Hello Alice, a machine learning platform that connects small business owners to capital and business services, has raised $21 million in a Series B funding round led by boutique venture capital firm QED Investors.
Backstage Capital, Green Book Ventures, Harbert Growth Partners, and How Women Invest also participated in the funding round that will further support Hello Alice’s efforts to serve more small business owners as they emerge from the pandemic.
The startup, founded by Carolyn Rodz and Elizabeth Gore, is a free, multichannel platform that helps businesses launch and grow. It has a community of nearly 500,000 business owners in all 50 states and across the globe.
Its partners include enterprise business services, government agencies, and institutions looking to serve small- and medium-sized business owners.
In a statement, Hello Alice said the $21 million Series B raise further supports its mission to foster opportunity for all business owners, including people of color, women, men, immigrants, LGBTQ+ owners, veterans, owners with disabilities, and everyone with an entrepreneurial spirit.
“These investments signal that despite the recent challenges small business owners have faced, there is an economic tidal wave that will revitalize Main Street, led by the entrepreneurs we serve,” said Elizabeth Gore, the company’s co-founder and president.
In the past 18 months, Hello Alice has achieved over 1,100% growth and now serves nearly 500,000 small business owners weekly, while increasing revenues by over 600% through their SaaS offering.
With this raise, Hello Alice continues to lead as the primary platform to access capital for SMBs, while ensuring that those traditionally left out of growth capital are now fully included and nurtured towards successful capitalization.
“We are thrilled to have a cap table as diverse as the business owners we serve,” said Carolyn Rodz, co-founder and CEO of Hello Alice.
According to the most recent Impact Report from Hello Alice and GGV Capital, small business owners are heading into 2021 with remarkable optimism. While pandemic burdens have been disproportionately felt by members of the New Majority, 83% of owners surveyed believe their business will perform better in 2021 than in 2020.
