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AlleyWatch

The Pulse of New York Tech

Funded in the Alley

Dandelion Energy Raises $30M to Bring Geothermal Energy into Homes

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70+% of energy usage in the typical home comes from heating, cooling, and water heating. 2.9% of household income is spent in New York on electricity each year. Add in heating oil and home ownership becomes very costly, very quickly. Dandelion Energy has built a geothermal system that replaces a home’s existing air conditioning and heating systems by placing underground pipes below your property. At a basic level, in the winter, the pipes push heat stored in the ground into your home and in the summer, the pipes take away heat from your home. As society shifts away from a dependency on fossil fuels, customers are able to take advantage of federal, state, and utility subsidy programs that are available to reduce the cost of installation and upgrade for less than what they are paying now monthly.

AlleyWatch caught up with CEO Michael Sachse to learn more about the promise of widespread geothermal adoption, the company’s future plans, latest round of funding from investors that include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, GV, NEA, Lennar Corporation, Collaborative Fund, Building Ventures, Catchlight Ventures, and GroundUp.

The AlleyWatch Startup Daily Funding Report: 2/26/2021

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The latest venture capital, seed, pre-seed, and angel deals for NYC startups for 2/26/2021 featuring funding details for Newslea and much more.

Abound Raises $22.9M for its Curated Wholesale Marketplace for Independent Retailers

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Most independent retailers don’t have much time to source products for their stores. Instead, they are reliant on distributors that visit the store with products or on attending tradeshows. There are a number of emerging brands that would like to be on these shelves but don’t have the huge sales staff necessary to visit these retailers independently. Abound connects the two with its online wholesale marketplace. Retailers get access to a curated selection of products from vetted brands spanning various product categories like Accessories, Baby & Kids, Beauty, Food & Drink, Home, and Jewelry while getting flexible payment and return terms; the brands are able to secure retail placement through the platform. In 2020 despite the pandemic, Abound grew rapidly, registering a 20x growth in monthly sales volume, adding 180,000+ products to the marketplace. AlleyWatch caught up with CEO and Cofounder Bill Shope to learn more about the business, future plans, and the company’s latest funding round from investors that include Left Lane Capital, RiverPark Ventures, All Iron Ventures, and Red Antler.

The AlleyWatch Startup Daily Funding Report: 2/25/2021

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The latest venture capital, seed, pre-seed, and angel deals for NYC startups for 2/25/2021 featuring funding details for Fi, PureStream Trading Technologies, and much more.

Codecademy Raises $40M as the Interest in Coding Education Surges

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Coding has become a new form of literacy in an ever-increasing digital world. Proficiency in coding has significant societal and individual ramifications including the potential to improve educational equality, STEM interest, critical reasoning skills, and building an inclusive workforce. Codecademy is one of the pioneering online coding education platforms, launched in 2011. The company now offers a robust catalog of interactive courses for web development, programming and computer science, and data science that focuses on the most relevant and in-demand skills. The startup has already has helped 50M+ individuals and the model is versatile depending on your preference and level of interest in coding with three main products – the free product, Codecademy Pro ($40) that offers unlimited access to the catalog of courses, and Codecademy for Business, which helps companies upskill their employees. AlleyWatch caught up with CEO and Cofounder Zach Sims to learn more about the company’s evolution since its founding in 2011, future plans, and latest funding round from investors that include Owl Ventures, Union Square Ventures, and Prosus.

The AlleyWatch Startup Daily Funding Report: 2/24/2021

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The latest venture capital, seed, pre-seed, and angel deals for NYC startups for 2/24/2021 featuring funding details for Burrow, GoStork, and much more.

Heyday Raises Another $20M to Make Skincare More Accessible

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Skin is the largest organ in the body comprising approximately a total area of approximately 20 feet and serves as the body’s first line of protection. As the pandemic has lighted the importance of self-care and with people spending more time at home, the use of skincare products has increased; 40% of skincare users reporting using products more often than they did in 2019. Heyday is on a mission to make skincare more accessible. The startup operates a number of studios across the country that take the experience of getting a facial out of the spa and into more convenient locations. Rather than just focusing on facials, Heyday concentrates its efforts on building an educational experience for its user so that they can build an enduring skincare routine. This includes working with one of the company’s 300+ estheticians to develop tailored regiments. Also, available is a robust e-commerce store that offers a curated selection of vetted brands. AlleyWatch caught up with Cofounder and CEO Adam Ross to learn more about Heyday’s progress since we last spoke after its Series A round in 2018, challenges faced during the pandemic, expansion plans, and the latest round of funding from investors that include Level 5 Capital Partners, Lerer Hippeau, and Fifth Wall Ventures.

Electric Raises Another $40M to Support the IT Needs of a Remote World

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11 months ago, the world shut down and now 11 months later, much of our lives have shifted to remote. Overnight, businesses were forced to adjust their operations to support working from home. In order to support this dramatic shift, companies needed to ensure that they have the proper IT support infrastructure in place to address the reshaped reality of work. Electric, a pioneer in the tech-enabled managed service provider (MSP) space, was able to support the needs of the small and medium-sized businesses that lacked the in-house resources to manage this process. The company’s 100+ IT technicians are able to fully remotely manage tasks like a client’s networks, devices, security, applications, onboarding, and data monitoring. Employees are able to reach an IT expert within 10 minutes to handle their inquiries using popular chat communication platforms like Slack or Teams. Electric now provides support for over 400 businesses that comprise 20,000+ employees. AlleyWatch caught up with CEO, Cofounder, and repeat entrepreneur Ryan Denehy (Swarm Mobile acquired by Groupon) to learn more about the value that Electric brings its partners, the company’s impressive traction, future plans, and latest round of funding from investors that include Greenspring Associates, Bessemer Venture Partners, GGV Capital, 01 Advisors, Primary Venture Partners, Atreides Management, and Vintage Investment Partners, and much, much more…

The AlleyWatch Startup Daily Funding Report: 2/23/2021

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The latest venture capital, seed, pre-seed, and angel deals for NYC startups for 2/23/2021 featuring funding details for Electric, Heyday, and much more.

Jackpocket Scores Another $50M to Make Playing the Lottery as Easy as a Few Taps on Your Phone

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The lottery is the most popular form of gaming with 49% of adults reporting buying a lottery ticket.  For states, the lottery serves as a source of revenue to fund public education budgets, veteran services, infrastructure, and other public works.  Jackpocket, founded in 2013, partners with official state lottery retailers and offers the players the convenience of getting in on the action from their phones, get automated alerts when they win, and even collect via the phone. Jackpocket, founded in 2013, partners with official state lottery retailers and offers the players the convenience of getting in on the action from their phones, get automated alerts when they win, and even collect via the phone. The company currently services eight states with plans to expand to new markets. The service went live in New York last month and is already responsible for 7% of all Powerball tickets sold in the state. Despite the pandemic slowing down the overall lottery market, Jackpocket grew 4x in 2020 and now employes a team of 175. AlleyWatch caught up with Founder and CEO Peter Sullivan to learn more about the $80B lottery industry’s push to go mobile, the company’s traction, future plans, and latest round of funding from investors that include Greenspring Associates, Gaingels, The Raine Group, David Blitzer, BRV Capital, Tegna, Circle K Corporation, and Sean Hayes.

The AlleyWatch Startup Daily Funding Report: 2/22/2021

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The latest venture capital, seed, pre-seed, and angel deals for NYC startups for 2/22/2021 featuring funding details for BlockPower, Comm Technologies, and much more.