Capital infusion to fuel Accela’s growth building on its strong fiscal year 2023 performance

SAN RAMON, Calif., Sept. 6, 2023 — Accela, the trusted provider of cloud solutions at the heart of government, today announced a strategic growth investment from Francisco Partners, a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology businesses. Berkshire Partners will remain a significant investor with an equal equity holding in Accela. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. 

“Today’s announcement marks another notable milestone for Accela as we aim to advance the govtech industry. This new funding and partnership with Francisco Partners kick-starts our next chapter that’s focused on elevating and expanding how we serve state and local governments,” said Gary Kovacs, CEO of Accela. “Francisco Partners’ world-class technology expertise will parlay into investments designed to further simplify and streamline the government experience, and we are pleased to have the continued strong support of Berkshire Partners as we execute our growth strategy. Our mission remains the same: to be the heart of government, vital to the expansion of innovative, growing, and safe communities.”

Serving more than 300 million citizens worldwide and delivering strong 2023 fiscal year momentum, Accela offers agencies a unified suite of cloud solutions and a single cloud-based platform to accelerate government modernization, deliver critical services, and build stronger communities. Accela’s Civic Platform powers major state and local governments, streamlining the internal and residential government experience for Dallas, Texas; Seattle, Washington; the State of California; Abu Dhabi; cities and counties across Florida; and more.

“Accela has been a foundational leader in the govtech space for decades and has demonstrated impressive double-digit growth quarter over quarter—a reflection of their strong brand reputation, competitive differentiation and unbreakable customer relationships,” said Andrew Kowal, partner at Francisco Partners. “Accela’s combination of low-code cloud-based solutions on a single robust platform is transforming the digital government experience. We’ve been impressed with Accela’s industry impact for some time, and we look forward to helping them provide even more value to their government customers,” added Jason Brein, partner at Francisco Partners.

“Since our partnership began in 2017, we’ve seen significant growth in Accela’s ability to serve local and state agencies with increasingly essential government technology solutions,” said EJ Whelan, managing director at Berkshire Partners. “Accela’s outstanding leadership team continues to advance this industry-leading technology that helps governments better serve residents and businesses in their communities,” added Jon Nuger, managing director at Berkshire Partners. “We welcome Francisco Partners to the team and look forward to collaborating to support Accela’s growth within the rapidly advancing govtech industry.”

The government technology industry has seen record growth in the past year with the global cloud market for government expected to reach $49.2 billion by the end of 2023. As communities tackle staffing shortages and new challenges such as adapting infrastructure for extreme weather, digital solutions allow local and state governments to break down agency siloes to streamline critical constituent services—such as permitting, licensing, code enforcement and more. High-quality digital services, in turn, lead to more satisfied constituents and more resilient communities.

Baird served as financial advisor to Accela and Berkshire Partners, and Shea & Company served as financial advisor to Francisco Partners.

About Accela

Accela provides a unified suite of cloud solutions trusted by governments across the globe to accelerate their digital transformation, deliver vital services, and build stronger communities. More than 300 million citizens worldwide benefit from Accela’s government software solutions. The company offers agile, purpose-built solutions and the power of a platform that provides users with a consumer-like experience, shares data across departments, and ensures world-class security. The company is a four-consecutive year Microsoft US Partner Award winner, a recipient of Inc.’s Best in Business for SaaS award, and was selected by Fast Company for its World Changing Ideas Award in 2022. For more information, visit www.accela.com.

About Francisco Partners

Francisco Partners is a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology and technology-enabled businesses. Since its launch over 20 years ago, Francisco Partners has invested in more than 400 technology companies, making it one of the most active and longstanding investors in the technology industry. With approximately $45 billion in capital raised to date, the firm invests in opportunities where its deep sectoral knowledge and operational expertise can help companies realize their full potential. For more information on Francisco Partners, please visit www.franciscopartners.com.

About Berkshire Partners

Berkshire Partners is a 100% employee-owned, multi-sector specialist investor in private and public equity. The firm’s private equity team invests in well-positioned, growing companies across technology & communications, consumer, healthcare, and services & industrials. Since inception, Berkshire Partners has made more than 150 private equity investments and has a strong history of collaborating with management teams to grow the companies in which it invests. The firm’s public equity group, Stockbridge, founded in 2007, manages a concentrated portfolio seeking attractive long-term investments. The firm’s Stockbridge and Private Equity teams frequently collaborate and leverage their collective industry expertise across sectors. For additional information, visit www.berkshirepartners.com.

