The Allen Angel Capital Education Program's portfolio currently consists of the following companies:
AACE made a $50,000 equity investment in Pure Blue Tech, a company specializing in a self-cleaning membrane for effective water generation and reuse in industrial and municipal water filtration. AACE entered the scene during Pure Blue Tech's $2 million series seed preferred round in March 2023, when the company was valued at $8 million pre-money. Since then, Pure Blue Tech has made significant strides, completing industrial prototypes and validating mid-scale versions. Additionally, the company secured new patents and exclusive licenses, bagged a $1.6 million government contract, and garnered $5 million in commercial interest for their pipeline.
Neuro Rehab VR is developing innovative software for VR physical therapy, complemented by video conferencing tools to facilitate in-home physical therapy sessions. Their focus is on crafting engaging, motivating, and enjoyable virtual training exercises designed for both physical and emotional therapy, harnessing the latest breakthroughs in neuroplasticity. AACE showed confidence in their potential by investing $50,000 in the company's seed round back in 2021. Since then, Neuro Rehab VR has made significant strides, achieving $750,000 in cumulative sales and is currently on a trajectory to reach $1.2 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR). Notably, the company successfully raised $900,000 in a Pre-Series A bridge round in 2023, securing a Phase I Air Force contract along with other promising prospective opportunities.
AACE originally invested $50,000 in the preferred stock of RNAgri, which was later acquired by TechAccel’s subsidiary, RNAissance Ag, and converted the Fund’s shares to common stock at a favorable ratio. RNAissance Ag is an ag biotechnology startup creating RNAi-based insecticides for crop protection. The company is focused on developing a sprayable bio pesticide effective for insect pests that previously were considered resistant to RNAi. They specialize in organic pesticides used against moths, which are deadly to many leafy plants.
PADL is a self-service paddleboard, bike, and kayak rental and lesson company based out of Key Biscayne, Florida. Users can download their app on their smartphone, find a solar-powered PADL station, and rent a GPS-equipped paddleboard, bike, or kayak for their adventure. Since AACE’s $50,000 investment in the Spring of 2021, PADL has rapidly expanded outside of Florida and is now operating 40 locations, with plans to reach over 250 by the end of the year. The company has recently kicked off a Series A fundraising round to fund further expansion.
AACE invested equity in Perseverance Holdings (GRIT), who provides a construction project management software that utilizes VR to cut waste and drive large cost savings to general contractors and subcontractors. In 2020, Construxiv (CXv) acquired GRIT’s assets and GRIT changed its name to Perseverance Holdings. CXv itself is an early-stage software business and this acquisition allows GRIT the opportunity to develop beyond their previous limits, acting as an integral part of CXv’s get-to-market strategy.
Based in St. Louis, Greetabl operates an e-commerce site that bridges the gap between sending a card and buying an expensive gift for someone. Ranging from $20-$50 per gift, Greetabl will send a personalized gift box to the customer’s recipient of choice while maintaining a high contribution margin. In 2017, we invested $30,020 for an even 2000 shares in their series II funding of $1.5 million total. In 2022, Greetabl was acquired by a private investor.
The AACE Fund invested $50,000 of equity in SwineTec, an animal health technology company that offers advanced management solutions to pork producers around the world. They create solutions to reduce the number of pigs that die from diseases, lameness, starvation, and piglet crushing. The introduction of properly integrated advanced management systems and sensor-based technologies allows farmers to significantly improve the welfare, sustainability, and productivity of swine facilities. Since AACE invested $50,000 in 2020, the company has had some major successes. They’ve increased the number of animals in their pipeline to 85,490, putting them at a 94% retention rate.
Elemental Enzymes Ag and Turf, is a life sciences company that discovers, develops and produces innovative products to increase crop yields. The company addresses the agriculture market with enzyme and chemical technologies that have an “outside in” approach to address crop needs. AACE Invested $30,000 for 3,000 shares back in 2012, and sold 2,200 shares yielding a 6.2x return. The remaining 800 shares were valued at $50,000 back in 2018. Since then, Elemental Enzymes started its partnership with Nutrients Ag Solutions in March 2021, has expanded its workforce to 46 employees, and continues to grow very rapidly. In May 2023, we had a partial exit, selling 700 of the 800 remaining shares.
Bellwethr is a no-code AI system with the purpose of increasing sales and customer retention, and with their system, companies are able to easily identify patterns across customer lifecycles, enabling them to improve sales cycles and customer retention rates. Since AACE’s investment in the Fall of 2018, Bellwethr has continued to show strong progress by fine tuning the funnels to improve conversions and expand outbound touchpoints. In 2022, Bellwethr acquired RetentionEngine (Retextion) and in 2023 merged with Stay Ai, announcing a $15.1 million Series A round.
Kremenak NanoTech, Inc. (KNT) is a nanotechnology company that creates nanotexture enhanced surface solutions for licensed manufacturers. Their technology (UBam) is the first reusable nano-spiky surface coating that physically ruptures bacteria and does not promote bacterial resistance. They plan to implement this technology in the HealthCare sector to combat HAIs. Since our $50,000 investment in early 2021, Kremenak has been testing its technology to be effective against SARS-Cov-2 virus. It now counts a total of 8 employees and has diversified from the product’s original black color to dark blue and gray. In 2022, they announced a pivot to beverage producers, opening doors to a new market with room to scale.
Impetus Ag is a developer of bi-specific plant-based proteins designed to protect plants from harmful insects. The company offers proteins that improve the crop yield by linking antibodies present within plant bodies using Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) technology, enabling farmers to have food crops that will combat the growing number of insects resistant to current commercial products and enhance the durability of products. AACE invested $50,000 in preferred equity of Impetus Ag’s Seed round in the Spring of 2021. In 2023, they raised a $4.85 million round to catalyze R&D on a new topical spray-on product.