Stackfolio, an online marketplace that aims to optimize loan trading, won the Judges’ Favorite award at the 2017 Google Demo Day, a pitch event that puts startups in front of top investors from all over the country. Competing against 12 other North American startups, the TechSquare Labs portfolio company caught the eye of investor and AOL co-founder Steve Case during the competition. Case has committed to invest 20 percent of Stackfolio’s next round, making him an impressive addition to a team that already boasts local serial entrepreneurs Allen Nance and Paul Judge.
“We are excited about the prospect of Steve joining our team,” says CEO Pavleen Thukral. “The main thing is that we’re tackling a huge opportunity that changes our industry’s landscape. Steve is used to being called crazy, and executing well enough to do that at massive scale. The mindset is unique and hard to find. I’m very excited to learn from that. And obviously, the credibility Steve’s support brings is priceless.”
Case, who served as a Demo Day judge for the fourth year in a row, pledged to invest $100,000 in every participating company if they could muster $1 million of fundraising in 100 days. But with this promise, Stackfolio stands to earn even more depending on the size of their next round.
Nance also invested an additional $150K in the startup to contribute to the current round.
Stackfolio was chosen to pitch at the elite Google Demo Day based on nominations by Google teams and partners within the Google for Entrepreneurs Partner Network, of which TechSquare Labs has been part of since last year.
“We put a lot of time and preparation into our pitch,” says Thukral. “We probably went through at least 3 complete redos and 10 revisions. And we practiced a LOT. Atlanta entrepreneur and investor feedback was critical.”
Stackfolio provides a platform to help banks, small and large, make more effective trading decisions on a national level with the help of analytics. The platform offers tiers (with fees based on asset size) that provide tailored recommendations based on machine learning, full data access, transaction simulations, and more.
Stackfolio’s client roster has grown to over 450 banks across 44 states, with almost $100M in loans listed on their marketplace since its launch in December. Thukral hopes to expand their new client base even further with these new funds.
“Our current round will be used to expand our development team and extend our sales distribution both through new partners and team members,” says Thukral.
The Southeast was well represented at the West Coast-based Demo Day with startups, ranging from robotics, AI, software, and marketing, helming from Durham, NC; Nashville, TN; and of course, Atlanta.