Media Contacts

Accela: Courtney Bonness, [email protected]

Francisco Partners: Whit Clay, [email protected] / Sarah Braunstein, [email protected]

Berkshire Partners: Greg Winter, [email protected]

SOURCE Accela

The e-Moto manufacturer has raised more than $7 million to date

CLEVELAND, Ohio, Sept. 6, 2023 — Today, Cleveland-based electric mobility and battery manufacturer LAND announces the close of a successful Series A round. The electric motorcycle maker exceeded fundraising expectations by more than $1 million in this latest round. The company also closed an oversubscribed seed round. In response to interest from new investors, LAND is now launching a $15 million convertible note to further fuel its growth.

“LAND has continuously hit our business and production goals, and this ability to execute has resonated with our investor community,” LAND CEO and Founder Scott Colosimo says. “We have opened our $15M convertible note round to scale up production and expand globally.”

The Series A round was led by Ancora, with participation from several other notable investors. Over the summer, LAND leveraged some of the fresh funds to renovate its 30,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, which includes a modern assembly line and larger design and development center. LAND has also expanded its team and doubled the size of its production staff to be able to ramp up production. Among the new company hires are Tim Leedom, chief revenue officer, and Chris Davis, head of production.

“It is a time of growth at LAND,” Colosimo adds. “Not only is our team bigger, but we’re gearing up to expand our portfolio of electric offerings this fall.”

In 2020, LAND debuted its flagship e-Moto, The District, which combines the ease of use of an electric bike and the power of an electric motorcycle into one two-wheel vehicle. Featuring three speed settings—e-Bike (up to 27 mph), e-Moped (up to 40 mph) and e-Motorcycle (70+ mph)—The District is a versatile option that meets the needs of a range of riders, from beginners to off-road enthusiasts and experienced motorcyclists. The e-Moto is powered by a swappable electric battery pack (CORE), also designed and developed by LAND, that has a range of 120 miles per battery.

LAND’s convertible note round will allow the company to continue to scale e-Moto production and sales in the U.S. and expand internationally within the next year.

“We are thrilled to take the wheel and provide our backing to a Northeast Ohio company that is driving energy independence forward,” Ancora Chairman and CEO Fred DiSanto says. “LAND’s successful second financing round, oversubscribed and with tremendous momentum, is now complemented by the launch of a $15M convertible note, propelling their growth even further.”

For more information, visit landmoto.io.

About LAND
Founded in 2020 by Scott Colosimo in Cleveland, Ohio, LAND is based on the principle that energy continuity and mobility are essential to modern life. LAND provides a transitional eMoto ecosystem with a portable power platform (CORE), a game-changing approach in the light electric vehicle industry. With products proudly manufactured in Cleveland, LAND is unwavering in its belief in American ingenuity and world-class craftsmanship. As a design-forward company, LAND is dedicated to constantly evolving to meet the needs of their customers, everyday consumers and businesses looking for energy efficiency.

SOURCE LAND

Fund II will deploy strategic initiatives to help its portfolio start-ups scale globally

RIDGEWOOD, N.J., Sept. 6, 2023 — Pentathlon Ventures, an early-stage B2B SaaS-focused venture capital firm, has announced the launch of its second fund with a target of $55 Million. The fund aims to invest in 25 B2B SaaS start-ups, supporting breakthrough solutions across Enterprise Digital Transformation, E-commerce Enablement, Fintech, Vertical SaaS, Applied AI, Sustainable Tech, and HealthTech.

The VC firm was founded in 2020 by a team of marquee entrepreneurs with over 150 years of experience: Gireendra Kasmalkar (Ideas to Impacts, Verisoft); Sandeep Chawda (Globant, Clarice, Veritas); Saurabh Lahoti (Grassroots Business Fund, Ennovent); Madhukar Bhatia (Sapience, Symphony, Veritas); Ashok Mayya (Rising Pharma, Citron Pharma); Hemant Joshi (Sapience, Symphony, Veritas), and Shashank Deshpande (Globant, Clarice, Veritas).

