Verivend raises $125K through Launch NY Investor Network

Investor Network deal allows Buffalo-based startup to hit $1M fundraising goal

 

Verivend capturing marketshare as leading payments solution in trillion-dollar private capital space

 

Investor Network allows Launch NY to present pre-vetted deals to hundreds of accredited investors; Dimien, a Buffalo-based battery technology backed by a Nobel Laureate, is next featured investment opportunity

 

Buffalo, N.Y. – Verivend set a $1 million goal for its seed extension round. It accomplished that goal with the help of Launch NY’s Investor Network, a syndicate of more than 300 investors who gain exclusive access to pre-vetted startup deals in Upstate New York with a no-cost and no-obligation setup.

 

As the featured deal on the Investor Network in January, Verivend raised $125,000 from individuals who vetted the company and decided to jump in.

 

“The Investor Network is a front door for accredited investors who’ve heard about Upstate New York’s emerging startup scene and want to get involved,” said Marnie LaVigne, Ph.D., president and CEO of Launch NY. “When investors told us they want to fund regional startups, they also said that they needed a convenient way to know what’s happening and commit capital without having to do all the work themselves. That’s why we created the only online community dedicated to Upstate NY deals, making it easy to for those who care about our community to InvestLocal.”

 

The Investor Network has invested $1.86M in 17 companies over the past 3 years, fueling local talent who are building the region’s new economy.

 

Launch NY also invested $50,000 from its nonprofit Seed Fund into Verivend’s seed extension round, and previously invested $100,000 in the company through its nonprofit Seed Fund and for-profit Limited Partner Fund I.

 

Verivend has developed a payments platform purposefully built to move private capital, providing a secure environment for firms, funds and their LPs to seamlessly complete investment transactions. The company was founded in 2019 by CEO Rodney Reisdorf, CTO Jonathan Ebel and G. Aaron Santarosa.

 

One of the investors who backed Verivend through the Investor Network was David Schultz, the founder and CEO of Albany-based Media Logic. Schultz has also invested in startups Feedback Solutions, AireXpert, ShearShare and EMPEQ through the Investor Network.

 

Schultz said the network uncovers exciting commercial opportunities while also supporting the creation of robust startup communities in Upstate New York.

 

“Verivend’s technology and market opportunity put it on par with fintech startups anywhere in the world,” Schultz said. “The Investor Network takes these exciting deals and lays them right on our digital doorstep. That means angel investors can skip the deal sourcing and spend our energy analyzing the team and their business.”

 

Private capital is a $12.5 trillion industry in the Americas alone, yet the flow of money still relies on technology invented in the 19th century. Wire transfers are ubiquitous but inherently lack efficiency, transparency and security.

 

Verivend is the first company to solve that problem for the private capital industry, and has grown quickly over the past several quarters, consistently beating its own records in new customers and transactions processed. Verivend now has about 100 customers that include investment funds and sponsors. The company boasts a 100% customer renewal rate.

 

Verivend started truly scaling when it dropped the web-based business development and sales processes it developed during the pandemic and started hitting the road, meeting customers at conferences and their offices. The company raised the seed extension round to invest in its marketing and sales infrastructure now that it has unlocked the key to growth.

 

Reisdorf said Verivend stands before a huge opportunity as the economy recovers from the inflation pressures of the past two years.

 

“The Investor Network was a seamless and smooth experience that allowed us to get in front of great startup investors, move quickly through due diligence and ultimately meet our goal for the seed extension round,” Reisdorf said. “Verivend is creating our own category in the market. We know exactly how we need to grow, and now we have the investment capital to get us there.”

 

Verivend won a $500,000 prize in the 43North finals and is the latest 43North company to successfully raise money on the Investor Network. Previous 43North winners ShearShare and BetterMynd have also used the network as a tool to meet high-quality investors with a pre-existing interest in backing startups from Upstate New York.

 

The next company featured on the Investor Network is Dimien, which is located at the University at Buffalo’s Baird Research Park incubator. Dimien is developing high-capacity, safe batteries for use in electric vehicles and other storage applications, including domestic energy storage. The company has a research collaboration with Dr. Stanley Whittingham, a Nobel Prize-winning lithium-ion battery expert at Binghamton University. Dimien is funded by the National Science Foundation and is commercializing its technology in partnership with Texas A&M. The company has made steady technological advancements over the past few years and is positioning itself to generate revenue within 24 months, initially for high-value Department of Defense applications.

This is a dynamic time for the green energy sector in Upstate New York given the region’s recognition as a growing energy storage technology hub through the New Energy New York (NYNE) project and several major grants. One of those grants is a highly competitive federal NSF Engines award, where Whittingham will serve as chief innovation officer. The battery hub also won a $63.67 million award through the American Rescue Plan’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge. The awards total more than $200 million in federal funding for the energy storage industry in Upstate New York.

“We’re seeing incredible success matching Upstate New York startup deals with accredited angel investors in New York state and beyond,” said Katie Hestor, Investor Network manager. “This is creating a network effect that is pulling new participants into the Investor Network, leading to faster and bigger rounds for innovative startups in our backyard. We expect to feature several more exciting deals in the first half of 2024, and we encourage accredited investors who want to get involved to be in touch to learn more.”

 

More information on the Investor Network can be found here.

 

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About Launch NY: Launch NY is the only nonprofit venture development organization and U.S. Treasury-designated Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that serves and directly funds startups in the 27 westernmost counties of New York state. The core mission of Launch NY is to identify, support and invest in high‐growth, high‐impact companies and to catalyze the entrepreneurial culture of Upstate New York through regional collaboration with ecosystem partners. Since its inception in 2012, Launch NY has served more than 1,500 companies which have gone on to raise more than $1.6 billion, generate over $240 million in annual revenues and support more than 5,000 jobs. Launch NY delivers its mission via mentorship and capital access programs, starting with pro bono mentoring through its Entrepreneur-in-Residence program, Founders Go Big program for underrepresented and underserved founders, and Emerging Cleantech Opportunity (ECO) Incubator. These programs prepare entrepreneurs for investment capital from multiple sources, including Launch NY’s InvestLocal Financing Programs comprised of non-profit and for-profit investment funds, and Investor Network deals marketplace that features hundreds of accredited investors. Through these vehicles, Launch NY is the most active seed investor in New York state and has been ranked among the top 5 nonprofit seed funds in the country.

 

For more information about Launch NY, its programs, and other entrepreneurial opportunities, visit www.launchny.org, and follow Launch NY on Facebook , Twitter and LinkedIn.