Start-up Society #65
Keeping the American Dream Alive
Welcome to the 65th edition of Start-up Society! This is a weekly blog that promotes nationwide entrepreneurship and highlights some of the most exciting start-ups in the country striving to keep the American Dream alive.
Make sure you check out the previous issue, if you have not already, here!
No gimmicks or themes in this issue, folks. Today, we are going back to our roots and simply covering three amazing American start-ups. Dive in to learn about exciting companies innovating in Cannabis, Fashion, and Healthcare!
CALIFORNIA
Treez
HQ: Oakland
Founded: 2016
Total Employees: 77 (on LinkedIn)
ABOUT THE COMPANY
- Treez is a leading enterprise cloud platform that streamlines retail supply chain operations within the cannabis market, providing the robust breadth and depth of software solutions required to operate a successful modern dispensary.
- Treez includes point of sale (POS), dispensary inventory management, and omnichannel sales delivery solutions on a mission-critical platform that ensures regulatory compliance across every supply chain transaction.
- By volume of transactions, Treez is the market-leading software used by dispensaries in California, with expansion underway into new markets nationwide. The company already has established operations in Canada and India.
- Boasting 5 million+ unique consumers and growing, Treez holds a successful track record with retailers and brands nationwide, resulting in a $4 billion+ gross merchandise value (GMV).
- On September 17th 2020, Treez announced the closing of a $13 million Series B investment round led by Intrinsic Capital Partners to further accelerate expansion into legal state retailers for B2C and B2B commerce, as well as extend the company’s reach through APIs into best-of-breed tech stacks (ERP, CRM and other complementary systems).
MEET THE TEAM
John Yang, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
- Born Hai-Meng Yang, John began his entrepreneurial journey as a 12-year-old inside his father’s computer shop — selling, building, and solving problems using technology.
- Prior to Treez, John was a consultant at Slalom Consulting — ranked #3 in the world for business technology consulting and specializing in program management, business process improvement, software development, CRM solutions, and business intelligence.
- John was also a consultant with Accenture as an experienced information technology management professional.
- John earned his B.S. in Managerial Economics from the University of California, Davis.
Shareef El-Sissi, Chief Strategy Officer & Co-Founder
- Shareef also is the CEO of California-based vertically integrated brand, Eden Enterprises.
- A true vet in the Cannabis space, Shareef joined the Garden of Eden, an award-winning dispensary concept, in late 2009 and was instrumental in growing the business into an empire of cannabis-related businesses under the umbrella of the aforementioned Eden Enterprises.
- Shareef’s direct and ongoing hands-on experience in the cannabis industry is an essential part of the continued evolution of the Treez platform. Shareef helps the Treez team find new ways to automate processes and modernize cannabis commerce.
- Shareef earned his B.S. in Business Administration and Management from the University of California, Davis.
David Yan, Chief Financial Officer
- David came to Treez in 2019 with a track record of success with over 15 years of experience in financial leadership to high-growth SaaS and data companies for both SMB and enterprise markets.
- He has held VP of Finance positions at both Womply and Wrike as well as various financial positions at Twitter, ForeScout, Synopsys, and Adchemy.
- David earned his B.S. in Business Administration from San Jose State University, with a dual concentration in Corporate Finance and Marketing.
Josh Glantz, Chief Revenue Officer
- Josh has more than 20 years of executive experience in data-driven businesses at the start-up and growth phases.
- Before Treez, Josh was the CEO of SinglePlatform, and lead its acquisition by Tripadvisor.
- In his role as VP for Digital Business at Publishers Clearing House, he helped grow the company from $20M to over $100M in annual revenue and led two acquisitions and integrations at Publishers Clearing House.
- Josh earned his A.B. in History from Princeton University and his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.
THE START-UP SOCIETY ASSESSMENT
- Dispensaries, like all retail businesses, have been forced to adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic. Customers of Treez have been able to leverage the platform to rapidly respond to COVID-19 challenges with real-time insights and capabilities such as online ordering, contactless payments, curbside pickup.
- The company operates under a SaaS delivery model and has put up impressive statistics. With SaaS metrics like over 100% net retention and a three-year revenue growth rate of almost 600%, enterprise software investors are taking notice.
- Now a household name in California, as cannabis dispensaries become more prevalent across the United States we expect Treez to continue its meteoric growth for the foreseeable future.
GO DEEPER
Treez Named to 2021 Inc. 5000 list of Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America
Cannabis Retail Automation Leader TreezReports Impressive 2020 Results
Cannabis Retail Automation Leader Treez Adds bookkeep.com as New Partner
NEW YORK
HQ: New York
Founded: 2015
Total Employees: 4 (on LinkedIn)
ABOUT THE COMPANY
- Dropel is a sustainable fashion start-up with a goal to stain-proof clothes.
