Leading restaurant enterprise management software company surpasses $1B valuation.

IRVINE, Calif., May 19, 2023 — Restaurant365, an industry leading all-in-one restaurant enterprise management software, today announced it has agreed to a $135M funding round co-led by global investment firms KKR and L Catterton with participation from current investors, including ICONIQ Growth and Bessemer Venture Partners.

Restaurant365 is transforming the restaurant industry by providing operators with innovative solutions to increase sales, control food costs, and optimize labor. The company’s robust software suite brings key accounting, operational, and payroll-based processes together into a single, cloud-based technology.

“R365 has achieved continuous, accelerated growth, which is a testament to our strong team who is eager to change the restaurant industry for the better,” states Tony Smith, CEO and Co-Founder of Restaurant365. “Anytime we receive funding, we recognize it as a privilege. However, the primary driver of this round is uniting with two strategic investors so intimately tied to the restaurant industry. Having recently crossed exciting milestones of $100M in revenue and $1B in value, we can’t wait for what’s next.”

The investment is from KKR’s Tech Growth strategy and L Catterton’s Growth Fund.

“Restaurant365 has demonstrated compelling growth throughout its history, now powering more than 40,000 restaurant locations,” said Jimmy Miele, Director, Tech Growth at KKR. “Moreover, their software has played a crucial role in helping many struggling operators keep their doors open during uncertain times. We look forward to being a part of this next chapter, helping even more operators achieve their highest potential.”

“L Catterton has deep experience investing in world-class restaurant brands globally,” says Ian Friedman, Partner at L Catterton who will join Restaurant365’s board. “With deep insight into the everyday pain points of restaurant operators, we believe Restaurant365 is the gold standard in the industry, helping to streamline operations and boost profitability, and we are proud to leverage our consumer and technology investing experience as a partner to Tony and the team.”

Proceeds from the round will be invested into product enhancements to ensure that Restaurant365’s Accounting, Store Operations, Workforce, and Intelligence product suites continue to meet the evolving needs of the restaurant industry, while also expanding its market share.

About Restaurant365^®

Restaurant365 is an industry leading all-in-one, cloud-based accounting, inventory, scheduling, payroll, and HR solution developed specifically for restaurants. R365’s restaurant enterprise management software simplifies day-to-day management for operators, allowing them to control food costs and optimize labor. Integrations and open APIs enable Restaurant365 to connect with other systems including POS providers, vendors, and banks. The result is accurate, timely reporting that provides a clear and complete view of their businesses. Restaurant365 is based in Irvine, California with an office in Austin, Texas. The company is backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, ICONIQ, KKR, L Catterton, and Serent Capital. Additional information is available at www.restaurant365.com.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life, and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co. 

About L Catterton  

L Catterton is a market-leading consumer-focused investment firm, managing approximately $33 billion of equity capital across three multi-product platforms: private equity, credit, and real estate. Leveraging deep category insight, operational excellence, and a broad network of strategic relationships, L Catterton’s team of more than 200 investment and operating professionals across 17 offices partners with management teams to drive differentiated value creation across its portfolio.

Founded in 1989, the firm has made over 250 investments in some of the world’s most iconic consumer brands. L Catterton has significant experience investing in restaurant brands, including Velvet Taco, bartaco, CHOPT Creative Salad Company, Hopdoddy, Cheddar’s, First Watch, and P.F. Chang’s, among others, as well as leading software businesses including Forter, Sendcloud, and Flash Parking. For more information about L Catterton, please visit www.lcatterton.com.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Restaurant365

Union Square Ventures leads round to help drive global expansion

BOULDER, Colo., May 19, 2023 — Odyssey, a business-in-a-box software platform for distributed energy in emerging markets, today announced the closing of its $15 million Series A round led by Union Square Ventures, with additional participation from Equal Ventures, Twelve Below, Transition, Equator, MCJ Collective, Abstract Ventures, Founder Collective and Climate Capital. The new funding will be used to continue expansion of Odyssey’s key product offerings and expand into new markets, including Latin America and Asia. 

“Odyssey is at the center of one of the biggest economic and climate opportunities of our lifetimes: the clean energy transition in emerging markets,” said Emily McAteer, co-founder and CEO of Odyssey. “Not only are aging and weak grids and high fuel costs making renewable energy the best solution for the future, significant policy tailwinds are helping drive change at the global level.” 