US-based Managing Partner Ashok Mayya observed, “Our core expertise is in early-stage B2B SaaS companies built from India. SaaS is a global play with innovative ideas coming from all corners. India’s software talent, with its experience and scale is well positioned to emerge as a dominant player in the worldwide SaaS market.”

India-based Managing Partner Gireendra Kasmalkar added, “The revenues coming from India based B2B start-ups are expected to grow 25X in the next 8 years. With an impressive 50% faster time to revenue, better revenue predictability and solid gross margins ranging between 70-80%, it presents extraordinary prospects of building sustainable businesses. Indian B2B seed stage companies are going to be global leaders in the coming decade. The successes of our investments from Fund I further strengthens our commitment to this strategy.”

For Fund II, Pentathlon Ventures is raising capital from a mix of Indian and global limited partners encompassing successful business leaders, corporations and institutions.

Through its first fund, the VC firm has invested in 23 start-ups, with a remarkable track record which includes successful exits and follow-on investments.

About Pentathlon Ventures: 
Pentathlon Ventures is an early stage VC Fund focusing on the thriving B2B SaaS space in the Indian startup ecosystem to build global products. It works with early-stage technology companies to scale their business by providing Expertise, Ecosystem & Capital. Pentathlon Ventures’ mission is to empower ambitious tech entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey. As a founder-led VC firm, it aims to bridge the gap between Angel and Series A+ rounds.

Media Contact: [email protected], 201-600-9922

SOURCE Pentathlon Ventures US LLC

Creating a new standard for SaaS metrics, SaaSGrid helps companies identify, calculate and track the most important metrics

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 6, 2023 — Today SaaSGrid, the data and analysis platform for SaaS metrics, announced a $3.3M seed round led by Craft Ventures. SaaSGrid is the first dashboarding tool built specifically for SaaS companies: users simply connect their data sources and get perfect, real-time charts displaying the metrics every SaaS business should be tracking. The need for a tool like SaaSGrid has never been more critical as companies strive for efficient growth amidst a difficult fundraising environment. The company is formally launching on stage at SaaStr Annual today.

Despite broad agreement on which metrics are most important for SaaS businesses, there are no dashboarding or business intelligence tools that calculate them automatically. Creating charts is a manual, time-intensive, and error-prone process that involves pulling data into warehouses and CSVs, cleaning up messy data, and writing SQL queries and Excel formulas. The process is so burdensome that SaaS metrics are often reserved only for quarterly board meetings, even though a real-time view would be incredibly helpful to founders seeking to understand their business.

“The need for a SaaS-specific dashboarding tool was so acute, yet nothing existed in the market. So we built it,” said David Sacks, co-founder of SaaSGrid and co-founder and partner at Craft Ventures. “SaaSGrid provides a way for companies to standardize their reporting and ensure they’re tracking the most important metrics, calculated correctly.”

SaaSGrid has identified and standardized the calculations for more than 70 essential metrics, including mission-critical calculations such as MRR, ARR, Net Dollar Retention, CAC Payback, Burn Multiple, and Runway. Using SaaSGrid is simple. After connecting data sources including Salesforce, Hubspot, Stripe, Quickbooks, and spreadsheets, SaaS teams have instant access to real-time dashboards and insights – including metrics they might not have known they should be tracking. This gives SaaS leaders access to all the information they need to run their companies day-to-day, report to their board, or engage in fundraising rounds.

SaaSGrid CEO and co-founder Ethan Ruby developed an early prototype of SaaSGrid to help the investment team at Craft Ventures run metrics for prospective investments. Once founders saw these dashboards, they wanted access to the tool, not just to help with fundraising but for their internal KPI dashboards. With this $3.3 million in seed funding, SaaSGrid officially launches independently of Craft and is available to SaaS startups worldwide. The funds will be used to further develop the product, including pipeline metrics and benchmarking.

“I’ve spent countless hours wrangling data and writing SQL queries and Excel formulas to make SaaS metrics dashboards – both as an operator and as an investor.” said Ethan Ruby. “The process is painful, and I found myself wishing there was a tool that could help. In talking to SaaS founders and operators, I realized I wasn’t alone: everyone struggles to pull data from their systems, clean up edge cases, and get the accurate reporting necessary to run their business. SaaSGrid is the tool SaaS leaders have been wanting for.”

