MergeLane’s 2nd demo day caps year of growth for accelerator
BOULDER — As investment crowdfunding takes off across the country, Boulder-born startups continue to make sites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo look like child’s play in comparison.
Count StartWise as the latest.
The company launched this week with the aim of “democratizing investments,” and was one of the highlights of the MergeLane accelerator’s demo day on Thursday. Ten women-led startups pitched their business models to investors and community members at the Boulder Theater, culminating MergeLane’s second class.
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StartWise was cofounded by CEO Grace Leung Shing and chief operating officer Catherine Yushina, both of whom came from the venture-capital world in Silicon Valley. StartWise provides a revenue-sharing investment platform through which investors can essentially loan businesses money and then receive a percentage of quarterly sales until a predetermined return multiple is achieved.
Like Boulder-based Kickfurther, which helps startups crowdfund the purchase of their inventory, StartWise is open to both accredited and non-accredited investors alike, which is where the democratization comes in. The platform gives non-accredited investors a chance to invest as little as $250 and receive much larger returns than they would in a bank or other options available to them. That’s different from Kickstarter and Indiegogo, where campaign backers generally receive only a product or some other reward.
“Instead of getting stupid T-shirts and useless products … you get a share of a company’s revenue,” Shing quipped during her MergeLane pitch.
Thursday marked a big day not only for the startups like StartWise that were graduating but also MergeLane itself.
MergeLane co-founder and CEO Sue Heilbronner noted that the accelerator’s initial demo day last year filled a 300-person venue and had to turn about 100 people away. This year, nearly 900 people filled the Boulder Theater.
“That is momentum,” she said.
MergeLane’s goal of growing women-led startups has spilled over to investing in companies beyond just those going through the accelerator. As it raised a fund for its 2016 and 2017 classes, investors oversubscribed the fund to the tune of an extra $2 million to $3 million, which MergeLane officials got permission from investors to use as a discretionary fund. Since January, MergeLane has already invested in six mostly local companies, including TapInfluence, Shinesty, P2Binvestor and Parkifi.
Heilbronner said she thinks the MergeLane’s model of a for-profit women-led company helping build other for-profit women-led companies is so quickly resonating with investors because they realize the value in helping women-led companies succeed in the male-dominated tech startup scene.
“I think we are headed into some incredible years for women seeking investment in their startups,” she said.
Aide Fitch, CEO of MergeLane graduate CloudForest Software, said she chose MergeLane because of hurdles she’d run into as a female entrepreneur in the software space in particular. Aside from being out-numbered by men in the space, logistical issues such as having children often hang over female entrepreneurs’ heads, she said. The MergeLane model provided motivation to move forward confidently.
“To be surrounded by successful examples of women who have navigated those logistical issues is a game-changer for me,” Fitch said.
Companies pitching Thursday included:
Alchemie: Teaches complex science subjects such as organic chemistry through mobile-enabled, game-based learning.
Atlas Vault: Provides software-as-a-service solutions that enable enterprises to ensure consistent cyber-security at every level of the supply chain.
Ballot Ready: Makes a mobile-enabled online voter guide that aims to increase participation in local elections.
Cabsolutely: Makes a tech platform that gives traditional taxi companies the ability to provide drivers and riders a seamless experience on par with leading ride-sharing companies.
Cloudforest Software: Enables building professionals to make design and construction decisions at the ideation stage of commercial projects to help reduce cost overruns.
Globig: Provides tools, experts and information to help growing companies enter new international markets more efficiently.
Hatch Marketing Plans: Makes a marketing planning tool that helps businesses quickly gather ideas, forecast outcomes and demonstrate ROI across all media channels.
Healthiest: A content and commerce platform for natural pharmacy products that guarantees the products it sells don’t contain unhealthy ingredients.
LittleLane: Gives parents access to the best kids events and activities in their area and the opportunity to explore a variety of new options seamlessly via subscription.
Startwise: A crowdfunding platform that enables companies to raise capital from accredited and non-accredited investors in exchange for revenue-sharing participation.
