A Cincinnati-based angel capital group has made its latest investment, adding to its portfolio a local software-as-a-service startup.
Queen City Angels, a group of more than 120 accredited investors in the Cincinnati and surrounding region, announced this week it closed an investment with Joot, an up-and-coming regulation technology, or regtech, company with headquarters in Cincinnati. The two-year-old business applies automation and technology to improve the regulatory management process for small and medium-sized financial advisory firms.
The amount was not disclosed, but Joot said it plans to use the investment to fund product development and accelerate sales and marketing for its software-as-a-service platform.
Joot was co-founded in 2018 by CEO Bo Howell, a securities lawyer and former chief compliance officer for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and Alec Cheung, a B2B marketing veteran with fintech and financial services experience. Howell said in a release the company aims to apply technology in a way so people can do their jobs “better, faster and cheaper.”
“Many of the common activities compliance officers have to perform are still done via email, tracked via spreadsheets, and recorded in network folders or on personal hard drives,” Howell said. “Some compliance processes still require employees to print, sign and scan documents or turn in paper copies. In addition, many compliance officers have multiple roles in a firm and are looking for ways to be more efficient since compliance is not their primary job. I knew that there had to be a better way. This was the genesis of Joot.”
Queen City Angels was first introduced to Joot during a “morning mentoring,” or entrepreneurial coaching session co-hosted and managed by QCA and HCDC, a startup incubator in Southwest Ohio. The partnership grew from there, said Tony Shipley, founder, chairman and president of QCA. Cheung said the partnership with Queen City Angels will give the company access to expertise that will allow it to expand its network and reach across the region.
Joot has more than 45 clients around the U.S., including retail advisers, institutional managers, private fund managers and mutual fund advisers. Howell said the company is focused on short-term goals of completing the final phase of its product roadmap and accelerating its growth.
“The Joot team has tremendous industry experience and has charted an innovative course to disrupting a market that has been slow to adopt new technologies,” Shipley said. “We believe in the company, its leadership and its vision.”
Since 2000, members of Queen City Angels, which include former C-level executives and entrepreneurs, have directly invested $75 million in 100 portfolio companies, which include Cloverleaf, PopBase, IncludeHealth, Cladwell, Airway Therapeutics and more. The total capital invested in those companies – including QCA members’ capital, syndication partners’ capital, follow-on venture capital funds and venture debt – is in excess of $580 million, the group said.
