Spotlight on Women: Unpacking Female Founder Representation in ECF

Editor’s Note: We're thrilled to announce KingsCrowd is now raising! As a leader in alternative investment data, KingsCrowd is shaping the future of diversified investing. Check out our campaign and consider joining the smart investing journey.

CHART OF THE WEEK 📈

Happy Women’s History Month! This week, to celebrate female entrepreneurs, we dug into the representation of female founders in the online private markets for 2023. As a refresher, in August, we analyzed gender representation for the first half of 2023 across all deals, including both equity and debt. This week's analysis examined equity deals that raised capital under Regulation CF and Regulation A. These deals began on or after January 1, 2023, and concluded on or before December 31, 2023.

• There were 578 online deals in 2023. Of the 157 raises, 27% featured at least one female founder. This analysis considered both all-female and mixed-gender founding teams. 

• According to Pitchbook data, female-only teams accounted for 7% of venture deals in 2023, while mixed-gender teams represented 19%.

• Companies raised $228.5 million in 2023 from the online private markets. Those with at least one female founder secured $51.3 million, equivalent to 22.5% of the total raised. 

• By comparison, 2% of venture capital went to female-only founding teams in 2023, while 25.5% of venture funding was given to mixed-gender teams.

• Female founders remain underrepresented in both the online private market and traditional ventures. To support female entrepreneurs this month and in the future, check out our monthly roundups of underrepresented founder deals. 

💡You can also use KingsCrowd’s Advanced Search Tool to sort for female-founded companies actively accepting capital

Together with Republic

Join our investor-focused webinar Tuesday, March 26th at 1:30pm ET with Chuck Pettid, EVP of Republic, to learn about the opportunities within the Republic Investor Network. In this session, you'll learn about:

• Access to innovative startups and new investment cycles.

• The top sectors attracting venture capital right now

• The experts at Republic driving the deal flow in these sectors

• How to start investing with as little as $500.

• How Republic is leading the way in different asset classes, including tokenization.

Don't miss out – sign up for the webinar now and embark on your investment journey!

PITCH REVIEW 💸

Brief: QuickLoadz Intermodal Robotics is innovating the logistics and supply chain industry with its cutting-edge solution. The company's unique smartphone-controlled robotic trailers can swiftly load or unload up to 60,000 pounds in less than three minutes, offering an efficient answer to final-mile distribution challenges. It’s raising $618K with a valuation cap of $20M and a minimum investment of $100.

Key People: QuickLoadz is led by CEO Sean Jones and CFO Bridget Lair. With a decade of experience, Jones has been instrumental in developing the innovative smartphone-controlled robotic trailers. With over 16 years in the field, Lair provides critical financial oversight, contributing to the company's stability and scalability.

Interested in QuickLoadz? Access the deal report HERE 🔓📈

Summary

Here's what we like: QuickLoadz Intermodal Robotics presents a compelling investment opportunity as it stands at the forefront of logistics and supply chain innovation. The company's proprietary technology—a smartphone-controlled robotic trailer system—addresses a critical need in the market by enabling the rapid, safe, and easy movement of shipping containers. The capacity to load and unload 60,000 pounds of merchandise in under three minutes without additional infrastructure is a game-changer, particularly when dealing with the final-mile distribution challenges that companies like Amazon face.

With a reported $10 million in revenue, QuickLoadz demonstrates a proven market demand for its solution. The company's technology is not only patented, ensuring a competitive edge, but also has already seen real-world application, with thousands of containers moved and millions of miles traveled.

Given the sheer volume of global trade reliant on shipping containers, QuickLoadz's addressable market is substantial. While there are high barriers to entry in this space, QuickLoadz has already surmounted these with its patented technology and established user base. The logistical sector's increasing need for efficiency and agility, particularly in light of recent global disruptions, positions QuickLoadz to capitalize on these trends as it scales its operations.

Here's what we don't: The valuation of QuickLoadz Intermodal Robotics, at $20 million, must be scrutinized, especially considering its revenue multiple of 16.74x, which is quite high for a company in the logistics industry. This raises concerns about overvaluation, particularly for a pre-profit company. While QuickLoadz's robotic trailer technology is impressive, the company's actual financial performance appears to lag, with an annual revenue growth of -35.8% and a substantial net loss of $1,675,106.00 in the most recent fiscal year.

Although not as competitive as others, the logistics industry still requires significant capital to scale, and QuickLoadz has a high capital intensity level. The company's monthly burn rate signals that substantial cash reserves are necessary to sustain operations until profitability can be achieved. With only $771,779.00 in cash and cash equivalents recorded at the end of the most recent fiscal year, there is a clear risk of QuickLoadz running out of funds before becoming cash flow positive.

ON THE POD 🎙️

Chris speaks with Mark Holland, founder and CEO of Choose Your Horizon, a mental wellness company that offers at-home psychedelic therapy. Mark shares how the therapy works, using ketamine in controlled, low doses to aid in treating conditions like PTSD, anxiety, and depression. The episode illuminates how this therapy creates a dissociative experience, enabling patients to gain new perspectives on their mental health issues. Holland highlights the company’s growth trajectory, including its plan to expand to more states and possibly include more psychedelic compounds in treatment.

Listen to the full episode here

STAFF PICKS 🌶️

Sircles

Sircles is a social recommendation app that combines the best of Yelp and Facebook with a focus on positivity and authentic recommendations. In its pre-revenue phase, Sircles has garnered around 25,000 beta testers and impressive app store ratings, signaling strong potential for growth. The app aims to create a bully-free community and rewards positive interactions. Sircles is supported by the Maeson Group and is part of the Amazon AWS Activate program.

• Valuation Cap: $30 million

• Minimum Investment: $250

BlocPower Energy Services (Debt)

BlocPower Energy Services is engaged in energy projects across various U.S. cities. It specializes in energy-efficient and eco-friendly building projects that aim to enhance energy sustainability and address health hazards.

• Interest Rate: 7.25%

• Minimum Investment: $100

Zette

Zette is revolutionizing digital journalism consumption by providing a unique solution for accessing paywalled articles. On a per-article basis, Zette allows users to legally read articles from over 100 publishers, including New Scientist and Forbes. This credit-based system ensures fair compensation for journalists while offering financial practicality to readers. Zette's rapid growth is evident, with a fivefold increase in users, now surpassing 50,000.

• Valuation Cap: $22 million

• Minimum Investment: $250