Last year in Q3 we reached an all-time seed activity high in NYC. This year, while deals are down 13% and total funding is down 21% YoY, the numbers are still at the highest they’ve been since that record-breaking Q3 2019 quarter.
With a sizeable 41% increase in deals and a modest 21% increase in dollars, average round sizes have fallen 14%. This is the lowest average seed round size since Q2 2019. While large seed rounds are still happening, this quarter there was an equal number of rounds in the $1–2.49M range as the $2.5–$6M range.
Industries to Watch
Hiring platforms step it up
The hiring process has always been difficult to not only manage hundreds of potential applicants but also to ensure you’re properly communicating and marketing the role. BrightHire understands this problem and is building an interview platform for hiring teams and people leaders to improve the interview experience. Welcome also raised this quarter, focusing on helping companies close strong candidates by streamlining offer creation for recruiting teams and providing transparency around total compensation for candidates.
Power to the creators
The passion economy continues to heat up as anyone can now earn a living through their interests, skills, and hobbies. Popshop Live’s mobile app allows people to create and host their own shopping channel, and Moxie is providing an all-in-one platform for personal trainers and fitness enthusiasts to host live classes and schedule new clients.
Worthwhile meetings
As COVID-19 has streamlined our communication online, it’s more important than ever to make virtual meetings more productive. KUDO is making it easier to run a remote, global team through multilingual web conferencing, and Undock wants to ease the pain of scheduling for multiple parties across time zones.
FemTech transcends age
Women’s health has long been underfunded and still represents only 4% of healthcare R&D. Companies like Elix, Aavia, and Stix are all taking different approaches to help women along their journey from the beginning of their menstrual cycle all the way through menopause.
Grow your business
Business in a box platforms are helping companies across different verticals better run their businesses. Wrapbook raised $3.6M to help handle the chaos of payroll and insurance in the entertainment industry. In the fashion world, CALA raised an additional $3M to help influencers and fashion brands design, manage, and launch their own clothing lines.
Grow your wealth
It’s always been tough to set up or manage a budget as many existing digital tools are difficult to navigate. Copilot and Esusu are looking to reinvent consumer personal finance with beautiful mobile apps that help you visualize your budget or build credit. On the education side, Archimedes has gamified ways to learn about different asset classes and how to invest in the stock market.
Primary NYC Seed Deal Report: Q3 2020
Reprinted by permission.
