Arch Grants, the St. Louis nonprofit that awards equity-free grants to startups, said Monday it is providing follow-on funding to four of its portfolio companies.
It has awarded $100,000 in funding to the four St. Louis-based startups through its Growth Grants program, which launched earlier this year and is designed to offer follow-on capital to Arch Grants’ portfolio companies. With the four additional companies, Arch Grants has now funded six companies with $600,000 through its Growth Grants program.
The Growth Grants program is an extension of Arch Grants’ annual startup competition, which gives $50,000 grants to early stage companies. To be eligible for Growth Grants funding, previous Arch Grants winners must still be operating in St. Louis and pledge to remain here for at least two years if awarded the follow-on capital.
The four companies winning Growth Grants are:
- Big Heart Tea Co. (a 2018 Arch Grants company): Founded by Lisa Govro, this woman-owned company makes and sells sustainable tea products. The company said it plans to use its funding to hire sales staff, attend trade shows and enhance its website for direct-to-consumer sales.
- Native Pet (a 2020 Arch Grants company): The startup, founded by Daniel Schaefer and Pat Barron, sells pet nutrition and supplement products. It plans to use its Arch Grants funding to target sales growth, new hires, and marketing and branding initiatives.
- Rebundle (a 2020 Arch Grants company); Founded by Ciara Imani May, Rebundle sells plant-based hair extensions. With its Arch Grants funding, it said it expects to grow with a larger manufacturing facility.
- Swipesum (a 2018 Arch Grants company): SwipeSum, founded by brothers Michael and Stephen Seaman, has created technology aimed at reducing credit card and debit card processing fees for companies. It said its funding will be used to expand its team and for software development efforts.
Arch Grants’ follow-on grants are nondilutive, but require startups to match the funding at least 2 to 1 by outside funding sources. For example, Native Pet said it is using its Growth Grant as part of a Series A financing round it is currently raising.
The Growth Grants cohort announced Monday by Arch Grants marks the second group of startups to win funding through its new program. In May, the nonprofit said St. Louis-based firms GiftAMeal and Provider Pool were the first companies to secure Growth Grants. Arch Grants plans to make the growth awards twice annually, with previous Arch Grants’ winners having the opportunity to apply for grants in the spring and fall. Companies can only win one Growth Grant.
Since its first startup competition in 2012, Arch Grants has funded 207 companies with $50,000 grants, including a record-high 34 companies in its 2021 class. Of those firms, 165 are still in business or have been acquired, with 87% of those active companies having operations in St. Louis.