Odyssey is the only end-to-end platform of its kind, built to scale project development across the project lifecycle: planning, financing, procurement and operations. Odyssey has $1.3 billion of financing for distributed renewable energy projects on the platform, with financing available from development finance institutions, donors, international and regional banks, infrastructure funds, and other types of capital providers. 

Earlier this year, Odyssey launched their procurement marketplace, Odyssey Procure, across Nigeria, South Africa and East Africa. Odyssey Procure offers a digital, streamlined procurement solution for renewable energy companies to unlock better pricing, equipment finance, and faster lead times. 

By leveraging their network of 2,000-plus renewable energy companies, Odyssey helps private and concessional financiers access projects that were previously out of reach. The platform offers advanced software tools to efficiently plan projects, aggregate portfolios, and streamline diligence between developers and investors. After projects have been built, Odyssey’s suite of remote monitoring and control hardware and software enables renewable energy companies to share asset performance data, ensuring that investors have full visibility into investment outcomes. 

“By building tools for financiers and renewable energy companies across every stage of development, Odyssey is positioned as the system of record for DRE projects in emerging markets,” said Nick Grossman, partner, Union Square Ventures. “Odyssey’s platform streamlines transactions across all stakeholders and presents powerful network efforts that will unlock industry scale.”

To  meet net-zero emissions goals by 2050, investment  in energy infrastructure in emerging markets will need to increase sixfold over the coming  years – to  $1 trillion per year (BlackRock). To date, 70% of the world’s population, mostly in developing economies, receives only 1.5% of global investments. The off-grid sector, which is Odyssey’s focus, saw a tripling in average transaction size over the past five years. 

About Odyssey  

Odyssey is accelerating the clean energy transition in emerging markets. The Odyssey platform provides an end-to-end solution for renewable energy companies and financiers, with a tool suite for planning, financing, procurement and operations. Odyssey is facilitating more than $1.3B of capital for the distributed energy sector, with more than 2,000 companies on the platform. For more information, visit  odysseyenergysolutions.com. 

Media Contact 
Chris Allieri
[email protected] 

SOURCE Odyssey

The funding round was led by crypto asset venture firm Castle Island Ventures

WILMINGTON, Del., May 19, 2023 — PYOR (Power Your Own Research), a pioneer in enabling high-fidelity data and insights for the digital assets industry, today announced $4 million USD of funding in its seed round. The raise was led by Castle Island Ventures, with further investment from Hash3, Antler, Future Perfect Venture, Force Ventures, CoinSwitch Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and prominent angel investor Balaji Srinivasan.

Commenting, Krishna Hegde, Co-Founder of PYOR, said: “Since launching PYOR last year, we’ve been laser-focused on building the industry standard for digital asset platforms. Unlike most asset classes, the digital assets segment is retail-led and, as a result, institutional-grade infrastructure for decision-making has thus far been limited. While market capitalization of digital assets is in excess of $1 trillion, there remains a glaring need for effective data infrastructure to facilitate institutional participation. We look forward to leveraging the capital raised to strengthen our mission and continue developing in the global digital assets ecosystem.”

Leveraging capital from this funding round, PYOR will drive the expansion of its core infrastructure and product platform by building out its interpretation layer for digital assets and accelerating global institutional participation in digital assets. This will be enabled through high-fidelity data and insights supported by high-quality execution. The funds will also be used to expand the team and hire across a number of new roles. 

Sean Judge, General Partner at Castle Island Ventures, said: “The PYOR team is building critical auditable infrastructure for the crypto industry. We are thrilled to partner with Krishna, Sarmad, Sharan, and Yadunandan. Their experience ushering in crypto investors at CoinSwitch highlighted the need for standardized, institutional-grade data and analytics to bring in the next wave of crypto investors.”

Founded in August 2022, PYOR aims to provide key insights on digital assets through a tailor-made desktop analytics interface. The founding team, Krishna Hegde, Sarmad Nazki, Sharan Nair, and Yadunandan Batchu, have more than five decades of combined experience within both the digital assets and traditional finance sectors. This collective experience with established global financial services firms such as Barclays, KPMG, EY, and multiple Indian unicorns, as well as building digital asset companies, will provide PYOR with the tools necessary to ensure the mainstream adoption of digital assets.