SaaSGrid is already the source of truth for KPIs for hundreds of SaaS companies and is SOC 2 compliant so customers know their data is safe and confidential.

“Before SaaSGrid, we had to manually download Salesforce reports every quarter and spend days modifying, calculating, and verifying the data to ensure it was up-to-date. Since implementing SaaSGrid, we are able to monitor sales and renewal progress in real-time, and generating board reports takes minutes instead of days,” said Diane Garcia, Director of Operations at Scratchpad.

About SaaSGrid

SaaSGrid is the dashboarding tool built specifically for SaaS companies, setting the standard for how SaaS metrics are calculated, analyzed, and reported. Founded by David Sacks, Ethan Ruby, and Teddy Ruby, SaaSGrid is based in San Francisco and New York City and backed by Craft Ventures. Visit SaaSGrid.com to get the insights needed to make the most important decisions for any SaaS business.

Media Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE SaaSGrid

Led by investors including the Reno Seed Fund and AZ-VC, former PayPal executive Jack Selby’s venture firm, this seed round fuels MessageDesk’s growth and market expansion

RENO, Nev., Sept. 6, 2023 — MessageDesk, a text messaging software for small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs), announced today its successful $1.6M million Seed investment. Led by the Reno Seed Fund and with new investments from AZ-VC, Acadian Capital Ventures, Arizona Tech Investors, and Desert Angels; along with support from the Sierra Innovations Entrepreneur Fund of the Sierra Angels.

This new capital furthers MessageDesk’s mission of routing business communications to the right people and places at the right time. The company aims to hit $1M+ in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) in 2023 and anticipates reaching 1000 SMB customers by the end of Q1 2024 while also expanding its mid-market customer base.

“Savvy investors are increasing their investments in companies like MessageDesk because they deliver on strong use cases and they have shown very early on that they are able to generate sustainable, recurring revenue,” explained Gene Wong, Managing Partner of The Reno Seed Fund. “Proven and successful SaaS startups like MessageDesk are hard to find.”

“Healthcare staffing agencies, logistics providers, school administrators, and many other professionals already use MessageDesk’s inbox and broadcast features to route their text conversations and reach everyone on their contact lists,” said Clint Vernon, Co-Founder and CEO of MessageDesk. “We’ve established product-market fit with over 600 SMB and mid-market customers. These new funds will enable us to scale our marketing, sales, and customer success operations while continuing to evolve our platform and expand it to include features like AI-driven sentiment analysis, team chatbots, and voice-to-text.”

“Our investment in MessageDesk is a testament to the potential we see in their innovative solution and business model, especially considering the fluctuating economic conditions and shift to not only more mobile work but mobile work that demands greater efficiency and coordination to deliver services when and where they are most needed,” said Ben Brockwell, Partner at AZ-VC. “MessageDesk’s focus on streamlining the user experience and its strategic growth plans align well with our investment philosophy.”

MessageDesk is a tech company solving real-world problems. It is a great example of the emerging startup ecosystem in Reno, Nevada. MessageDesk’s initial local and regional angel investment and new out-of-state venture funding, reiterate its commitment to serving small and medium-sized businesses and aligns well with the investment theses of the contributing funds.

For more information about MessageDesk, please visit www.messagedesk.com.

About MessageDesk

MessageDesk is a communications software company that helps businesses and organizations text-enable their business phone lines, send mass text message broadcasts, get optimal text message delivery rates, and route, assign, and automatically manage text message conversations across their entire organization. MessageDesk was founded and is based in Reno, Nevada. Please visit www.messagedesk.com

SOURCE MessageDesk

Six early-stage startups provide solutions to challenges in real estate development, mobility, and energy management

BROOKLYN, N.Y., Sept. 6, 2023 — URBAN-X, the leading urban technology startup platform by MINI, today announced its thirteenth cohort of early-stage startups dedicated to advancing climate technology solutions. Run in collaboration with leading venture capital firm JVP, this new cohort represents a number of startups from across the country. Selected from a pool of over 160 applicants, the six startups are working on solutions in real estate development, mobility, and energy & carbon management to create more interconnected cities that improve quality of life for all.

