Seed at the Table

Funding platform connecting diverse founders with retail investors

Last Funded October 2023

$74,800

raised from 39 investors

Highlights

1
We have generated $200K in revenue (including grants)
2
Inaugural participant in 2022 Amazon AWS Impact Accelerator
3
Seed helped diverse founders raise close to $2M in the past 18 months
4
We raised $655K from our Family of investors

Our Team


INVEST IN SEED


With investments as small as $250 you can own a part of an ecosystem committed to providing access to capital, resources, education, and talent for diverse entrepreneurs. 

Click Invest, Join Our Family and Claim Your SEED At The Table.


Seed At The Table is a Financial Ecosystem Dedicated to Diverse Founders and Their Potential Investors

We started Seed At The Table because there was a void in the market for community crowdfunding platforms with a focus on companies with diverse founders. Since inception, we have launched 10 successful fundraising campaigns raising over $1.8M in equity funding from over 350 angel investors.

With our vast network in the financial industry, we are expanding our services to provide companies with the knowledge and resources to be successful in today’s world.

We are ready to scale our platform and plan to onboard twice as many companies as we currently have. Additionally, we are committed to developing and monetizing a comprehensive suite of educational resources for our users.

SEED allows companies to complete the traditional “Friends & Family” round by allowing their loyal customer base, angel investors and funds to invest for as little as $100. Reimagining the traditional round of raising capital empowers companies to let those that have supported their vision from the beginning become true partners in growth. 

Community Crowdfunding brings everyone to the table, building generational wealth and equity for diverse entrepreneurs and investors. 


Why SEED?

SEED positions itself as a Financial Ecosystem, a one-stop destination for access to capital, education, resources, services, and talent. We've expanded our services from helping companies raise equity and debt capital, through their followers and customers, to being a comprehensive resource for growth where those same businesses can get matched with a seasoned advisor (official or unofficial board member) and be introduced to service providers in tech, legal, financial and marketing, among others. At the same time, we provide investors and our 3,000+ ecosystem users with the opportunity to invest in and support their favorite brands, while also providing them with access to educational resources. Many (especially those from marginalized communities) have been precluded from the opportunity to sit at the table so we decided to create our own table with best of breed investment opportunities, talent, and service providers. We passionately believe everybody deserves an opportunity to have access to a robust and “rich” network inclusive of investment opportunities and resources. 


Invest in a financial platform dedicated to facilitating resources, relationships, and access to capital for diverse entrepreneurs and investors. 


How It Works

Companies come to SEED to raise debt or equity capital and individuals come to invest in viable businesses for which they are often consumers and champions. Both companies and individuals fill out profiles so that they are kept in mind for other resources beyond the respective raise and investment opportunities. Many companies need help beyond crowdfunding, and many investors need help beyond investing; therefore, leveraging our robust network, we are able to match those in need with the appropriate resources while taking a brokerage fee as revenue.  


Competition

While each platform offers an opportunity for founders to raise capital and investors to invest, SEED offers white glove service to companies that need extra guidance during the process. We have a special appreciation for marginalized founders and the community of investors who support them, so we go out of our way to provide space for them to transact, learn and interact. 

With SEED, you’re Family. 


What Users Say

SEED prides itself on providing opportunity and access to users that they have been historically precluded and our users simply love us for it. 


But Why Now?

Marginalized entrepreneurs have historically faced barriers in accessing venture capital funding and bank loans, which limits their ability to start and grow their businesses. Some of the factors contributing to this include systemic racism and discrimination, limited access to social and financial capital and a lack of representation in the financial industry. Research has shown that diverse founder businesses are less likely to be approved for traditional bank loans, and when they are approved, they receive smaller loan amounts and higher interest rates compared to non-Black-owned businesses. This lack of access to bank loans for diverse entrepreneurs exacerbates the wealth gap and hinders the growth and sustainability of diverse founder businesses. It is important for the financial industry to address these disparities and increase access to fair and equal lending opportunities for diverse entrepreneurs. 

Further, Venture Capital (VC) investment has historically been difficult for diverse entrepreneurs to access. Despite recent efforts to increase diversity in the industry, diverse  founders still face systemic barriers that limit their ability to secure VC funding. Some of these barriers include limited networks and access to social and financial capital, a shortage of investors supporting diverse investors and unconscious bias in the VC industry.


