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The Big One: Feds zero in on troubled Cincy startup founder
The latest twist in the story of a Cincinnati startup founder being sued by his startup's own investors now involves the FBI preparing to take steps to seize the founder's home, which a lawsuit claims he purchased in a misuse of investor funds, according to Cincy Inno.
The U.S. government is looking to seize a $1.7 million Cincinnati-area home bought by Ben Cantey, the former CEO of Cincinnati tech startup Rumby, furthering claims it was purchased using stolen investor funds, according to a filing by U.S. Attorney Ken Parker and verified by Colin Malone, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation
The home in question is at the center of a lawsuit filed by Over-the-Rhine’s Refinery Ventures against Cantey, co-founder and former CEO of Rumby, a laundry and dry cleaning delivery startup. Refinery claimed Cantey paid himself large commissions using investor funds and fabricated the company’s financial data, among other allegations.
Read the full story in Cincy Inno here.
Startups to watch
- Atlanta electric vehicle charging startup EnviroSpark Energy Solutions recently raised $10 million from Frank Blake, The Home Depot's (NYSE: HD) former chairman and CEO; Chick-fil-A’s president and chief operating officer Tim Tassopoulos, and others. EnviroSpark designs and installs EV charging stations for real estate properties and governments with the goal of increasing accessibility. It has installed 5,800 chargers across North America.
- Charlotte-based dog bar and pet-services startup Skiptown raised more than $27 million in funding. The startup is a membership-model, dog care-services provider with an off-leash indoor and outdoor dog park, a full-service bar, dog daycare, overnight boarding, grooming and walking services.
- Poppi, a prebiotic soda maker in Austin, raised $25 million in a financing round. The consumer packaged goods company said it now has its products — which come in flavors such as cherry limeade and ginger lime that are meant to improve gut health — in more than 20,000 locations nationwide, and that revenue has grown 148% in the past year.
- Black Sheep Foods, a San Francisco startup developing a plant-based alternative to lamb meat, raised just over $12 million in new funding from a Series A round. To create its flagship lamb product, Black Sheep combines textured pea protein, high oleic sunflower oil, refined coconut oil and cocoa butter.
- Boston crypto startup Foundation Devices raised $7 million in new funding. Foundation sells a Bitcoin hardware wallet known as Passport and offers a mobile app, Envoy, as a digital sovereignty toolkit and Bitcoin software wallet.
- Boulder, Colorado-based Mad Capital offers flexible, long-term financing options for farmers to focus on regeneration and organic farming. The company announced that it raised $4 million in venture capital to help further its goal of financing 10 million acres of farmland by 2032.
- Washington, D.C. fintech company Wellthi raised $2.1 million in an oversubscribed seed round. The social finance software platform integrates with users’ banking apps, allowing users to set financial goals with friends and family members and also find groups of people with similar interests working toward the same financial goals.
- Santa Barbara, California-based Beni created an AI-powered browser extension that intercepts online shopping searches and directs users to the same products on resale marketplaces. It shows shoppers the best resale listings while they shop for their favorite brands online, and recently raised $4 million.
- Nashville-based Stony Creek Colors makes dyes entirely from plants as a replacement for synthetic dyes. The company, which recently raised over $7 million, has worked with brands such as Wrangler, Lucky Brand, J. Crew and Patagonia.
- Seattle-based cybersecurity company Protect AI recently launched out of stealth with a $13.5 million seed round. The company protects machine learning and artificial intelligence technology.
- V15able, a St. Louis startup, has created an online platform connecting employers to disabled job candidates. The V15able platform is tailored to disabled workers, allowing them to create profiles that detail their disabilities, qualifications and accommodations they need for accessibility to do their jobs.
- A Milwaukee-based software startup started by two formerly incarcerated individuals raised $400,000. The Way Out is an anti-bias employment platform that connects employers with job seekers who were formerly incarcerated. It also connects justice-impacted individuals with re-entry service providers, training programs and transportation.
Weird and Wired: A "Love is Blind" update
Caught season 3 of "Love is Blind" and wondering what SK is up to? Well he's working to become a VC. SK, who's full name is SK Alagbada, spoke to Bay Area Inno about his plans. He's currently attending UC Berkeley Haas to pursue an MBA with a focus on venture capital. He co-chairs the university's Launch Accelerator for startups and helps lead the organization's strategy and fundraising efforts.
