A startup that offers college admissions guidance and counseling has some new funds to expand its business.
Empowerly Inc., which pairs aspiring college students with admissions experts, announced Tuesday it's raised $10 million in seed funding. The San Francisco startup plans to use the new money to expand its engineering and product teams.
"We are thrilled to kick off the new year with this new funding, which will help grow our team and create even more advanced products for our students to thrive," company co-founder Hanmei Wu said in the press announcement.
Empowerly's counselors can review students' college applications, edit their essays, offer them advice about the admissions process and financial aid, and can even help them figure out which college best matches their interests and needs. The company charges variable amounts depending on how frequently students meet with its experts.
Launched in 2018, Empowerly has already found an audience for its offerings. Thousands of students across the nation have used its service and it grew its revenue by six times last year, it said in its press release.
Here's more on its round and other seed funding news from around the Bay from the last week:
Zero Grocery Inc., Berkeley, $11.8 million: Sway Ventures led the round for this provider of a grocery and home goods delivery service that focuses on avoiding plastic packaging.
Empowerly Inc., San Francisco, $10 million: Goodwater Capital led the round for this provider of college admissions guidance and counseling services. FJ Labs, Scrum Ventures, Translink Capital, Azure Capital Partners, Spero Ventures, Thinkplus Ventures and Mentors Fund also invested.
StreetBeat LLC, Palo Alto, $10 million: TTV Capital led the round for this online brokerage. Seraph Group and AAF Management Ltd. also invested.
Onehouse, Menlo Park, $8 million: Greylock Partners and Addition invested in the round for this provider of a service which helps companies manage and connect their data stores.
Navier, San Francisco, $7.2 million: Global Founders Capital and Treble co-led the round for this developer of a hydrofoil electric boat. Next View Ventures, Liquid2 Ventures, Soma Capital and Precursor Ventures also invested.
Lover App Inc., San Mateo, $2 million: Lerer Hippeau, Manta Ray, Global Founders Capital and FJ Labs invested in this provider of sex therapy and advice.
Sleepedy Inc. (dba Dawn), San Francisco, $1.8 million: Kindred Ventures led the round for this provider of cognitive behavioral therapy services for insomniacs. The Runway Fund and Kevin Lin also invested.