It’s been a busy start to 2023 for the PYOR team. The company, currently in private beta, recently announced the launch of its Terminal product. The plug and play data terminal enables institutions to access fundamental blockchain data and write private queries through a tailor-made dashboard that suits their needs.

For more information, visit pyor.xyz

Krishna Hegde and Sharan Nair, Co-Founders of PYOR, will be available for interview

About PYOR

PYOR (Power Your Own Research) is a pioneer in enabling high-fidelity data and insights for the digital assets industry, offering comprehensive and accurate digital assets data tailor-made for institutions. PYOR was founded in 2022 by an impressive team of experts with extensive experience building successful crypto projects and several large Indian unicorns. The institutional-grade digital assets platform provides the infrastructure layer necessary to support institutional investments and to evolve digital assets to the standard of traditional asset classes. PYOR aims to accelerate global institutional participation in Web3 by enabling high-fidelity insights and data via a desktop analytics tool. For more information, visit https://www.pyor.xyz.

SOURCE PYOR

Final Approval from U.S. Bureau of Land Management for largest clean energy infrastructure project in American history; Full construction anticipated to commence in summer 2023

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., May 18, 2023 — Pattern Energy Group LP (Pattern Energy), a leader in renewable energy, welcomes the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management’s Record of Decision on the SunZia Transmission project, which will enable over 3,500 MW of New Mexico wind power from the SunZia Wind project to provide clean, reliable, and affordable electricity across Western states.

Today’s Record of Decision by the Bureau of Land Management marks an important milestone for the SunZia Transmission project. After over 16 years of development including rigorous regulatory and environmental review, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process is complete. Full construction is anticipated to commence in the summer of 2023.

“This is a historic day for the advancement of America’s clean energy goals as SunZia receives its major federal routing permit, clearing the way to bring online enough renewable power for 3 million Americans,” said Hunter Armistead, CEO of Pattern Energy. “We’re proud that SunZia is the culmination of over a decade of collaboration with communities, residents, landowners, environmental groups, wildlife organizations, and federal agencies. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, specifically the New Mexico State office, did a thorough and professional job managing this robust environmental NEPA process review to a close. SunZia will implement industry-leading measures for environmental mitigation, including emerging technology and long-term conservation research. More than 2,000 workers will now roll up their sleeves and get to work on America’s largest clean energy infrastructure project, which we look forward to completing in 2026.”

SunZia Transmission is setting a precedent with a gold standard in environmental mitigation efforts developed hand-in-hand with the environmental community. These range from restoring thousands of acres of wildlife habitat to investing in emerging technology and long-term conservation research. SunZia Wind has also established robust environmental best practices to reduce project impacts and study effective habitat restoration strategies in partnership with local and state experts.

“Climate change is the number one threat to birds’ survival, and projects like SunZia are key to reducing carbon pollution and creating a cleaner future for people and wildlife,” said Garry George, Director of the National Audubon Society’s Clean Energy Initiative. “We look forward to continuing to collaborate with Pattern Energy and other conservation groups to responsibly expand our nation’s clean energy and transmission infrastructure in ways that avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts on birds and communities.”

“We welcome this important milestone for the SunZia project that will unlock New Mexico’s vast renewable wind resource,” said Fernando Martinez, Executive Director of the New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority (RETA). “Pattern Energy has been an excellent partner and we see SunZia as the model for planning and developing critical transmission projects that will advance our transition to clean energy.”

SunZia Transmission is a 550-mile ± 525 kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line between central New Mexico and south-central Arizona with the capacity to transport 3,000 MW of clean, renewable energy. SunZia Transmission will open access to the western energy markets to SunZia Wind, the largest wind project in the Western Hemisphere, which is comprised of more than 3,500 MW of new wind generation located in Torrance, Lincoln, and San Miguel Counties in New Mexico.

Pattern Energy recently announced that the SunZia Transmission and SunZia Wind projects are expected to generate $20.5 billion dollars in total economic benefit, which includes over $8 billion of direct capital investment, at no added cost to ratepayers, according to the results of an independent study conducted by the research firm Energy, Economic & Environment Consultants LLC. Together, the projects will generate an expected $1.3 billion in fiscal impacts that will go to governments, communities, and schools. These benefits are generated through sales and use taxes, property taxes, community benefit payments, and land payments to federal and state agencies.

The Record of Decision also includes an updated Preferred Alternative Route for the adjacent RioSol Transmission Line, a 500-kV High Voltage Alternating Current project that will have a capacity of 1,500 MW and will bring additional clean resources to western markets.

