Amplify’s 2H ’22 Seed Report, Warp raises $5.7M, LA Tech Week, and More!
Our latest Seed Report is live!
Read on for a snippet of our coverage, and huge thank you to dot.LA for covering the report!
On a global scale, venture funding tumbled to $445 billion in 2022, a 35% decline YoY from the $681 billion deployed in 2021. Flaunting its relative immunity to broader venture pessimism, seed stage funding was the “least impacted funding stage” of 2022’s downturn. Despite the rosiness this might imply, when taken piece by piece, 2022 represented a steady, stepwise decline in quarter over quarter seed funding, with Q4 alone clocking in with 35% less funding than the same quarter the year prior.
And when we look at LA dealmaking, it doesn’t get much prettier. While the narrative, and numbers, for the first half of 2022 might have led one to believe that LA was uniquely protected from whatever evil was plaguing the rest of the world, the second half of 2022 was a sobering reminder that we are no exception.
We’re Backing Vendorflow
We’re ecstatic to be backing Vendorflow, a contact center solution that provides shared inbox business texting and messaging automation for logistics companies. The team behind Vendorflow, Eric Rodriguez (CEO) and Greg Bujak (CTO) worked together at NEXT Trucking, where they observed the challenges of driver app and shipper portal adoption first-hand. They recognized the need for a better solution, and thus, Vendorflow was born.
Vendorflow is building contact center software to optimize workflows for the freight industry. They are leveraging the latest in mobile engagement technology, such as Android RCS, Apple Business Chat, and WhatsApp Business to provide an app-quality experience in mobile messaging channels without the friction of installing a full app. By utilizing the platform, Logistics Service Providers can capture structured data via smart, lightweight cards delivered through the trucker’s preferred communication channel. Read more here about why we decided to back Eric Rodriguez (CEO) and Greg Bujak (CTO).
Warp, a Los Angeles, CA-based tech-powered freight network specializing in middle-mile solutions, raised $5.7M in additional seed funding led by MaC Venture Capital, Bonfire Ventures, and Frontier Venture Capital with participation from insiders like us and Bee Partners. Warp will use these new funds to scale its network and tech platform to further automate traditional supply chain “hacks” that were previously done manually.
LA Tech Week
Since Amplify’s founding in 2011, we’ve watched the LA tech scene explode, which is part of the reason we were thrilled to be a part of the city’s #LATechWeek! Tech Week is a week of events hosted by the startup community to celebrate the status of LA within US tech. This year it has grown into an amazing platform of over 750+ events bringing together the founders, startups, and investors in some of the most vibrant tech hubs! We had the pleasure of hosting an amazing event focused on the earliest builders and investors in LA with our friends at Fika Ventures, MaC Ventures, and Bling Capital.
Make sure you’re registered for NY Tech Week in October!
We wanted to take a second to recognize Paul Bricault (Managing Partner at Amplify.LA) for his 8th consecutive year in a row on the Los Angeles Business Journal’s LA 500 — an annual list of the five hundred “most influential people in Los Angeles.” Paul is featured alongside fellow honorees like Mayor Karen Bass, Rupert Murdoch, Bob Iger and Berkshire Hathaway’s Charlie Munger.
The Bouqs Co., a cut-to-order flower e-commerce company, was ranked as the best online flower delivery service by the lovely experts at Wirecutter. The Bouqs shined above all other competitors in beauty, order process, arrival time, and packaging. Wirecutter reported that, “the Bouqs Company just looked better, even to casual observers. Add to that reliable delivery, a clean, easy-to-use website, and the fact that it offers three price options (akin to small, medium, and large) for each bouquet, and you really won’t find a better delivery service.” 🌸
WeeCare, one of the largest childcare networks in the US, is celebrating its 5-year anniversary and was recently ranked as one of the 500 fastest-growing companies in America by Inc. Magazine. WeeCare provides access to high-quality childcare for all families, supports childcare providers in operating sustainable businesses through a technology-based marketplace, and helps employers of all sizes offer their employees childcare benefits. WeeCare also won dot.LA’s Social Equity Award for their admirable mission to make childcare accessible for all.
Cheese, The first zero-fee cash-back debit card for immigrants, launched their new Credit Builder product and is top ranked in the app store amongst credit builder products. Cheese allows you to show credit bureaus that consumers can consistently make on-time payments. This builds your payment history, which makes up 35% of your credit score!
Nectarine Credit, a b2b credit software company, is highlighted in an article by TTEC as a company that can help banks maximize value, enhance customer experiences, foster innovation, and achieve sustainable growth. Nectarine Credit offers an easy-to-use system for managing client credit applications. With Nectarine Credit’s involvement, banks position themselves to remain competitive and shape a successful future in the ever-changing financial landscape.
Check out our latest Job Board on the Amplify Website for the full list of openings throughout our entire portfolio! You can apply directly, or if you know anyone who could be a fit, feel free to pass it along!
If you found this valuable, consider giving this a share, and passing it along to anyone who you think may find this relevant.
Amplify is a first-check fund backing LA’s earliest and strongest tech teams. You can get in touch with us here. Want these updates delivered to your inbox? Join our newsletter!
