Fertility company launches Series A round through equity crowdfunding

BOULDER — An early stage company focused on providing health and fertility data for women is seeking $3.5 million in a Series A round — and is doing so through crowdfunding.

Kindara Inc. is a Boulder-based company that was started in 2011 with an app and bluetooth thermometer to help women track their fertility. Over time, Kindara has developed a following: 15,000 units shipped of its Wink thermometer, a top downloaded app and, most importantly said chief operations officer Tia Newcomer, 180,000 monthly active users.

It’s that community, Newcomer said, that Kindara thought of when it was time to raise a new round of funding, on top of the $6.5 million the company has raised since its inception.

“We felt that the community has invested in us at this point, why not give them the opportunity to own part of Kindara,” Newcomer told BizWest.

To make that happen, Kindara partnered with SeedInvest, an online platform for venture capital, angel investing and equity crowdfunding, that helps file all the necessary paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“We did some pretty extensive research into the Reg A+ process, and SeedInvest offered the most in terms of experience in navigating the regulatory complexities, as well as having relatively broad experience in a new and complex form of fundraising,” Kindara’s chief executive Ira Hernowitz told BizWest in an email response to questions. “Additionally, they have a broad group of existing investors they have cultivated that were very attractive to Kindara … both accredited and nonaccredited. Ultimately, SeedInvest was the right choice for Kindara.”

Investing will be open for the next three to four months.

Newcomer said the funding will be used for three different categories.

The first will be to update and expand on the Kindara app, which helps women track their menstruation, temperature, cervical fluid and other data, all with the goal to help them be more aware and empowered in their bodies when trying to become pregnant.

The second use of the funds will be to expand the products and services Kindara offers in the future. In addition to the app and thermometer, Kindara is working with a genetics company to help provide DNA information surrounding health and wellness. Although it’s not meant to be diagnostic, Newcomer said the data is meant to help users have proactive conversations with their physicians about their fertility.

Finally, Newcomer said that so far all of Kindara’s growth has been organic, without any money spent on marketing. Part of the funds will go to marketing, as well as hiring about three more employees to help scale the company.

“For comparison, our main competitors Ovia and Glow are backed by $20 million to $40 million, a substantial amount of which is spent on marketing,” she said. “I feel very bullish based on where we stand. If we add one drop of marketing dollars, we’re going to grow significantly.”

As to using equity funding, Newcomer said the goal was to bring in the people who use Kindara as partial owners, because they have helped the company grow so much so far.

“If you think about someone like Warren Buffett, he will not invest in anything he does not believe in, at all. That has worked well for him. If you look at it this way, our customers probably have things like a 401(k), but don’t actually know what they are investing in. Why not give our community some stake?”

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