Pomelo, Yup, Humming Homes, Scholarships360 –18th October, 2021
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.
Pomelo
EVA Growth Index:
No external sources showing growth
Product:
Consumer fintech app for free international money transfers
Lead Investors:
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, Xfund, Afore Capital, Josh Buckley
Total Raised:
$5M
Comparables:
Venmo
My Thoughts:
Basically, no one knows what Venmo is outside of the US and with most personal networks being international this is a service that needs to exist. Transferwise might be affordable but nothing is better than free! Also created by serial entrepreneur and ex-founder of MemSQL.
Yup
EVA Growth Index:
Product:
Decentralized social network with profiles based around content, not personal information
Lead Investors:
Distributed Global
Total Raised:
$4M
Comparables:
Mastodon, Manyverse
My Thoughts:
With the increasing trouble surrounding Facebook, it seems like we need an updated social network model and decentralization might be the answer. Yup’s content-first approach looks to be very timely with the broad mass using social platforms to engage on latest developments, less than their personal lives.
Humming Homes
EVA Growth Index:
Product:
Consumer app for US homeowners that provides a dedicated team to manage property upkeep, a marketplace of vetted home service professionals, and customized maintenance plans
Lead Investors:
Greycroft
Total Raised:
$8M
Comparables:
N/A
My Thoughts:
With a huge spike of a second homeownership in the US over the pandemic, not everyone will want to take care of their second or even first home, which should drive a major need for a solution like Humming Homes.
Scholarships360
EVA Growth Index:
Product:
Discovery platform for education scholarship
Lead Investors:
Undisclosed
Total Raised:
$250k
Comparables:
Access Scholarships, Scholarships
My Thoughts:
With the plethora of education providers and each with their unique scholarship programs, this is as fragmented as a market could be. Driving clarity across all the different opportunities has to be very valuable for students and Scholarships 360 looks the most beautiful solution in the market.
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.