About Pattern Energy
Pattern Energy is one of the world’s largest privately-owned developers and operators of wind, solar, transmission, and energy storage projects. Its operational portfolio includes 38 renewable energy facilities that use proven, best-in-class technology with an operating capacity of more than 6,000 MW in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Mexico. Pattern Energy is guided by a long-term commitment to serve customers, protect the environment, and strengthen communities. For more information, visit www.patternenergy.com.

Contacts:

Matt Dallas                                                                 
Pattern Energy                                                           
917-363-1333                                                             
[email protected]       

SOURCE Pattern Energy Group LP

LOS ANGELES, May 18, 2023 — BuildOps, the only all-in-one management software built specifically for the modern commercial contractor, today announced it has raised $50 million in additional funding. The funding effort was led by Fika Ventures and 01 Advisors, a venture capital firm backed by former Twitter CEO, Dick Costolo, who has also joined the Board. The funds will further their explosive growth and cement BuildOps as the market leader revolutionizing the world of commercial specialty contractors.

This brings the total amount of funding BuildOps has raised to over $100 Million from high-profile investors including Fika Ventures, 01 Advisors, Next47, Founders Fund, B Capital Group, CBRE executives, the State of Michigan, Telstra Ventures, Gopher Asset Management, Boost Mobile CEO Stephen Stokols, former President of Salesforce Gavin Patterson, and CAA founder Michael Ovitz. The company has repeatedly impressed investors by achieving triple-digit growth rates over the past several years.

BuildOps is a purpose-built technology platform that integrates scheduling, dispatching, inventory management, contracts, workflow, purchasing, and invoicing into a single software suite for commercial contractors of all sizes, ranging from a dozen employees to several thousand.

“At BuildOps, we are on a mission to deliver a true all-in-one solution built on the latest technology to the people who keep our schools, hospitals, and communities running,” said Alok Chanani, BuildOps Co-founder and CEO. “We are privileged to work closely with some of the country’s top commercial contractors.”

BuildOps software is the primary success engine to drive massive efficiencies for commercial service and project-oriented trade contractors. The platform’s tools specifically meet the needs of these contractors’ workflows and address industry-wide challenges like supply chain delays and the skilled labor shortage. Customers are seeing significant and measurable top-line growth, cost reductions, and overall profitability gains by using the BuildOps platform.

The industry response and customer impact caught the attention of Dick Costolo and Adam Bain, Co-Managing Partners at 01 Advisors. As the former CEO and COO of Twitter, the two are no strangers to hyper-growth, having scaled the company tremendously in users and international expansion while catapulting revenue from $300 Million to over $2 Billion under their leadership.

“The construction and commercial contractor industry is being transformed by BuildOps game-changing technology, and the passion the leadership team has brought to bear,” shared Dick. “We are massive believers in the team and their impact on the industry – particularly for any sophisticated enterprise or private equity player – they cannot operate without a best-in-class platform, and BuildOps is the heartbeat of their businesses. It’s incredible to witness their growth. We are so excited to partner with Alok and the rest of the team to fuel BuildOps to an IPO.”

This exceptional vote of confidence is echoed by Liquid 2 Ventures Managing Partner and former National Football League superstar, Joe Montana.

“Liquid 2 Ventures has an investment thesis in supporting the blue-collar trades. I just love the idea of making their lives far easier and better,” said Montana. “You have one solution that does it all and talks seamlessly to every single part of their business, from parts to ordering to inventory, and more. There are very few world-class technology solutions for commercial subcontractors like BuildOps and we believe in the leadership.”

“BuildOps has quickly become integral to our portfolio of world-class service companies, particularly when it comes to servicing our large enterprise customers,” said Joel Lehman, President of Smart Care – Climate Solutions, a national repair and service provider for commercial foodservice, refrigeration, HVAC and cold storage equipment with service coverage spanning 80+% of the US population. “We happily converted four separate systems and replaced them all with BuildOps which resulted in an immediate impact to service ticket efficiency, thus decreasing our days to resolve. This, along with dozens of other optimizations, has led to a dramatic lift in profit margin and revenue. It’s now the foundation for our operations and we are rolling it out across our entire portfolio.”