The launch of this cohort coincides with the end of a record-breaking summer, where extreme heat waves, wildfires, and floods have underscored the urgent need to reshape our climate trajectory. Recognizing the significance of this challenge, URBAN-X is committed to fostering more sustainable, livable, and resilient cities by nurturing startups that offer impactful solutions.

“It’s clear, now more than ever, that the work climate tech founders and startups are doing is critical to the continued prosperity of cities in the midst of a climate crisis,” said Mike Peyton, President of MINI Business Innovations LLC, and Vice President of MINI of the Americas. “MINI is committed to driving positive change in urban environments, and we see no better way forward than through the work of the emerging startups URBAN-X is supporting.”

These six startups join a growing list of over 100 companies that have graduated from the URBAN-X program. More than 87 percent of startups raise their next round during or right after the program. Over the course of the four-month program, the startups will benefit from hands-on mentorship in areas such as customer engagement, product development, talent acquisition, and brand strategy. Each team will also have access to URBAN-X’s expansive network of world-class design, engineering, and branding experts from MINI, as well as office space in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

“We are excited by the companies in Cohort 13 because they build on work we’ve supported in the past in new and innovative ways,” said Johan Schwind, Managing Director of URBAN-X. “These solutions will drive us towards a better, more resilient future, and we are dedicated to helping scale them just as climate innovations are needed most in cities in the U.S. and across the globe.”

The complete list of URBAN-X Cohort 13 companies includes:

• Algoma: Partnering with real estate developers to automate the repeatable delivery of zero-carbon buildings by leveraging AI
• HubOn: Offering the cheapest and most eco-friendly transport for goods by partnering with retail shops serving as drop-off and pickup locations
• Blip Energy: Unlocking energy equity by building a new category of smart, affordable energy storage to add millions of homes to the smart grid
• Upward: Collecting, storing, and analyzing building energy data to drive operational success and automate compliance
• Enspi: Bringing efficiency, sustainability, and profitability to modern energy management with a proprietary platform
• Vy-Carb: Performing real-time, autonomous removal, storage, and verification of CO2 in water with a fully-measured carbon management system

To celebrate climate innovation, URBAN-X will host a discussion about the future of mobility on September 18th as part of Climate Week NYC. For more details and to RSVP, please visit the event site.

About URBAN-X
URBAN-X is the platform for founders reimagining city life. Built by MINI in 2016, URBAN-X partners with startups to build bold technology solutions for a sustainable planet. Breaking from traditional startup program molds, URBAN-X provides Pre-Seed and Seed-Stage entrepreneurs with individualized and tailored support that accelerates growth and builds successful businesses for the next generation of climate- and city-focused innovators. Core to its platform, URBAN-X offers world-class engineering and design resources, industry-leading investment capital from our venture partner JVP, a global network of investors, policymakers, corporate strategies and end-customers, and premier educational content for a global network of founders. Find URBAN-X on Twitter & Instagram at @urbanxtech and on Facebook at facebook.com/urbanxtech.

About MINI in the US
MINI is an independent brand of the BMW Group. In the United States, MINI USA operates as a business unit of BMW of North America, LLC, located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey and includes the marketing and sales organizations for the MINI brand. The MINI USA sales organization is represented by a network of 104 MINI passenger car dealers located throughout the US. MINI USA began selling vehicles in the U.S. in 2002 with the introduction of the MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S Hardtops. Since then, the MINI Brand in the U.S. has grown to encompass a model range of five unique vehicles.

Journalist note: Media information about MINI and its products is available to journalists on-line at www.miniusanews.com.

