The pandemic has led to a profound increase in online consumer spending online with an increase of 52% or $466B between March-September. Yet for startup employees, the uncertainty of the economy can be worrisome. E-commerce transaction marketing platform firm Rokt raised an unexpected Series D round to provide some liquidity to its employees to serve as reassurance and support its growth. Rokt powers the “AHA-moment” of many large online merchants like Ticketmaster, Fanatics, GoDaddy, and Staples and offers seamless add-on purchases from both the merchant and its own marketplace. In less than a year, Rokt’s valuation has increased by 42% to $450M+, the company is on track to expand its headcount from 260 to 400 by the end of 2021, and the company’s weekly revenue averages $2-3M per week, back to pre-pandemic levels. AlleyWatch caught up with CEO and Cofounder Bruce Buchanan to discuss learn more about the motivation for this funding round, Rokt’s plans to expand into new verticals and markets, and the company’s impressive traction. The company has now raised a total of $162M in funding from investors that include Square Peg Capital, Moelis Australia Asset Management, Time Inc., TDM Growth Partners, Lachlan Murdoch, Greg Roebuck, and John Ho.
The AlleyWatch Startup Daily Funding Report: 10/27/2020
The latest venture capital, seed, pre-seed, and angel deals for NYC startups for 10/27/2020 featuring funding details for Suzy, Obsess, and much more.
Nava Raises $20M to Bring High Quality Affordable Healthcare Through its Employee Benefits Brokerage
SMBs have traditionally lacked the resources to build out robust benefits department forcing them to outsource benefit decisions to traditional brokers and bear an increasingly disproportionate burden in rising healthcare costs. Nava, an employee benefits brokerage founded by the founders of Hightower and Kareem Zaki of Thrive Capital, brings affordable healthcare to the 160M Americans who rely on employers for health insurance. With Nava, small-to-midsized businesses are equipped with the resources, tools, and expertise to deliver valuable yet accessible benefits to their employees, while driving down overall plan costs for the employer. AlleyWatch caught up with CEO, Cofounder, and repeat entrepreneur Brandon Weber to learn more about the genesis for Nava, the company’s mission to make healthcare more transparent, and the company’s recent funding round led by Thrive Capital.
Where We Are Investing Now: Neuroscience
Neuroscience has always been a focus area for Social Starts and Joyance Partners and should continue to be due to the large and clear unmet need. Stress, anxiety, mental illness, and their associated impacts are at all-time highs. People seem desperate for solutions. Science points toward many potential new approaches. We also recognize that there […]
5 Factors Which Define the Scope of Your Competition
In 1979, Michael E. Porter proposed his Five Forces framework for analyzing the competitive environment which I think makes even more sense today. Every existing business, as well as every startup, needs to reassess their product or service in the context of these five forces.
#NYCtech Week in Review: 10/18/20-10/24/20
The Weekly Notable Startup Funding Report: 10/26/20
The Weekly Notable Startup Funding Report takes us on a trip across various ecosystems in the US, highlighting some of the notable funding activity in the various markets that we track. The notable startup fundings for the week ending 10/24/20 featuring funding details for Intellimize, Pulley, FinLocker, and fifteen more rounds you must know about.
Pillar Raises $7M for its Platform for Families to Stay Organized While Caring For Aging Loved Ones
For the 50M+ Americans who act as informal caregivers to an older loved one, the caregiver is often overwhelmed with keeping track of a loved one’s healthcare, finances, and more. Pillar is the digital platform that makes it easier for families to protect and care for their loved ones by organizing and store important information such as medical records, legal documents, and financial accounts – all online. AlleyWatch caught up with CEO and Founder Michael Bloch to learn more about how COVID-19 forced a pivot, how his own personal experience caring for his mother served as the foundation for the idea, and the company’s recent funding round from investors that include Kleiner Perkins, Zach Weinberg, Nat Turner (cofounders of Flatiron Health), Adam Nash, Zach Perret, and Will Hockey.
The AlleyWatch Startup Daily Funding Report: 10/23/2020
The latest venture capital, seed, pre-seed, and angel deals for NYC startups for 10/23/2020 featuring funding details for Cobble, Here, and much more.
Oula Raises $3.2M to Modernize Maternity Care for Expectant Mothers
Expectant mothers are so often presented with binary options for childbirth – a heavily medicalized approach in a hospital with an obstetrician or a “natural birth” at home with a midwife, neither of which provides the multidimensional and convenient care that women want. Oula, a modern maternity center, blends the best of both options so women don’t have to choose and weaves technology into the experience to provide safe, convenient, and personalized care. AlleyWatch caught up with Cofounders Adrianne Nickerson and Elaine Purcell to learn more about the company’s experience of building a brick and mortar business in the middle of the pandemic and the company’s oversubscribed seed round from investors that include Collaborative Fund. Female Founders Fund, 8VC, and Rock Health.
The AlleyWatch Startup Daily Funding Report: 10/22/2020
The latest venture capital, seed, pre-seed, and angel deals for NYC startups for 10/22/2020 featuring funding details for Lili, ROKT, and much more.