BuildOps’ exponential trajectory confirms the desperate need for a modern, cloud-based solution built for the commercial contractor,” said Scott Nolan of Founders Fund, a venture capital firm co-founded by Peter Thiel. “Before BuildOps, commercial contractors didn’t have great options for software to run their whole business. We’re thrilled to support BuildOps and their industry-leading technology that serves the people keeping the country running.”

About BuildOps
BuildOps is a fast-paced, high-growth technology company committed to transforming a $300B+ industry through an innovative all-in-one SaaS platform. We’re taking commercial specialty contractors from the world of pen and paper and legacy platforms to world-class cloud-based, data-driven operations.

Media Inquiries:
Kori Sato
[email protected]

SOURCE BuildOps

ANN ARBOR, Mich., May 18, 2023 — Plymouth Growth, a leading growth equity firm, is pleased to announce the successful closing of Plymouth Growth V, LP, with approximately $125MM in committed capital. Plymouth Fund V is exclusively focused on investing in high-growth, B2B software and tech-enabled services companies throughout the North American mid-continent.

Plymouth’s fifth fund – led by Partners Jeff Barry, Brook Critchfield, Kevin Terrasi, and Evan Ufer – is the firm’s largest to date with commitments nearly double its prior fund and serves as a testament to the firm’s track record. With a focus on B2B technology, Plymouth Growth has a long history of identifying promising companies and working with management teams to help them achieve successful outcomes.

“We are thrilled to close Plymouth Fund V and continue our mission of partnering with exceptional software and technology companies,” said Evan Ufer, Partner at Plymouth Growth. “Having successfully achieved our target for Fund V in a challenging environment, we are truly grateful for the trust and support our investors have in our firm and its vision.”

“We are proud of our track record and the role we have played in helping to build some of the region’s most successful tech companies,” said Brook Critchfield, Partner at Plymouth Growth. “Our expanding investment team is excited to build on this momentum in Fund V and continue joining forces with exceptional leadership teams.”

With this new capital, Kathleen Kaulins recently joined the firm as a senior member of the investment team. Kathleen, a Michigan native, came to Plymouth from Vistara Growth, where she served as Investment Director. Prior to working as an investor, she spent more than 10 years as an operator at two New York City-based technology startups where she led several different functions including finance, strategy, operations, and product. Kathleen began her career as an investment banker at UBS.

In addition to Kathleen, the firm has doubled its investment team in the past two years – adding Michelle Erikson, Senior Associate, Alison Todak, Director of Platform, and Caroline Wolanin, Analyst – to support its accelerated investment activities. 

Fund V has already invested in six growth-stage technology companies, including most recently Forj and CloseSimple, and will continue to make $5MM to $15MM investments in the next wave of B2B businesses looking to scale.

About Plymouth Growth

Plymouth Growth invests in mid-continent B2B software and technology companies with proven business models, rapid growth, and strong teams – that are ready to scale. The Plymouth team brings decades of experience as operators, advisors, and investors, and understands that while metrics matter, it’s people that are critical to growth. Based in Ann Arbor, MI, and actively investing out of its fifth fund, Plymouth Growth helps teams achieve smart, proven, growth. For more information about Plymouth Growth and its investments, please visit https://plymouthgp.com/.

SOURCE Plymouth Growth

Dr. Bukhari is excited to join forces by investing in and becoming an All Y’alls Foods Medical Advisor to help promote and develop healthier alternatives to animal-based products.

CROSS ROADS, Texas, May 18, 2023 — All Y’alls Foods, makers of Plant-based It’s Jerky Y’all in Prickly Pear Teriyaki, Prickly Pear Chipotle, and Black Pepper & Sea Salt, as well as plant-based Bacony Bits, has announced its first investor, board-certified vascular surgeon Rizwan H Bukhari, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Dr. Rizwan has seen the ravaging effects of poor lifestyle choices on his patients’ health. Cardiovascular disease and its risk factors, such as obesity, tobacco use, hypertension, and diabetes, stem mainly from the foods we eat and our lifestyle choices.

Dr. Bukhari said, “I am excited to join forces by investing in and becoming All Y’alls Foods Medical Advisor to help promote and develop healthier alternatives to animal-based products.” 

He is also board certified in lifestyle medicine, and he promotes a healthy lifestyle, including nutrition, to help his patients and the general public prevent, halt, and sometimes even reverse disease. He owns the North Texas Vascular Center and treats various vascular issues, including aneurysms, carotid artery stenosis, lower extremity arterial blockages, gangrene, dialysis access grafts, and varicose veins.

