Jan 2021 Gap Fund Recipients
IDEA facilitates and accelerates growth for ventures through a unique stage gate process-Ready, Set and Go- that provides a framework that can be applied to any venture across all industries. Ventures in the Go stage are eligible to apply for up to $10,000 Gap Fund up to 3 times. After going through a careful selection process, Persist Energy, Ornami Brands and Mount earned the January IDEA Gap Fund.
Persist Energy is solving the issue of last-mile delivery services in India by providing an electric vehicle alternative to any fossil fuel driven alternatives. The company will be selling their offering as a service by charging a modest fee for the device and charging the user for replaceable batteries. The vision is to outfit cities with many charging stations that will easily enable consumers to swap their batteries during the work day. The company has made iterations to its prototype and has completed its first test with vegetable startup ‘Subgwala’ . The new design was delivered this week and the team went to potential customers and demoed the product using a VR headset. The response was very positive and there are outstanding pre-orders for their bikes. The company requested funding to produce 10 bikes to fulfill the preorders.
Ornami Brands provides all-natural effective skincare products after switching from its previous hair extensions business. The brand currently has a number of products including body butter, body scrub, and facial spray. Since a relaunch in April 2020, the brand generated impressive revenue. The brand already has a considerable amount of paying customers, 20.29% of whom are repeat customers. Ornami requested funding for an initial manufacturing order, stability & microbial testing, and an initial UPC code purchase to be listed on Amazon.
Mount powers fleet management systems through smart locks streamlining vehicle operator performance. As a result of a recent pivot, Mount now sells a bundled package of their locks, fleet management system and insurance to vacation rentals and hotels. In September, Mount launched pilot micro fleets with several scooters, logging dozens of unique riders and a couple hundreds of rides. Mount is planning to use the funding to produce more scooters to launch even more micro fleets in Arizona.
These ventures have shown significant innovation and progress and we are excited to see their next steps and future successes!
IDEA Gap Funding is a non-equity educational grant available to ventures in the GO stage of IDEA’s process. Applicants may apply on a bi-monthly basis where their business plans are reviewed by IDEA’s student Investment Committee upon being selected to pitch plans to IDEA’s Advisory Board. Applicants may receive up to $10,000 in funding.
