A locally based fintech platform got a Launch NY investment to fuel its growth.
Diadem Capital, a platform that connects founders to venture capital and other types of early-stage funding, recently received a $115,000 pre-seed investment, according to a press release.
The deal is the first investment to come out of Launch NY Seed Fund II LP, which is a for-profit limited partner fund that supports startups in western and upstate New York. Launch NY is a nonprofit venture development organization in Upstate New York that has several investment vehicles including a nonprofit fund, a for-profit limited partner fund and a network of investors who will consider deals on an individual basis.
The LP fund accounted for $65,000 of the investment to Diadem and $50,000 came from nonprofit Launch NY Seed Fund LLC.
A previous fund, called Launch NY’s Seed Fund I LP raised $5.425 million from 73 accredited investors and, over four years, backed 55 businesses.
Seed Fund I saw its first exit earlier this year with the sale of Patient Pattern.
Wall Street veterans Stephanie Rieben and Joe Hammill launched Diadem in January 2022 to bring the efficiency of the trading floor to the startup fundraising space. CEO Rieben is based in New York City and Hammill, COO, moved home to Buffalo during the pandemic.
The business has facilitated 17 deals totaling $55 million in funding, from seed to Series B rounds.
The startup has had more than 1,200 companies seeking its services over the past 21 months.
The company is in the process of closing a larger pre-seed round with Launch NY as the lead investor, according to the release. Diadem expects to use the funds to continue building out its platform, hire a support specialist to manage the founder pipeline and launch integrated marketing efforts.
“Our automated solution streamlines the fundraising process for startup founders, with a proven track record of helping deals go from pitch to close,” Hammill said in the release. “That means they have more time and energy to actually run their company, focusing on the execution of their growth strategies.”
Diadem Capital is the 11th local company to acknowledge a private, growth-oriented round of funding this year. The list includes Azuna ($3 million), Immunaeon ($600,000), Latte ($100,000), Aerovec ($178,000), CleanFiber ($6.7 million), HELIXintel ($11 million), Arbol ($350,000), CaHill Tech ($250,000), FoodNerd ($1 million), LenderLogix ($500,000) and Diadem Capital ($115,000).