Why Now? 

“We celebrate our 5th anniversary on May 18th, and I’ve boot-strapped All Y’alls Foods myself the whole time. Now with the help of investors, it is time to grow!” says Texas native and Founder of All Y’alls Foods Brett Christoffel. “When folks were putting out crazy press releases about changing the world and growing at all costs, I had my nose to the grindstone, offering plant-based jerky; a delicious alternative to beef jerky in the great state of Texas – beef capital of the world. 

“Replacing beef jerky is a big goal, but it’s working! By focusing on smart growth and delivering enjoyable bold, uniquely flavored proteins that are better for people, animals, and our planet, we are tapping into what consumers want: a great taste that doesn’t harm personal or planetary health. 

“Sales exceed expectations, with 2023 becoming the year we achieve stable profitability. Since my team and I have built a solid foundation, it is time to ramp up as quickly as possible. Having Dr. Riz, a capable, mission-aligned investor who gets it, as our Medical Advisor is incredibly timely and meaningful.”

Healthy for People, Planet, and Animals, and That’s No Bull

All the protein found in meat comes from the plants the animals consume, as they do not produce protein but rather process it. All Y’alls Foods skips the middle critter and goes directly to the plants for protein. In doing so, they sell no cholesterol, saturated animal fat, or any possible antibiotics or glyphosate found in the flesh of cows. With more protein, calcium, magnesium, & iron than beef, All Y’alls proteins are full of fiber and phytonutrients. They only use 1/13th of the land, fuel, and water to produce them compared to animal jerky. 

All Y’alls Foods is based in Texas and founded in 2018 by Brett Christoffel to offer plant-based proteins to delight & nourish consumers, support animal welfare, and be kinder to the planet. All snacks are protein and fiber-packed, gluten and cholesterol-free, and made from whole non-GMO soybeans. A portion of every sale goes to helping rescued animals at Rowdy Girl Sanctuary. Currently producing It’s Jerky Y’all in Prickly Pear Teriyaki, Prickly Pear Chipotle, Black Pepper & Sea Salt, and It’s Big and Crunchy Bacony Bits Y’all.

For more information, please watch this video or visit www.AllYallsFoods.com. Connect with All Y’alls Foods on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok. 

You can purchase All Y’alls Foods directly from the website, through Amazon.com, H-E-B grocery stores, and in natural, specialty, and vegan stores nationwide. 

For more food and founder pictures, click here. 

Contact:
Christie Carter
Chief Marketing Officer
913-735-0244
[email protected] 

SOURCE All Y’alls Foods

CHICAGO, May 18, 2023 — Last week Hallow passed 10 million downloads and 225 million prayers prayed globally, becoming the largest prayer app in the world according to Sensor Tower. Following the app’s tremendous growth on Ash Wednesday of 2023, Hallow was also the first faith-based app to ever crack the top 10 apps in the App Store coming in at #3 overall – beating Netflix, Spotify, Instagram, Amazon, Tiktok, YouTube and so many more of the largest apps in the world. It took Hallow almost two years to reach 1 million prayers prayed on the app, but this past Lent members of the Hallow community prayed over a million prayers every day.

Despite the difficult market for startup funding, the app has also just announced the close of an additional $50 million in Series C funding bringing the total funding raised for Hallow to $105 million. The round was led by Goodwater Capital, the largest consumer tech-only venture fund in the world. Founded by two men of faith, the mission of Goodwater Capital is rooted in Micah 6:8: “to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.” The etymology of Goodwater is the combination of Good News and Living Water, reflecting their mission to empower entrepreneurs to change the world for good. Also participating in the round are Highland Capital, Colin Moran, and several of Hallow’s existing investors.

“In our quest to partner with the most impactful consumer tech companies in the world, Hallow’s spiritual based services have reached consumer engagement and retention levels shared by only a few companies throughout time. More importantly, we’re honored to support Hallow’s mission and in my own personal experience, praying more with Hallow has catalyzed profound positive change in my life.” 

– Eric Kim, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Goodwater Capital

Hallow has also recently partnered with several well known celebrities and faith leaders including the actor Jonathan Roumie, Fr. Mike Schmitz, Bishop Robert Barron, Sister Miriam James-Heidland, Mario Lopez, and Mark Wahlberg.