About JVP
JVP, is an internationally renowned venture capital fund based in Israel. Established in 1993 by Dr. Erel Margalit, JVP has raised to date $1.6 billion across 10 funds, and has been listed numerous times by Preqin, and other rankings, as one of the top-ten consistently performing VC firms worldwide. JVP has built over 160 companies, leveraging a broad network of partners and market expertise to help companies become global market leaders. Among the pioneering firms of the Israeli venture capital industry, JVP has been instrumental in building some of the largest companies out of Israel, facilitating 12 Initial Public Offerings on NASDAQ including CyberArk Software ($3.6 billion mkt. cap.), QLIK Technologies (then $2.5 billion mkt. cap.) and Cogent Communications ($2.3 billion mkt. cap.). https://www.jvpvc.com/

Media Contacts
Ella Snyder
BerlinRosen
[email protected] 

Andrew Cutler
Head of Corporate Communications, MINI USA
201.307.3784
Andrew.Cutler@miniusa.com

SOURCE URBAN-X; MINI USA

Equity Investment Expands Solar and Battery Land and Lease Financing Access for Developers and Landowners

VIENNA, Va., Sept. 6, 2023 — SolaREIT™, a solar real estate investment fund, and funds managed by AB CarVal, a global alternative investment manager, have completed the close of an investment, initially $100 million with up to $250 million in additional capital, to turbocharge growth of SolaREIT’s renewable land, lease and loan financing solutions. SolaREIT, which launched in late 2020, provides an innovative model for financing solar real estate and offers options to compensate landowners for utilizing their land to host solar farms and battery storage projects. Since its founding, SolaREIT has partnered with developers and landowners across the country to support the development of hundreds of megawatts of renewable energy deployment.

“Solar development is capital intensive, and we believe this investment will deliver innovative technologies and projects that are supporting the energy transition while offering solid, long-term return potential,” said Jerry Keefe, principal with AB CarVal. “This partnership with SolaREIT scales solar and battery storage growth by delivering a full suite of financing solutions for developers, project owners and landowners.”

“AB CarVal’s deep experience in clean energy made them the perfect partner for this important work. We’re just at the beginning of the solar growth curve, and financing needs to expand to meet the need,” said Gautam Chandra, founder and managing director of SolaREIT. “We’re excited to work together with them to expand solar financing options and solutions to developers and project owners across the country.”

“We’re looking forward to partnering with AB CarVal to expand access to solar and battery storage financing at this important time. Developers and asset owners are facing a number of challenges in the current financial environment, and need access to capital and other financial solutions that are flexible and nimble,” said Laura Pagliarulo, founder and president of SolaREIT. “Our deep experience in this sector helps us understand these needs and deliver the right solution.”

The United Nations estimates that $4 trillion* must be invested annually to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Solar development is particularly land and capital intensive. Since 2017, AB CarVal has deployed over $4 billion in clean energy investments, including solar and storage hard assets, private financings, solar loans and solar asset-backed securities (ABS). SolaREIT provides solar-focused financial options to developers and project owners that monetize land and lease value and free up capital or reduce lease costs. SolaREIT financing solutions are available to solar and battery storage developers across the country. 

About SolaREIT
SolaREIT, based in Vienna, Virginia, focuses on making investments in acquiring, developing and managing climate-friendly real estate assets that support solar and battery storage projects, furthering the transformation to a low-carbon economy. SolaREIT offers practical and streamlined financing options that deliver maximum flexibility to developers, project owners and landowners based on their individual needs and financial goals, Products include land purchases, lease purchases and mortgage loans, among other innovative solutions for clients. For more information, please visit www.solareit.com.

About AB CarVal
AB CarVal is an established global alternative investment manager and part of AllianceBernstein’s Private Alternatives business. Since 1987, AB CarVal’s team has navigated through ever-changing credit market cycles, opportunistically investing $144 billion in 5,680 transactions across 82 countries. Today, AB CarVal has approximately $17 billion* in assets under management in corporate securities, loan portfolios, structured credit and hard assets. Additional information about AB CarVal may be found at www.abcarval.com.

*Source: IEA Flagship report, May 2021

**As of June 30, 2023. AUM is comprised fee-earning AUM and fee-eligible AUM. Fee-earning AUM includes those assets currently qualified to generate management fees. Fee-eligible AUM includes capital that is committed to an AB CarVal Fund but is currently uncalled or recallable. The number represented here excludes assets under AB CarVal’s management that are not generating management fees due to the maturity of the Fund but includes amounts that do not generate management fees solely due to AB CarVal’s decision not to charge management fees.

