Jun 13
Top Seed Companies to Track: Pigeon Loans, Steady, Aerotime, Stage, Proper
Our Investor Nicolas von Blottnitz shares the top-seeded companies to keep an eye on this week.
We see about 5,000 startups each week, and I want to give you a glimpse into how we at Headline think about trending tech companies and tracking new investment opportunities. In this post, I’m highlighting top tech companies that have announced or raised a seed round within the past week.
Pigeon Loans
EVA Growth Index:
Product:
Peer-to-peer lending platform that facilitates loans between family, friends and loved ones
Lead Investors:
FundersClub
Total Raised:
$3M
Comparables:
Creditas, LendingClub
My Thoughts:
They say don’t mix business with pleasure. With that in mind, I see the true value that this platform provides around being the official bookkeeper of the lending transaction and reducing any doubt around terms, which should reduce friction in the underlying personal relationships.
Steady
EVA Growth Index:
No external sources showing growth
Product:
Fintech platform for property owners and managers that today offers rent guarantee and rent advance (seems like more offerings are in the pipeline)
Lead Investors:
Fintech Ventures Fund
Total Raised:
$5.9M
Comparables:
RentRescue
My Thoughts:
Especially in these uncertain economic times, I see a clear reason why property owners want to be downside protected. With $500M in debt raised alongside the Seed round, Steady has plenty of dry powder to execute upon this why now moment.
Aerotime
EVA Growth Index:
No external sources showing growth
Product:
Smart calendaring software to help manage your time more effectively
Lead Investors:
Nexus Venture Partners
Total Raised:
$2M
Comparables:
Motion, Reclaim
My Thoughts:
I believe I am one of the few individuals in VC that does not have a scheduler, as I want to have full control over my time. That being said, scheduling is a pain point in my life, so any solution that could help with that is a great opportunity in my eyes.
Stage
EVA Growth Index:
No external sources showing growth
Product:
Software solution to help SaaS teams get granular insights into the interactions that make for converting/paying customers
Lead Investors:
Upfront Ventures
Total Raised:
$5M
Comparables:
Amplitude, Mixpanel
My Thoughts:
One thing I focus on with investment prospects and portfolio companies are the interactions that identify a user with true product-market-fit. Having seen how many companies don’t have the full insights into this important part of the business makes me incredibly bullish about what Stage is building.
Proper
EVA Growth Index:
No external sources showing growth
Product:
Infrastructure platform for a business to manage payments and money movement to automated cross-platform reconciliation
Lead Investors:
Redpoint
Total Raised:
$4.3M
Comparables:
N/A
My Thoughts:
Oh, how often do we engage with investment prospects and they are unable to share with us how their revenue transactions across their different payment gateways link up to their revenue. Natural for early-stage businesses. This is such a must-have with the proliferation of different payment channels in the digital world. I hope this gets mainstream adoption.
Hi, I am Nicolas von Blottnitz, an Associate at Headline’s SF office focusing on Consumer, Fintech, and SaaS businesses. Since joining in 2018, I have led our investments in Tabnine, Polygon, Flockjay, Solid, and Grin.
What is the EVA Growth Index?
The EVA Growth index is a composite of third-party data sources around a company’s website traffic. The vertical green lines in the charts represent a point in time where the company raised outside capital.