Our Business Model

SEED is able to drive revenue through multiple aspects of our ecosystem. Our team and family members are committed to driving revenue by onboarding compelling companies to raise through SEED while also serving as mentors and service providers given their deep experience. Within the family, there are bulge bracket bankers, patent attorneys, CPG and Tech executives, entrepreneurs with exits, and many other diverse professionals with deep experience looking to share their capabilities and network to our 3,000 users from varying walks of life. 

We source revenue from three different categories:

  • Community Capital Raising: This fee ranges from 5-7% of the total raise amount. When a company raises $100K in debt or equity through SEED, the firm receives $5-$7K in cash revenue.
  • Advisor Matching: We collect a fee of ¼ of the compensation amount (whether equity or cash) received by matching companies with board members and advisors.  
  • Service Matching: We also collect a fee of ¼ of the compensation amount received by matching service providers with users.


The Market

SEED is poised to be an industry leader with our unique focus on minority owned businesses in this rapidly growing space.

With the rise in the costs of traditional loans, more pre-revenue companies are looking for new avenues to raise capital to scale and grow their businesses. 

The US crowdfunding market is currently an estimated $5B with an anticipated 16.4% annual growth rate. 18% of US businesses are minority owned, with $900MM in untapped issuer potential. 

At the same time, the fastest growing consumer group in the United States is the multicultural market, which includes Hispanic, African American, Asian American and other ethnic and racial groups. According to recent data, the multicultural market is projected to represent over half of the U.S. population by 2044 and will have significant purchasing power, with projected spending of over $2 trillion by 2025. We at SEED are dedicated to addressing the challenges to capital access and providing services to accommodate the opportunity and needs presented by rapidly growing consumer market.


Forward-looking projections cannot be guaranteed.

Our Success and Projected Growth

Since 2021, we have amassed more than 3,000 users and we are on pace to double it given our transition from solely serving as an equity crowdfunding portal to a tech enabled ecosystem that leverages big data as means to better serve our user base. We are revenue generating and looking to onboard more issuing companies to further drive revenue growth with near term goals for profitability. 

Forward-looking projections cannot be guarant


Milestones and Use of Proceeds

Our goal is to continue to drive growth in both services and reach by investing in Technology, Marketing, People and Legal so that we can continue to serve as the primary resource destination for entrepreneurs and investors. 

Forward-looking projections cannot be guaranteed.


Our Team and Why We Are Different

The founding team is composed of individuals with top tier banking, law, tech, and marketing experiences. Our Head of Growth has a keen eye for portfolio diligence and financial engineering, while our Head of Technology has built systems that have gone on to have mergers & acquisitions exits. Our Head of Legal background sits perfectly at the intersection of finance, regulatory engagement and community, while our Head of Marketing has driven growth for some of the most notable brands ranging from fortune 100 to emerging companies that have later grown to behemoths. Lastly, our Heads of Issuer Marketing and Onboarding both have experience helping businesses navigate operational challenges and inserting growth hacks. All of our founding team members having a firm commitment to providing access to capital and resources.


Our Investors

SEED is a “Family” of 40 diverse professionals that understand that providing diverse founders access to capital will begin to address the inequities that these businesses face across various industries. Our “Family” members invest their own personal social capital to help to move forward our success. 

To date, SEED has raised $655K from notable accredited investors  & VC's, including Baron Davis, Anthony Tolliver and others.


Press

Check out our mentions in notable press sites, such as Shoppe Black, LA StartUps, AfroTech, Voyage LA, Black Enterprise and Essence.

Letters From our Issuers

Mitch founder of OYA Femtech Apparel

David co-founder of MacroBites

Rebekah founder of RowHouse Publishing


Additional Press

Meet DivInc’s Fall 2023 DWeb for Social Impact Tech Accelerator Cohort

10 Pieces of Advice from a Real Estate Entrepreneur

PL2 interview with Earn Your Leisure 2/15/2022

TGS full interview with Ryan Wilson, CEO

Us In Technology x SATT Webinar Registration

Essence Article

Amazon Blog

Experian

Rolling Out

RollCall

Black Enterprise

We look forward to welcoming you as investors and having you sit at our table.





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