SOURCE SolaREIT

NeuroFlow’s Behavioral Health Platform Bridges the Gap Between Payers, Providers, and Consumers

SUMMIT, N.J., Sept. 6, 2023 — Concord Health Partners (“Concord” or the “Firm”), a healthcare focused investment firm, today announced an investment in NeuroFlow (the “Company”), the market leading behavioral health SaaS platform. Concord’s investment will provide NeuroFlow with capital to continue to grow the company to match the increase in demand for its solutions from hospitals and health systems, as well as within the complex payor and government agency segments. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

NeuroFlow’s platform uniquely combines AI-driven analytics, care collaboration enablement, and enterprise consumer grade activation to reduce the risks of identifying, managing, and monitoring complex behavioral health and substance use populations. NeuroFlow’s customers are empowered to integrate behavioral health across populations, and by doing so reduce the risks associated with undiagnosed and misdiagnosed behavioral health conditions. The platform takes this population intelligence and makes it actionable for providers and care managers by integrating it into the delivery workflow and providing evidence-based decision support to ensure appropriate care. Consumers are engaged through the integrated workflow, which improves consumer adherence to treatment and provides a safety net of capabilities in between clinical and non-clinical interactions.

“Concord is dedicated to partnering with the most innovative healthcare companies to enhance operational efficiencies, improve patient outcomes, and intelligently expand access to care,” said James Olsen, Founder and Managing Partner at Concord. “The need for a strong behavioral health platform that pulls together point solutions to support patients across the country has never been greater, and we believe that this technology will drive further innovation as a key solution for the overall healthcare ecosystem. This investment in NeuroFlow is a continuation of our focus and activity in the space and a multiplier to our existing mental health investments. We are excited about NeuroFlow’s differentiated approach, providing an impactful technology solution to leading health system and care delivery organization partners. We look forward to working with Chris and his team to broaden the scope and reach of their offerings, providing efficient access to quality care and moving us closer to true health care affordability.”

“Across the federal government, providers and payers are experiencing an unprecedented rise in the risk of behavioral health populations and this is challenging the status quo approach to healthcare affordability,” said Chris Molaro, NeuroFlow CEO. “Our partnership with our customers, which now includes 16M+ members, was built through strategic collaboration, which allowed us to develop our platform that is purposefully designed to address the new behavioral health risks in market, consolidate point solutions to drive efficiency, and extend care beyond the traditional setting and programs to drive improved outcomes for complex behavioral health populations. We are excited that Concord recognizes this differentiated value and we’re looking forward to our partnership.”

This investment was made out of Concord Innovation Fund II, which closed in August 2022 with $150 million in commitments. This is the 8th investment made from the fund, which builds on the Firm’s focus to support growth stage companies with innovative technologies and solutions that advance healthcare, including behavioral health.

About Concord Health Partners
Concord Health Partners is a healthcare focused investment firm with a strategic model that optimizes the alignment of interests between investors and portfolio companies. Concord has developed a broad network of strategic relationships that contribute expertise and resources, and serve as potential commercial partners to portfolio companies. Concord is primarily focused on investing in healthcare companies that have the potential to enhance the value of care through products, services, technologies, and solutions that lower costs, improve quality, and expand access to care. For more information, visit www.concordhp.com.

About NeuroFlow
NeuroFlow assesses and triages people with behavioral health conditions to get them to the right level of care, providing high-tech and high-touch support for populations that would typically fall through the cracks in today’s healthcare system. Proven to drive better clinical and financial outcomes for hundreds of leading health systems, payors, and military organizations covering 16 million individuals, NeuroFlow’s platform combines consumer engagement with enterprise-level care management software to support behavioral health at scale. To learn more, visit http://www.neuroflow.com.

Media Contacts

For Concord Health Partners
Taylor Ingraham / Steve Bruce
[email protected] / [email protected]
(203) 992-1230

For NeuroFLow
Anthony Stipa
[email protected]
(610) 420-1724

SOURCE Concord Health Partners

The pioneering celebrity-favorite snack brand’s latest funding round includes investments from Amy Schumer, Mark Wahlberg, Becky G, Post Malone, Tan France, Odell Beckham Jr., and Frances Tiafoe, as distribution expands to include prominent retailers such as Costco and Publix.

