Music and visualizations go hand-in-hand. And a Richmond startup that blends color and sound in its music education and creation platform is ready to write its next tune now that it has landed new financial backing.
Light The Music, an edtech platform and app company, announced Tuesday it has raised $250,000 in convertible debt funding. It plans to use the investment to expand its products and services to national markets this year.
The news caps off a high tempo couple years for the local startup.
The roots of the music tech and edtech company were formed when CEO and former rock band member Steve Van Dam developed a music app called ORO Visual Music back in 2016 along with Craig Honeycutt. The app helps people mix rhythms and build their own tunes with content from their favorite songs.
But the app found new life when Van Dam realized how useful it was in a classroom setting at Faison School, which provides education for children on the autism spectrum. That led the company to develop a music education program that has become its core offering to schools -- from preschool through high school.
The app features 120-plus looping instruments and blends sounds with visuals, and its platform has 50-plus challenges, session ideas and tracking tools. It also has a recording production and coding program for high school students.
It was selected to be part of Lighthouse Labs’ fall 2019 cohort, and has continued to grow since.
“Through Lighthouse Labs and Startup VA, we were able to expand and focus our team, and we saw immediate gains in sales and revenue,” Van Dam said in a prepared statement. “We’re now well positioned for growth in our mission of bringing music education to underserved programs, as we move into national markets in 2020.”
