Quantcast

AlleyWatch

The Pulse of New York Tech

Startups

Pressto Raises $1.5M to Teach Students to Become Writers and Become Media-Savvy Through its Tech-Enabled Platform

by

The future of media and journalism is at a crossroads. The adaption of media to embrace a digital reality has had a profound effect on the industry, allowing independent journalists and creators to build massive scale for the first time. However, with these enhanced distribution opportunities, these same digital avenues have also led to a surge in misinformation.  Building the skillset and perspective to embrace this new paradigm is something that needs to start at a young age.  Pressto is a media education and facilitation platform for students to allow them to develop the critical skills needed to assess, build, and distribute media through project-based learning.  Students, K-12, are able to publish their own digital publications, Zines, and through the guided experience build writing skills, audience development capabilities, critical thinking acumen, and literacy of the media landscape using cognitive behavioral science.  The platform is currently accepting new students on its waitlist and is actively piloting at several schools with launch slated for the summer. AlleyWatch caught up with Pressto Founder Daniel Stedman to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, recent round of funding, and much, much more…

The AlleyWatch Startup Daily Funding Report: 5/19/2022

by

5 new deals; $90M in new funding including a deal that’s previously unreported. The latest venture capital, seed, pre-seed, and angel deals for NYC startups for 5/19/2022 featuring funding details for Fetcher, Sweet Chick, and much more.

Parcl Raises $7.5M for its Synthetic Digital Asset Protocol That Makes Real Estate Investment More Accessible

by

Synthetic digital assets are decentralized finance’s version of financial derivatives where the value of the synthetic asset is determined by some underlying asset without the owner having to own the underlying.  Synthetic digital assets gaining popularity in the decentralized world as they open up new investment opportunities by providing both increased access and liquidity.  For real-world assets that have a high cost of entry, like real estate, synthetics are able to provide the same benefits of actual ownership but without the massive capital outlays required.  Parcl has built a synthetic asset protocol that allows investors to buy and sell digital real estate based on geography, both broadly or at a granular (neighborhood) level.  The company’s protocol offers a digital representation of property values, categorized by neighborhood as “Parcls”, for various cities that dynamically mimics the real-world conditions in these markets through the creation of price indexes. Parcl investors can speculate on appreciation and depreciation without the burden of physical property ownership and transact inexpensively without any investment minimums. The protocol is built on Solana, which is well suited to handle a large number of transactions with minimal transaction costs while providing the added benefit of instant liquidity, unlike actual real estate. At a time when homeownership is at multi-decade lows and the cost of housing is surging, Parcl also represents an opportunity for investors to hedge ownership of real assets and as the protocol builds synthetic assets, solutions can be devised to meet more sophisticated needs. AlleyWatch caught up with Parcl CEO Trevor Bacon to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding, which brings the total equity funding raised to $11.5M, and much, much more…

Ness Raises $15.5M to Prioritize Health With its Credit Card and Rewards Platform

by

COVID has transformed how consumers view credit card rewards.  Travel-based card owners have had to adjust the way they earn and spend rewards.  To address this change in consumer behavior, an increasing number of card providers have enhanced their offerings to provide more lifestyle benefits. The pandemic also introduced a shift in spending behavior that placed an emphasis on personal health. Ness is a new digital credit card and rewards platform that’s focused on integrating wellcare into the credit card industry by incentivizing cardholders to be healthy.  The company’s first product is the Ness Rewards platform that allows users to earn rewards for everyday healthy behaviors like going to the doctor, maintaining sound sleep habits, or going to the gym.  Accrued rewards can be used with a number of popular health and wellness-focused brands like Sweetgreen, Noom, and One Medical as well as with a network of over 4000 health coaches, nutritionists, and other specialists. Ness is also launching its own suite of credit cards to provide more enhanced benefits by increasing a cardholder’s ability to accumulate rewards for everyday behaviors.  All of this serves as a foundation for the company’s plan to expand to offer integrated health insurance benefits.  By fostering healthy habits through incentivization, Ness seeks to make wellcare more accessible and affordable, creating a new paradigm for an emphasized and integrated approach to preventative healthcare. AlleyWatch caught up with Ness CEO, Cofounder, and serial entrepreneur Derek Flanzraich (Greatist acquired by Healthline) to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding, and much, much more…

The AlleyWatch Startup Daily Funding Report: 5/17/2022

by

6 new deals representing $180M for NYC startups in a busy day including deals for a chai marketplace, banking infrastructure provider, and a bond market connectivity platform…

Sealed Raises $29.5M to Make Installing Energy Efficiency Solutions a No-Brainer for Homeowners

by

The two primary mechanisms to improve home energy efficiency is to first target a home’s building envelope (walls, attics, windows, doors, etc.) and to focus on the efficiency of heating, lighting, cooling, and appliance choices.  However, the hassle, time, and upfront costs required are an impediment –counter-intuitive as improving energy efficiency is an investment that saves customers money while they are in the home.  Sealed is a full-service platform that makes the process of weatherization easy and accessible.  The company, through its network of vetted contractors, focuses on insulation upgrades, air sealing, and the installation of efficient heat pump systems.  There are no upfront costs as the company has developed a financing arrangement that’s based on actual energy use reduction from Sealed upgrades, aligning the company’s mission of climate tech accessibility with customer interests; typical plans span 20 years.  The company is currently serving residential customers in the northeast (NY, NJ, CT, and PA) and recently expanded to Chicago, with plans to serve more markets in the near future. AlleyWatch caught up with Sealed CEO Lauren Salz to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding,  and much, much more…

The 12 Largest Global Startup Funding Rounds of April 2022

by

Everything you need to need to know about the largest global startup funding rounds of April 2022; broken down by industry, stage, investors, and more…