Two Birmingham startups are poised for additional growth after completing fundraising rounds in late July.
Vendrix, a company that offers cards and software to help companies manage spending and budgets, raised $575,000 in a funding round led by investment firm Accelerated Partners.
Also, WineView, which is building an augmented reality app that helps users shop for and select wine, secured a pre-seed raise of $275,000.
Vendrix Co-Founder Joe Turner said the company plans to use the funding to hire three to five people as well as make product enhancements. He said the company is looking to get more involved in its target market and in the construction industry with plans to grow naturally over the next six to 12 months. Vendrix Co-Founder David Stewart said the company plans to launch a Series A round in the next nine to 12 months.
“We just felt that it was the right time because we are starting to pick up customers, and it was only two of us a month or so ago, so we’ve brought someone else on,” Turner said. “We really just have to be able to serve these customers that we’re bringing on the platform. It’s time to grow, and we needed a little bit of capital to do that.”
The company launched in January 2021 and was on the market for around six months. During that time, it acquired 11 enterprise customers with collective total spending power on the Vendrix platform of more than $17 million annually.
WineView also has growth goals with plans to use its funds to bring on a front-end developer and an intern. The startup will soon look to onboard a sales team and a vice president.
The app enables users to choose wine by answering questions to see what wine will pair best with the occasion or meal. Users can also hover over bottles on the app to see information about the wine.
Founder Gary Campbell said the company is looking to sign on restaurants for a pilot program over the next few months with a beta version – or trial run – of the app being released soon.
The startup decided in April to make Birmingham its headquarters after working with the Birmingham Bound program. Campbell said he felt the amount raised was adequate for the current stage of the company and the product, but leaders plan to start a seed round in February or March 2022.
“One of the key reasons that we chose Birmingham, other than the tech ecosystem developing really quickly here, is I think the community is really primed for it,” Campbell said. “I’ve been told multiple times, and I’ve actually seen (it): you guys are definitely a foodie town ... Pre-seed was a huge milestone for us, and we’re just excited to be here and to grow in Birmingham.”
