Plus: BIPOC-founded startup, Resilia, raises $35M Series B
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Every founder has an origin story behind launching their startup. A few people may have had an idea for years, while others may have had an "aha moment" that made them take the plunge. Background: - Brittany Busse decided to launch her startup ViTel Health after she was forced to give a last-minute presentation by her employer at 6 AM, despite telling her employer she was setting a boundary to protect her mental health.
- Shivani Honwad founded her own practice after seeing several female clients were scared by the legal system or wary of approaching a lawyer.
Share your thoughts: - What was your “I’m doing this” moment for your startup?
- Did you start your business part-time, or dive right into the deep end?
- When the going got tough in the initial days, what made you spur on?
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Israeli tech investor Vintage raised its seventh fund-of-funds totaling $631M. Vintage has backed prominent venture funds such as Andreessen Horowitz and Accel, along with startups such as Swedish fintech firm Klarna. More: - Vintage GP Abe Finkelstein listed health tech as one sector the firm will prioritize.
- Vintage's AuM exceeds $3.6B
- Finkelstein predicted the next few years would be a "fantastic time" for venture investors due to lower valuations.
- Vintage's latest fund will focus on managers in North America, Israel, and Europe.
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In Q3 2022, Silicon Valley-based startups were involved in less than 20% of nationwide venture capital financing deals, per Pitchbook data analyzed by the WSJ. A total of 586 Silicon Valley startups raised funding, a 40% decrease from the same time last year. Silicon Valley startups roped in a third of the deals in the mid-2000s. More: - Since the startup financing asset class became accessible to non-traditional investors, remote deal closings have increased. Therefore, startups no longer had to be based in Silicon Valley, otherwise known as the world's startup capital, to obtain funding.
- Additionally, startups moved out of Silicon Valley due to the higher cost of doing business.
- Despite dropping in deal counts, Silicon Valley-based startups still raked in 34% of the total funding, more than double that of its nearest competitor New York City.
- Data shows that seed startups in the West are valued at an average of $14M against $9M for Midwest startups.
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Resilia, a nonprofit-facing software startup founded and run by a black woman, raised $35M Series B. The round is one of the largest completed by a black woman in tech. More: - Resilia sells software to nonprofits to help the groups manage programming, train employees, and track donors.
- According to founder Sevetri Wilson, Reslia can "modernize philanthropy for nonprofits and funders."
- Wilson previously ran a nonprofit consulting business.
- During this period, she identified nonprofits' most pressing software needs.
- Panoramic Ventures and Framework Venture Partners led the round.
- Mucker Capital, the SB Opportunity Fund, Chloe Capital, and Goldman Sachs Asset Management Fund also participated.
- Roselia has raised $50M since it began in 2017.
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European telehealth startup Kry let go of 10% (300 employees) as part of efforts to become profitable. This is Kry's second round of layoffs this year after the company let go of 10% of its workforce in May. More: - The company's revenue was $148.2M last year, but it recorded a loss of $108.7M.
- The layoffs will impact multiple divisions, including M&A and growth; however, it's looking to bring on more care staff.
- Kry was valued at $2B following a $300M funding round in April 2021.
- In recent months, some investors have lowered the value of their stake in Kry by 38%-50%.
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The Chinese startup Zebra Labs recently raised $5M to create a metaverse for musical artists. The company, which helps develop and popularize NFT versions of Chinese pop stars, plans to launch its metaverse in 2023. Zebra Labs will use the metaverse to host virtual concerts featuring the group's NFT artists. More: - After creating an animated version of a musical artist, Zebra Labs helps artists monetize their digital twin by producing videos, creating images, and popularizing the character on social media.
- Zebra Labs characters are shared with the musical artists as NFTs.
- As a result, artists can monetize their digital animation by licensing the image for a fee.
- According to the startup, Zebra Labs creates "intellectual property that's deeply integrated with content."
- NetDragon, SOSV, and Sumitomo participated in Zebra Labs' latest funding round.
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- Creative Fabrica debuted its generative AI tool, dubbed CF Spark. The platform leverages Stability AI’s image generation platform, Stable Diffusion.
- New York-based startup equity marketplace EquityZen fired 27% of its employees.
- Insight Partners led a $10M seed funding round into Software Defined Automation, an industrial software and manufacturing systems developer.
- Martian developed a Web3 wallet for the Aptos ecosystem. The firm nabbed $3M in pre-seed funding led by Race Capital.
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 |  | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, and Licensed Pilot.
Jigney Pathak is a Business Researcher at Inside who loves technology, finance & sports. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration with a finance specialization & has previously worked at Salesforce.
Courtney Rawlings is an Inside Research Analyst living in Los Angeles, California. She has returned to her hometown of LA after spending several years working at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where she is completing a Ph.D. in Art and Architectural History.
| | | | Editor | Vibha Chapparike is a Freelance Writer & Editor at Inside.com. With her post-graduation in Management and Finance completed, Vibha is expanding her knowledge in venture capital, business, startups, and technology. She has had a career in public relations and communications. An ardent reader and writer currently residing in Singapore, you can follow Vibha on Twitter @VChapparike. | |
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