D.C.’s MassLight Inc., a 22-year-old software firm that invests in early-stage startups, has a handful of new ventures in its portfolio — including some familiar names.
The company spent five years building apps for startup founders in exchange for equity. But over the last year, “demand became so great that we fully standardized the terms and launched the cohort-based program,” CEO Daniel Abrams told us.
That virtual accelerator backs a handful of founders from across the country twice a year — and deploys a team of engineers to build and launch products for them. And it just locked in its latest cohort.
That group includes D.C.’s Wellfound Foods, whose cloud-connected vending machines dispense prepared foods in universities, hospitals and businesses throughout the region. The company, led by founder and CEO Sarah Frimpong, has evolved since its 2013 founding, most recently with a pandemic pivot to the current “smart fridge” model.
MassLight’s involvement will help Wellfound as its team looks to streamline its operations and improve the guest experience, Frimpong said in an email Tuesday. “In a short time, they’ve proved to be a key partner in our growth plans for 2022.”
MassLight’s new cohort also includes District startup Goodshuffle Inc., led by co-founder and CEO Andrew Garcia, whose software tracks inventory and automates sales for businesses in the events space. The platform went live in 2018, after the then-3-year-old company shifted away from equipment rentals.
MassLight is an existing investor — and Goodshuffle represents its only follow-on investment in this cohort, Abrams said. To date, MassLight has invested about $600,000 in the D.C. company “over several rounds,” he said.
The cohort also comprises:
- D.C.’s Venture Raise Inc., whose tech platform connects startups with investment opportunities
- German renewable energy company Endeema, MassLight’s first investment outside of the U.S.
- New York research publishing marketplace Colaboratory
MassLight’s accelerator — which accepts less than 2% of the entrepreneurs that apply — serves startups across stages, from “idea” ($15,000 for 3% equity) to “discovery” ($35,000 for 6% equity) to “build” ($100,000 for 20% equity). The five companies in its current cohort each received “at least” $100,000, according to MassLight, as well as a product development team. That typically includes a technical architect, software engineers and quality assurance staff — and, depending on each startup’s needs, may include user interface design, a marketing plan, cybersecurity engineers, financial modeling, technical sales support and investor introductions, according to Abrams.
The 50-person firm has also invested in maternal health app Pacify, now part of Arlington’s Advantia Health, as well as a few others.
MassLight started building apps for companies in exchange for equity “when we realized there was a large pool of underserved founders who had deep domain experience in a vertical market but didn’t have access to traditional sources of capital or engineering talent,” Abrams said. “These founders had everything they needed to be successful if given the right support. They could define and sell a product, they just couldn’t build it themselves. They often come from nontraditional backgrounds. These are the founders we target.”
MassLight continually accepts applications to fill future cohorts. Founders can apply here.
The program comes amid growing efforts across the region to close the gap in access to capital, as women and founders of color raise significantly less in venture dollars than their white male counterparts. It also follows the cherry on top of a wild year for fundraising among D.C.-area startups.
