In the News: January 2023 Round-up
Our portfolio companies made headlines in the past month, kicking off 2023 with a bang! Check out some of their features below:
RealLIST Startups: Meet the 2023 class of most promising Philly tech companies – Technical.ly
Spotlight on:
LLUNA: “People operations platform LLUNA was also on 2021’s runners-up list, but its busy year in 2022 lands it on the 2023 list. CEO Jess Podgajny and CTO Aaron Kamholtz are cofounders of the platform, which is an operating system with the goal of improving communication and productivity among teams.”
CollX: “This app, founded in 2021, was built to scrape pricing data from multiple websites to help a user understand the rarity and price of a sports card. The company had just launched when we were crafting our 2022 RealLIST, and landed a runner-up spot. After making an acquisition of Denver-based Card Dealer Pro this past summer, the startup hit hundreds of thousands of users, generated revenue from dealer subscriptions and in its app, and exhibited at the National Card Show.”
I Finally Tried This “Unsexy” Style Hack That Makes All My Shoes 10 Times More Comfortable – InStyle
Spotlight on:
Fulton: “I’ve worn my fair share of bad footwear that ultimately led to some major pains, but Fulton's insoles have transformed even my most uncomfortable shoes into a pair suitable for 20,000 steps. Seriously.”
Wanted: Workers with social media marketing skills – The Philadelphia Inquirer
Spotlight on:
LifeBrand: “‘Everyone is brand-building on social media. Online presence is so important,’ said Lou Lesperance, vice president of Strategy and Revenue at Lifebrand, based in West Chester, which recently created the first accredited social media accountability e-course.”
Lula Delivery Changes Its Name – CSP Daily News
Spotlight on:
Lula: “Lula Delivery is changing its name to better communicate its goals and strategy. The newly renamed Lula Convenience aims to be ‘the operating system of the convenience industry, offering a convenient and unique last-mile delivery solution for stores across the country.’”
These are Atlanta's 2023 Startups to Watch – AtlantaInno
Spotlight on:
ConConnect: “These companies, who are primarily early-stage, have shown the most promise to become stars of ATL’s startup ecosystem. They have proven this through venture capital raises, exciting innovation, completing well-known incubators/accelerators and more.”
In a challenging VC landscape, strategy matters for Black founders who raised seed rounds in 2022 – Technical.ly
Spotlight on:
EmployeeCycle: “Bruce Marable, cofounder of HR tech company Employee Cycle, represents one of the 32 deals made by Black founders in Q3 of 2022. The company’s $2.5 million seed round from September is roughly 1% of the country’s total raised by Black founders that quarter, as Employee Cycle cofounder Salas Saraiya noted…”
Stimulus: ““We’re going to be OK. We’re growing and being strategic about how we valued our company,” Standard said of Stimulus. "‘We didn’t get to a billion in two months “just because.” We are where we need to be as a company.’”