Davis-based PairAnything Inc. has received a $100,000 investment from Techstars of Boulder, Colorado, an investor in pre-seed companies globally.
PairAnything will use the money to expand its networks and relationships with retailers, CEO Christy Serrato told the Business Journal.
“We are poised to grow,” Serrato said.
PairAnything launched with an artificial intelligence-backed website and a widget for small winery websites to suggest wine pairings. It has since added a growing segment that offers retailers a platform that allows their customers to find wines to match with recipe cards retailers offer their customers either as hard cards or as digital notifications.
The recipe cards can be accessed in-store, and are given as part of delivery and pick-up orders, Serrato said. Consumers access the wine pairing software using a QR code.
PairAnything’s technology platform is in use in one national retail chain, through a partnership with Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail consultant Technology Connections, Serrato said. She declined to name the retail chain.
PairAnything's relationship with Technology Connections also opens up sponsorship opportunities for wineries in the future, Serrato said.
PairAnything has three full-time employees and eight total employees working domestically, and it has a team of technologists in India. Serrato declined to disclose the company's revenue.
Serrato is currently entrepreneur in residence at FourthWave, a business accelerator program for female entrepreneurs. Serrato is a 2021 alumna of FourthWave.
The investment from Techstars is from its Rising Stars fund. It doesn’t require Serrato to go through the Techstars accelerator program.
“Going through an accelerator is very helpful. It is a structure to work through business problems, and it offers networking and connections,” she said, adding that she currently doesn’t have the bandwidth to go through another such program.
In addition to the funding, becoming a Techstars portfolio company gives PairAnything “access to a worldwide network for unparalleled mentorship and wider opportunities for growth.”
Techstars has invested in more than 8,600 founders, and Serrato said PairAnything is the first from the Sacramento area to get funded.
The company launched in 2019 after winning the UC Davis Big Bang! Business Competition for Food & Agricultural Innovation.
PairAnything was also a contestant in the 2020 Sacramento Kings Capitalize contest, a crowdsourced startup competition styled as a March Madness tournament for a $10,000 cash prize.
