Ulu December News

Major Milestone!

We are highlighting our December news and investments and also celebrating a Q4 milestone with our portfolio firms raising more than $600M!

Fund III Investments

We made 8 investments in Fund III companies in December, one remains in stealth.

Cion Digital white-label blockchain orchestration platform helps non-crypto-native organizations as varied as banks, fintech startups and auto dealerships take payment in crypto and offer crypto services. They just raised $12M in seed funding.

FarmRaise is a platform to secure farm funding options and designed to make farm finance more accessible.

LexCheck is an AI-powered contract review platform for large enterprises. It provides attorney-quality automated redlining and facilitates the workflow around negotiating and closing contracts.

NewRetirement helps people create retirement plans that take into account all financial assets including savings, investments, home equity, and human capital and then optimize for long-term peace of mind.

Resolve is focused on helping more than 77 million Americans struggling with debt to better manage their financial options. Members gain access to money-saving creditor offers, a dedicated personal debt expert, power budgeting tools and credit report tracking. Tens of thousands of people have used Resolve’s guidance to handle more than $1.5 billion of distressed debt.

Axiom Cloud uses software and automation to transform how industrial cooling systems are powered, operated, and maintained. By predicting equipment issues and making cooling systems more efficient, they can lower maintenance costs and reduce the energy required to achieve the same amount of cooling.

Sail Internet delivers affordable fiber-sourced internet to homes and businesses underserved by other companies.

Thought Leadership

DEI Webinar

Miriam and Clint hosted an “ask me anything” webinar focused around DEI. Attended by founders, LPs, and Ulu friends and family, the lively conversation explored a wide variety of DEI topics including: diversity on boards, equal equity splits, inclusive prosperity,  finding diverse pools of candidates, diversifying your own personal network and more. Stay tuned for the release of many of these fascinating conversations in Q1!

Ulupreneurs in the News

BetterUp

CNBC highlighted BetterUp in a piece about how companies are turning to virtual coaching for their employees.

Yahoo! Finance featured BetterUp’s partnership with the US Air Force to provide a virtual learning and development program.

Several news outlets, including  People Magazine and others, interviewed Prince Harry about his work as Chief Impact Officer at BetterUp. He told reporters at Fast Company and the Mercury News that people quitting their jobs can often be good for their mental health.

Carbon Lighthouse

Forbes featured a column written by Carbon Lighthouse co-founder Brenden Millstein on advice for quick, high-value wins to decarbonize a commercial real estate portfolio.

Compound Foods

Forbes named Compound Foods founder and CEO Maricel Saenz to its 30 Under 30 list in the Social Impact category.

CoreChain

Clear Publicist reported on the naming of CoreChain CEO Chris Aguas as Entrepreneur of the Year by the Better New Haven Chamber of Commerce.

Ellevest

Kiplinger featured tips from Ellevest CEO Sallie Krawcheck aimed at helping beginner investors to keep a healthy headspace.

The Business Journals featured Ellevest CEO Sallie Krawcheck’s predictions for 2022 in a piece about mentoring through challenging times.

CNBC interviewed Ellevest CEO Sallie Krawcheck in a piece about why men and women should save differently for retirement.

Figure

Bloomberg wrote a piece on how the blockchain-based Figure has created a platform for raising equity.

FreeWill

list23 featured FreeWill’s acquisition of Cocatalyst in a piece about how individuals are shifting from donating cash in favor of appreciated assets such as stocks and cryptocurrency.

Guild Education

Forbes included Guild Education CEO Rachel Carlson in a collection of the Best ForbesWomen Stories. 

Forbes profiled Guild Education CEO Rachel Carlson and her efforts to build Guild into an employee retention tool.

Now RX

Benziga featured NowRX in a piece about technology enabling a better retail pharmacy experience.

Pontoro

Benziga headlined Pontoro’s $6M raise led by Ulu Ventures to create an infrastructure financing digital asset platform

Axios Pro Rata included the Pontoro $6M raise and mentioned Ulu Ventures as the lead.

Proterra

TechCrunch featured Proterra’s plans to build a commercial EV battery factory in South Carolina.

Sequel

Forbes and several other media outlets featured Sequel’s $5M raise and profiled the firm’s founders.

SnapCheck 

PRNewsWeb release outlined Payroc’s acquisition of Snapcheck.

SoFi

Benziga piece outlined why Jim Cramer likes SoFi despite recent stock volatility.

Suma Wealth

Alpha selected Suma Wealth CEO Beatrice Acevedo as a new inductee into its Most Powerful Latina Women Hall of Fame.

Tomo Credit

Fintech Times profiled TomoCredit in their column Behind the Idea.

Ulu Ventures

Investor Available named Ulu Ventures CEO Miriam Rivera its list of 101 Best Angel Investors in Palo Alto.

WiseTack

PYMNTS.COM interviewed WiseTack CEO Bobby Tzekin in a piece about how Buy Now, Pay Later platforms bulk up with new verticals and bigger ticket sizes.