“My faith has always been an incredibly important part of my life and when the opportunity to collaborate with Hallow came up I knew it was what I wanted to jump in to. My family and I love praying with the app and we’ve gotten such great stories from people whose lives have been changed through the app. Prayer can do powerful things.”

– Mark Wahlberg

Hallow is hiring for several new roles as a result of the round. In commenting on the round, Hallow CEO and Co-Founder Alex Jones said:

“This round and these milestones are exciting. We’re thrilled to partner together with mission-driven partners, team members, and creators to invest even more heavily in building an experience that helps the world to build a daily habit of prayer. But with each of these milestones, something has become more and more clear over time.

This is not why we do this. The numbers are not what we’re working for. It’s not the vision for Hallow.

The vision for Hallow is not numbers, but individuals – not millions of downloads, but each one of us as children of God. The vision for Hallow is Sarah.

Sarah is a young married mom of three little girls. She became tragically addicted to alcohol and stimulants and was involved in a longstanding affair. She’d never really taken her faith very seriously. Her husband found out about the affair and left. She was alone, ashamed, and depressed – thinking often she’d be better off dead. She saw a post about the app and something moved her. She figured she might as well give it a try. She realized, she told us, that in her darkest hour – when everyone she knew had left, everything she cared about had been destroyed – that the only person there with her in the darkness was Christ. She began praying with the app over a dozen times a day. And in her words, He picked her broken pieces up off the floor and put her together again. She cut off the affair. She got sober for the first time in years. She prayed for her husband’s miraculous forgiveness and, in his own experience in adoration, he forgave her. Their family has been reunited.

She told us, ‘I know you probably get these stories all the time, but I just wanted to let you know, that if you never do anything else in your life, please know that you saved me. I don’t think I’d be standing here alive today if it were not for this app and the grace that God gave me through it.’

This is why we do this. This is what we’re working for. This is the vision for Hallow.

If we spend the next 30 years and are able to be a part of just one more person like Sarah’s journey back to God, if we help God reach out to just one more of His lost ones…then it will have all been infinitely worth it.

And I don’t think Sarah is alone. I think there are millions and millions of Sarah’s. Honestly, I think we’re all a bit like Sarah in our own way. We’re all a little lost. We’re all a little stuck. We’re all a little bit further from God than He invites us to be.

But our faith is one of hope. And if there’s anything that this experience has taught me, it’s that there is no valley that God cannot reach. There is no darkness that the Light cannot overcome.

I cannot wait to see what He does next.”

– Alex Jones, CEO of Hallow

Note: Sarah’s name has been anonymized for privacy

For more information, visit www.hallow.com. To schedule an interview, please contact Taylor Buckley (219-789-7182 or [email protected]).

About Hallow
Hallow is a Public Benefit Corporation whose goal is to help people deepen their relationship with God through audio-guided prayers, sleep meditations, Bible readings, meditations, and music. The app has over 10,000 sessions, including a daily Rosary with Mark Wahlberg, daily Gospel, daily saint, novenas, examens, Father Mike Schmitz’s Bible in a Year, Jonathan Roumie’s audio Bible, Bishop Barron’s Sunday Sermons, peaceful Christian music, Gregorian chant, mental health meditations, prayers for kids, and so much more. Launched in December 2018, Hallow is now the #1 Christian prayer app in the world. It has been used to pray over 225 million times across 150-plus countries.

SOURCE Hallow

Mark Ghermezian, co-founder and former CEO of Braze, announces the launch of his venture capital firm focused on investing in the next generation of cloud disrupters.

NEW YORK, May 18, 2023 — Today, m]x[v Capital (“m]x[v”), an early-stage venture capital firm announced the close of its over-subscribed debut fund at $52 million in capital commitments. The fund invests in early-stage (pre-seed, seed) B2B enterprise SaaS companies that are founded by dedicated, tenacious leaders who are paving the way for the next generation of cloud disrupters. m]x[v is supported by a strong roster of former founders, limited partners, including Bain Capital Ventures, Cendana Capital, Pritzker Group, K5 Global, Social Leverage, and notable General Partners of top-tier funds and family offices.