SEATTLE, Sept. 6, 2023 — Today, SkinnyDipped, the groundbreaking brand synonymous with delicious, better-for-you and anxiety-free snacks, has raised $12,000,000 in a Series A round that closed in August, 2023. Led by the Miami-based entrepreneur David Grutman, the multi-pact partnership is set to propel the brand – founded by the mother-daughter duo of Breezy and Val Griffith – into a new era of expansion, innovation and success.

This Series A, which reached capacity earlier than expected, is unique in that it is composed of individual investors as opposed to being funded by a special purpose vehicle, which would see investors pooling into a single funding entity. Dozens of individual investors contributed, with globally recognized participants including Alesso, Kevin Durant, Kaskade, Steve Aoki, Marshmello, Sebastian Ingrosso, Shep Gordon, Mack Maine, Bruno Soares, Rebeca León, Two Friends, Isabela Grutman, Ryan Tedder, Loren Ridinger, Sal XO, Joel McHale, Gary Brecka, Charissa Davidovici, Guy Oseary, Rich Kleinman, Mo Shalizi, Zepito and others.

“Our journey to this milestone has been challenging, energizing and full of passion from all involved,” says Breezy Griffith, CEO and Founder, SkinnyDipped. “But the real gift has been my discovery of just how much consumer, industry and investor sentiment exists for SkinnyDipped, for which I’m so grateful and proud. Our eclectic and diverse portfolio of investors blows my mind – from A-list artists to uber-athletes – there’s just this crazy love for the brand across the board. And to work in partnership with SD superfan David Grutman, who brings his creativity, enthusiasm and unstoppable drive to SkinnyDipped, is a total joy.”

“I am really impressed by what Breezy and Val and the SkinnyDipped team have achieved,” says David Grutman, Entrepreneur. “What they’ve created is amazing. They make the best snacks ever, first of all, and they continue to impress me with all sides of the business. I’m excited to lead this round, and I’m even more excited for what these investors and I are about to do together.”

This strategic investment round not only underscores SkinnyDipped’s national success, but also arrives in tandem with extensions into new retailers such as Costco and Publix, on top of existing partners such as Target, Kroger and others. The funding will be used to continue ongoing retail expansion, support philanthropic efforts and drive innovation as the brand readies itself to move into new and exciting spaces over the coming months. Category disruption is a SkinnyDipped specialty, as the company was the first to bring thin-dipped nuts to market: they reimagined what it means to snack, by scaling back feelings of guilty indulgence and amping up a health-forward sentiment of happiness. SkinnyDipped’s proprietary and unique products – including game-changers like Lemon Bliss Almonds, Unicorn Birthday Cake Cashews and Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups – have become popular go-to snacks on account of their combined lower sugar content and irresistible flavor.

SkinnyDipped, a proven favorite in the consumer packaged goods sector, now stands poised for an unprecedented rise in exposure, recognition, and broadened market share. Launched in 2016, SkinnyDipped is currently available in over 25,000 retail doors nationwide. SkinnyDipped has won numerous awards, including placement on the Inc. 5000 ranking for multiple years running and Val Griffith being named to Forbes’ 50 Over 50 List 2023 for her inventive and creative prowess (Val’s role within the company is Chief Innovation Officer – she’s the flavor specialist, affectionately referred to as “Mama Nut”).

For more information, please visit www.skinnydipped.com and follow @SkinnyDipped on Instagram and TikTok @SkinnyDipped.

About SkinnyDipped
Based in Seattle, WA, SkinnyDipped has evolved from its kitchen table origins to one of the fastest-growing female-founded companies in the U.S. Founded by the mother-daughter duo of Breezy and Val Griffith, SkinnyDipped is committed to creating delicious, better-for-you and anxiety-free snacks comprised of less sugar – and no dirty secrets. All products are made with non-GMO ingredients, are gluten-free and Kosher and contain no artificial sweeteners, colors or flavors. All their almonds are also sourced from certified bee-friendly farms. In addition to being better for you, SkinnyDipped is also committed to doing better around the world – the company will announce an alignment in late 2023 for an ongoing, permanent philanthropic program. Available nationwide at Target, Walmart. Kroger and many more retailers, SkinnyDipped is all about empowered snacking – and never having to choose between happy and healthy. Dive into snacks with no strings attached.

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SOURCE SkinnyDipped