The Just Raised Podcast đ
A New Podcast About Jobs, Products, and Stories at VC-Backed Startups
I continue to be fascinated by fintech startups developing new ways to finance SaaS companies outside of the traditional combo of equity and debt. Iâve visited the concept of SaaS securitization a few times now, where I also mention Boston-based Capchase. Thatâs why I was thrilled to find out that one of my favorite new podcasts just did an episode about the firm.
Joe Sweeny has been supporting seed-stage entrepreneurs at Silicon Valley Bank for several years now. Heâs got a unique pulse on the world of early-stage startups and investments. While keeping up with the industry, he saw an opportunity to create a place for founders to give in-depth context around why they raised venture capital and how they plan to deploy it.
Itâs called Just Raised, and heâs already published several episodes from some incredible venture-backed entrepreneurs including Josh Browder of DoNotPay, Phil Libin of Mmhmm, and Taylor Nieman of Toucan.
If you want to listen to an awesome podcast that gives a closer look at the high-profile venture deals you hear about on the news, give Just Raised a listen.
More:
Stuff Iâm Reading:
Underscore VC and Glasswing VC Get New Partners
A Chat w/ Erica Dorfman, VP of Treasury & Payments @ Brex â Sar Haribhakti
Why We Ultimately Decided Not to do A Rolling Fund â Mac Conwell
How Discord (accidentally) invented the Future of the Internet â Protocol
VC Financing Deals:
Whoop đ
Athletic wearable company Whoop just raised $100M in Series E funding led by IVP, with participation from SoftBank, Accomplice, Two Sigma, Collaborative Fund, Thursday Ventures, Nextview Ventures, Cavu Ventures, D20 Capital, and LionTree Partners â valuing them at $1.2 Billion. I last wrote about them when they raised a $55M Series D last November.
They specialize in 24/7 monitoring of health metrics that let athletes track performance and recovery. Itâs a steep price of ~$15/month for their Hardware-as-a-Service model, but I understand the appeal. I opted for an Oura Ring as my wearable of choice, but both tout the effectiveness of a health metric that I didnât even know about until recently: Heart Rate Variability (HRV). Iâm now convinced that if youâre going to consistently track any metric about your body, it should be this one.
The Magic Metric
HRV is essentially the measurement of variation between each heart beat â a function controlled by the brainâs nervous system. It turns out that having a high HRV correlates with things like effective decision making, increased attention span, strong emotional regulation, and the ability to recover from physical and mental stress.
Although no wearable can magically make your HRV higher, companies like Oura, Eight Sleep, and Whoop are building products that will nudge you to improve it. Studies show that the best way to do so include things like regularly exercising, getting a quality nightâs sleep, drinking less alcohol, and meditating.
Continuous monitoring of heart rates can just be fun as well.
People regularly publish real time heart rate data from their Whoops and Oura Rings on Reddit during cocaine benders, while saying âI Doâ at the alter, or after going through a bad breakup. Curious to see what the election shows!
More:
Qatch đď¸
According to the companyâs Linkedin, Boston-based Qatch just raised an undisclosed amount from TBD Angels. The two-year-old company is developing an SMS-based shopping platform that gives users personalized clothing recommendations from select retailers. It was founded by Nicole Phillips and Raquel Phillips
SMS-based engagement is continuing to gain traction in commerce, and even education. Iâve mentioned several Boston-based companies in this newsletter that are building businesses around the thesis that SMS-engagement is still a wildly untapped opportunity â check out Arist, Verb Energy, and Tone.
Qatch is no different, they claim their platform has a purchase conversion rate of almost 6x the industry average, and a click-through rate of 65% đ
More:
ConnectPay đ¸
ConnectPay, an 11-year-old company specializing in payroll and tax compliance, raised $6M, according to a Form D. This puts their total raised at over $14M according to Crunchbase.
WiTricity âĄ
Watertown-based wireless EV charging company WiTricity just raised $34M led by Stage 1 Ventures, with participation from Mitsubishi. The 13-year-old company is building tech that lets cars pull up to a charger and receive a charge without plugging in.
Sea Machines đĽď¸
Autonomous boat company Sea Machines just raised an additional $5M to bring their total Series B funding to $20M. I wrote about the original deal here in late July.
Leading Edge Equipment đ
Silicon wafer manufacturer Leading Edge Equipment just raised $7.6M from Prime Impact Fund, Clean Energy Ventures, and DSM Venturing. Theyâre creating a new manufacturing process that significantly reduces costs and emissions for producing silicon wafers used in solar panel production.
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Thatâs all from me until next week â If youâd like to connect with me, you can find me on Linkedin and Twitter or check out my website at nickstu.art.
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