Founded by Mark Ghermezian, an angel investor and co-founder/former CEO of Braze (BRZE) (a lifecycle marketing platform that IPO’d in November 2021), Ghermezian is focused on bringing a founder and operator perspective to the cap table. Having navigated the many hurdles of launching, scaling, and growing a company, he is passionate about helping founders navigate the early days of starting a business by offering his experience and expertise to help their companies scale. As an angel investor, Ghermezian was an early investor in companies such as Nutanix (IPO), Lattice, Thoughtspot, Outreach, Rubrik, Wag (IPO) and Riskified (IPO), along with 50 other investments, largely focused on SaaS. 

m]x[v has built a strong community of Limited Partners and “friends of the fund,” many of whom were former founders that led companies from ideation to IPO. Ghermezian’s contribution to the startup community landed him a place in Signature Block’s 2022 Emerging 50 Manager list, a select group of the venture industry’s newest fund managers that provide real value to their investors and the founders they have backed.

“I love building companies and bringing people together to solve massive problems. I did this at Braze and throughout my career as an angel investor. Launching m]x[v enables me to dive in and support each of my portfolio companies and the founders. It’s the early days when founders need the most support to unlock product market fit, hire the right people, develop a pricing strategy, establish a go to market plan, and more. I went through ALL of this at Braze. I feel like a co-founder with each of our portfolio companies, and could not be more excited to officially launch m]x[v,” said Ghermezian. “We want to be the best partner to our founders, and be the fund all SaaS founders think of when they are raising their pre-seed or seed rounds.”

m]x[v takes an active, hands-on founder and operator approach, working closely with its portfolio companies as a strategic partner in their growth and evolution. The m]x[v team offers a diversified set of resources outside of just capital – mentorship, support at each company inflection point, and access to an extensive network developed during Ghermezian’s 15+ years in the industry.

“m]x[v has been instrumental in everything an early-stage startup needs,” commented Farrukh Mahboob, Founder & CEO of m]x[v portfolio company, PackageX. “Mark and the m]x[v team have provided incredible support, serving as our most valuable resource on GTM strategy, customer introductions, and growth plans which helped us close our follow-on round.”

To date, the fund has made 17 investments. The team has been writing checks from $500K to $1.5M, targeting 10% ownership in companies that provide real value for the enterprise. Out of the 17 investments, Ghermezian has incubated two companies within m]x[v, Gynger (a fintech financing B2B SaaS contracts for SMBs) and Tildei (a conversational first lifecycle marketing platform) where he had strong conviction in the market demand for the product offerings.

m]x[v is focused on investing in industry disruptors, and their portfolio includes high-growth investments with strong founders such as DevRev (the world’s first Dev CRM platform founded by the former founders of Nutanix (NTNX) that IPO’d in September 2016), PackageX (the first cloud platform driving the future of first-to-last yard logistics), Novu (an open-source unified API making it simple to send notifications through multiple channels –  ranked as one of Github’s 2022 most used contributions), and Mailmodo (an email marketing solution enabling companies to create and send app-like interactive AMP emails). 

m]x[v has also completed several SPVs, including leading Apploi’s Series B round (an all-in-one platform built to help you attract, hire, and manage top healthcare talent) and participating in Postscript’s Series C round (an SMS marketing platform empowering brands to better communicate with their end customers). Both are innovative SaaS companies in their respective industries. 

“As the founder and former CEO of Braze, Mark has tremendous experience as an operator that can grow and run a successful business. He has a unique lens as a SaaS founder-turned-investor which allows him to unearth exceptional investment opportunities,” said Michael Kim, Founder of Cendana Capital (LP).

The m]x[v team has grown to six professionals and operates out of its office in Chelsea, New York, which it shares with its two incubated companies.

“We have built a fantastic community of founders and investors, and we are just getting started,” highlighted Ghermezian. “We focus every day on helping our founders build their vision, product, go-to-market strategy, and teams. To us, success means our portfolio companies have the tools and knowledge to accelerate their businesses and get to the next stage. We are grateful to have the support from such high-quality investors who share our vision.”

ABOUT m]x[v CAPITAL

m]x[v Capital is an early-stage debut venture fund focused on funding and founding the future of cloud. The fund is dedicated to supporting tenacious founders who are paving the way for the next generation of B2B enterprise SaaS. The leadership team is led by experienced entrepreneurs and operators who have a proven track record of building successful companies. The team leans in heavily with its portfolio companies to ensure they are providing true support and insights as our founders embark on the early days of building a business.

Contact
m]x[v Capital
[email protected]

SOURCE m]x[v Capital