May 17
Top Seed Companies to Track: Upshift, Bubbles, GitStart, Lumify, Belay
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.
Upshift
EVA Growth Index:
No external sources showing growth
Product:
Monthly car ownership solution
Lead Investors:
Angelsdeck, Westlake Financial Services
Total Raised:
$2M
Comparables:
Blacktie, DriveGo
My Thoughts:
Millennials don’t like owning stuff, especially in this new work-from-home world where individuals want the freedom to move between different locations. Within this, traditional car rental solutions are mispriced for monthly rentals — I speak from first-hand experience. Even if UpShift only gets a fraction of the car market, this could be a gigantic business.
Bubbles
EVA Growth Index:
Product:
Communication platform that enables users to collaborate using screen, video, and audio messages
Lead Investors:
468 Capital, Bain Capital, Craft Ventures, Streamlined Ventures, Khosla Ventures
Total Raised:
$9M
Comparables:
Loom
My Thoughts:
I am currently on a major push to reduce the volume of Zoom meetings I have on my calendar every week, so Bubble’s vision of reducing the number of synchronous meetings through technology really resonates with me and probably many other knowledge workers.
GitStart
EVA Growth Index:
No external sources showing growth
Product:
Software platform that helps engineers automate their pull requests asynchronously
Lead Investors:
Neo
Total Raised:
$5M
Comparables:
CodeClimate
My Thoughts:
I love set-it and forget automation tools, especially for developers who should always rather be focusing on real value-add work.
Lumify
EVA Growth Index:
No external sources showing growth
Product:
All-in-one app for nurses to find gear, support, and have a community of like-minded professionals
Lead Investors:
Y Combinator
Total Raised:
$2M
Comparables:
N/A
My Thoughts:
There are 3M registered nurses in the US that absolutely deserve their own professional network.
Belay
EVA Growth Index:
No external sources showing growth
Product:
Fintech app for on-demand workers to get income guarantees for their working hours
Lead Investors:
Village Global
Total Raised:
$390K
Comparables:
Gridwise
My Thoughts:
Risk-pooling is a powerful concept that should enable serious peace of mind for drivers who can significantly win but also lose from dynamic pricing algorithms. I like the network effects that Belay can build cross apps, that the actual rideshare and delivery marketplaces can not bridge.
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.
