Arc, Masters, Arcade, BasicBlock, Lendis–17th January, 2022
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.
Arc
EVA Growth Index:
Product:
SaaS finance management platform for start-ups that enable real-time financing solutions like revenue-based financing, high-interest savings accounts, and digital credit cards
Lead Investors:
NFX
Total Raised:
$161M
Comparables:
Brex, Pipe
My Thoughts:
There have been some massive businesses being built with each one of the unique products that Arc is looking to provide. It only makes sense to bundle them all into one platform and create a one-stop solution for all the value.
Masters
EVA Growth Index:
Product:
Consumer fitness app that shares the workouts of professional athletes
Lead Investors:
Sweet Capital
Total Raised:
$3M
Comparables:
Masterclass, Playbook
My Thoughts:
Masters has some legit athletes in their product from Shawn White, Kai Lenny to Emma Coburn which should drive customer acquisition in an otherwise very competitive market. We have seen many creator-first approaches in this market so I am curios to see how the celebrity/sport-star first approach might perform here.
Arcade
EVA Growth Index:
Product:
Developer tool that enables tech companies to embed pieces of their product on social media, blogs, or third-party websites
Lead Investors:
Upfront Ventures
Total Raised:
$3M
Comparables:
N/A
My Thoughts:
Remember when beauty magazines would have little samples of cosmetic products attached to them. Arcade is the digital equivalent for tech products of this, Super smart solution that should be viral in nature.
BasicBlock
EVA Growth Index:
No external sources showing growth
Product:
Mobile financing solution that enables truck drivers to get early or real-time access to their earnings
Lead Investors:
Invest Nebraska, Emergent Ventures, Global Financial Group
Total Raised:
$5M
Comparables:
DailyPay, PayActiv
My Thoughts:
We have seen a ton of earned wages solutions for hourly shift workers so it only makes sense to provide the same solution for truck drivers.
Lendis
EVA Growth Index:
Product:
Equipment as a service solution that lets businesses rent and manage office equipment on a per need basis for office or remote workers
Lead Investors:
Keen Venture Partners
Total Raised:
$28.5M
Comparables:
N/A
My Thoughts:
In the late ’90s and early 2000s software was sold in once-off licensing transactions before the industry started adopting the SaaS model as the norm. I don’t see why for a certain segment of hardware this should not be the same. Lendis might just lead the charge to that revolution.
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 Grin, Trellis, Solid, Polygon, Flockjay, and Tabnine.
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.