“We live in a world full of stains, but we don’t have to,” Sim Gulati, co-founder and CEO of Dropel Fabrics, said at the second annual New York Fashion Tech Lab (NYFTL) Demo Day, hosted by Time Inc. “Unlike other treatments, our fabrics maintain the plush softness of cotton we love to wear. Wine, beer, soda — not even soy sauce stands a chance.” — Sim Gulati, CEO of Dropel Fabrics
- The company develops and produces performance-enhanced natural fabrics by leveraging material science and textile technology to bring the performance qualities of synthetics to materials we traditionally use such as cotton.
- Applying their fabric technologies to cotton creates clothing that is “life-proof.”
MEET THE TEAM
Simardev Gulati, CEO & Co-Founder
- Prior to starting Dropel Fabrics, Simardev began as an Investment Analyst at Morgan Stanley in 2005.
- He furthered his investment experience by serving as an Investor at firms such as HOURS NEW YORK, Oxford Angel Fund, and The Gulati Group, Inc.
THE START-UP SOCIETY ASSESSMENT
- Dropel Fabrics addresses an issue that has plagued many of us since birth. Using performance-enhanced fabrics and combining this with cotton creates a new type of sustainability for everyone.
- This fashion start-up and its collaborations with other brands can help limit the amount of materials wasted and produced in the process of creating clothes.
- With 3 rounds of funding complete (of undisclosed amounts), we hope to see what Dropel Fabrics has in store for the future!
GO DEEPER
Reinventing fashion with a Silicon Valley twist
New York Fashion Tech Lab Aims to Merge NYC’s Fashion and Tech Scenes
Dropel Fabrics revolutionizing fabric technology
pulseData
HQ: New York City
Founded: 2016
Total Employees: 19 (on Linkedin)
ABOUT THE COMPANY
- pulseData builds adaptive, predictive engines, based on machine learning, for Hospitals and Healthcare companies, to identify patients at risk of a bad, avoidable medical outcome. pulseData’s software drives preventive action, saves medical costs, and helps eliminate suffering.
“Healthcare happens when one human delivers an empathetic touch to another — the best solutions amplify this rather than replace it. Technology can help this happen more frequently and more precisely, connecting the right people at the right time.” — Teddy Cha, CEO & Co-Founder of pulseData
- pulseData utilizes machine learning and artificial intelligence to predict which patients are at risk for End-Stage renal disease and Chronic Kidney Disease.
- The pulseData solution is unique, focusing on four key areas to approach the problem of patients:
- Analyzing the health records of each patient, including lab results, notes, EHR etc.
- Identifying the at-risk population with the highest CKD/ESRD risks in order to promptly assess the situation
- Communicate and coordinate the workflows between the patient and provider, minimizing time consumption
- Provide informed kidney care decisions and support, each centered around improving the quality of life.
- On April 21, 2021, the company announced it raised $16.5 million in Series A venture funding in a deal led by Bain Capital Private Equity and Two Bear Capital with participation from Alumni Ventures Group and other existing investors.
MEET THE TEAM
Teddy Cha, CEO & Co-Founder
- Previously, Teddy earned his Bachelor’s degree from MIT in Finance and Economics in 1998, and his M.B.A. from The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business in 2006.
- He started off his career at Register.com as a Product Manager after his Bachelor's degree, then moved to Bain & Company as a Case Team Lead for three years.
- In 2012, Teddy spent nearly two years as VP of product at Signpost. He then transitioned to VP of product at TheLadders from 2014 to 2015 prior to becoming CEO and Co-Founder of pulseData in 2016.
Hai Po Sun, CTO & Co-Founder
- Previously, Hai Po earned his Bachelor’s degree from MIT in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1996 and his Master's Degree from MIT in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1997.
- Hai Po began his career at J.P Morgan Asset Management as a Senior Quantitative Analyst from 1997 to 2000. He then transitioned to J.P Morgan Investment Bank as a Lead Trader until 2002.
- After a prestigious journey within the trading space, Hai Po became CTO of Canal Street, where he spent 6 years until 2015.
Job Evers, Director of Engineering
- Previously, Job earned his Bachelor’s degree from MIT in Mathematics and Computer Science in 2006.
- Job began his career in 2006 at KBC AIM as a Quantitative Researcher until 2008, when he transitioned to Tradelink as a Quantitative Researcher until 2010.
- In April of 2012, Job began as a Data Engineer at Udacity until January of 2016.
- After a prestigious stint as VP of Engineering at LBRY until 2017, Job joined pulseData as Director of Engineering.
THE START-UP SOCIETY ASSESSMENT
- Overall, exponentially rising healthcare costs, along with the need for improvement within technological capabilities have created many opportunities for start-ups such as pulseData to build variable models that address gaps in the insurance market. The Healthcare Insurtech market is expected to grow to $3.04 trillion in 2028.
- pulseData utilizes emerging technology such as artificial intelligence to assess the growing problems of many patients seeking effective treatment.
- The pulseData team is equipped with the industry knowledge and organizational expertise to grow at an exponential rate, reaching all patients in need of effective and accurate treatment.
GO DEEPER
Thank you for reading this article! Feel free to leave a comment, clap, and follow. Stay tuned for next week’s write-up, posted every Monday at 5 AM ET.
Authored by Arteen Zahiri, Thane Wharton, and Julian Ramcharan
