future. The startup has closed $1.4 million in seed funding and plans to adopt a subscription model and resume real-life gatherings when it is safe to do so. The founders position twine as a way to skip small talk and foster deeper friendships rather than dating, aiming to address loneliness exacerbated by social distancing.

Participated · Series A · Aug 2018

Naked Labs ships a mirror-based 3D body scanner that builds a model of users and highlights where fitness progress is occurring. The company began taking pre-orders last year for the $1,395 Naked 3D Fitness Tracker and has started shipping those orders, with hopes to have the device generally available next quarter. The device consists of two parts: a scale that houses sensors and a computer, and a weight scale that spins the user so the stationary mirror can capture a body scan in about 15 seconds. The system reports body fat percent, lean mass and fat mass, circumferences, side-by-side comparisons with earlier scans, and historical graphs. Hardware includes an Intel x86 processor, 4GB DDR4 RAM and a 64GB SSD so depth data can be stitched on-device and beamed to the phone rather than uploaded to the cloud. Naked Labs uses Intel RealSense depth sensors (no RGB cameras) to produce a depth-based avatar and states that it will use the funding to scale manufacturing, hire staff, and develop new products. Naked Labs makes the Naked 3D Fitness Tracker, an internet-connected full-length mirror and a wirelessly rechargeable, rotating scale that together produce grayscale 3D body scans and metrics via a mobile app. The system uses Intel RealSense 3D depth sensors and Intel quad-core processors to derive accurate scans in about 20 seconds and can store data for up to six users. The mobile app displays realistic 3D illustrations and tracks detailed metrics over time, including symmetry and circumference of biceps, calves, thighs, hips and waist, body-fat percentage, hip-to-waist ratio, and weight, and helps users set goals with expert-referenced ranges. Naked began taking preorders at a $499 price point via naked.fit, with shipping slated for March 2017. The company was co-founded in 2015 by CEO Farhad Farahbakhshian and COO Ed Sclater and is based in San Francisco. Naked has raised seed funding from New Enterprise Associates, Three Leaf Ventures, and Monstro Ventures, though the company has not disclosed the amount.

Participated · Equity · Jun 2018

Honk operates a marketplace that applies ride‑hailing technology to roadside assistance and towing, letting customers request service via mobile web or the company app and track tow trucks in real time. The company says insurers, auto OEMs and fleets use its transparent platform to cut wait times by over 50%, improve customer satisfaction and achieve industry‑leading net promoter scores. Honk reported a network of 75,000 tow truckers and roadside assisters and plans to use new funding to expand that network and add services for insurers, fleet managers and manufacturers. A little over a year after inking a significant contract with the insurer Farmers, Honk raised new capital to scale operations. CEO Corey Brundage declined to comment on the company’s revenue, path to profitability or valuation. HONK is an on-demand mobile app for tow, tire change, jump start, fuel and lockout services, connecting motorists to a nationwide network of more than 20,000 tow trucks. Launched in November 2014 and founded in 2014, the Santa Monica–based company offers guaranteed 'Never to Exceed' pricing starting at $49 with no membership fees and provides 15–30 minute ETAs via mobile track-and-trace technology. Since launching four months ago it has grown to become the largest service fleet in the United States for app-based roadside assistance. HONK plans to use its new funding to continue enhancing its service offering and technology, expand distribution in the $10 billion roadside assistance market, and unveil new features for drivers and tow operators. The company has onboarded more than 20,000 trucks nationally, is rapidly expanding its team, and has raised $13.8 million in total venture funding to date.

Participated · Series B · Sep 2016

Ripple offers blockchain-based enterprise solutions spanning global payments, custody, liquidity, and treasury management. It operates a multi-asset prime brokerage platform called Ripple Prime that provides financing and other services to institutional clients in traditional and digital markets. Founded in 2012 and based in San Francisco, Ripple positions itself as a one-stop shop for moving, storing, exchanging, and managing value. The company has secured a $200M debt facility from funds managed by Neuberger Specialty Finance to support growth of Ripple Prime and extend client financing. The financing is intended to increase Ripple's capacity and enhance its ability to serve new and existing institutional relationships. The deal reflects Ripple's focus on expanding institutional-facing products and access to capital.