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Amid a challenging time for startups seeking investments, a Clarence company has secured a follow-on investment and a state grant.
CaHill Tech, a woman-led business that’s developed a mobile training tool for companies and workers in the construction industry, is in the midst of raising a bridge funding round between its seed and Series A round.
Founder Carley Hill is targeting a $1 million round and aims to launch CaHill’s Series A raise mid next year. The startup has "soft committments" for about half of the targeted bridge round amount.
“Just the way the market was, I felt like it’d be wiser to sit back and keep growing the company before we go to the negotiating table,” she said.
The local startup has secured a $250,000 bridge round contribution from repeat investor Western New York Impact Investment Fund, according to a press release. CaHill closed late last year a $1 million seed round.
WNY Impact Investment Fund, which aims to put money into startups with commercial potential that are also making a positive impact on the community, has raised $12.55 million in its second fund.
The bridge funding will go toward building out the company’s software team and accelerating CaHill’s sales process by freeing up Hill’s time to be at events, presenting the product and building relationships.
The business expects to add three staff members – a client success specialist, full-stack developer and executive assistant for Hill – to its team of 13 by year end.
In 2024, she aims to scale CaHill’s number of users from 5,000 to 20,000, thereby increasing annual recurring revenue.
The startup also this summer secured a $750,000 grant from the state’s office of strategic workforce development’s pay performance program. The non-dilutive funding will support CaHill in developing aQuiRe Academy, a technology tool for the top of the workforce funnel.
The business recently inked a $50,000 deal with the state Department of Transportation’s Office of Diversity and Opportunity that will introduce community-based organizations like refugee job placement centers, youth work centers and prison-to-work programs in Central New York to aQuire, CaHill’s flagship training product for the construction industry.
It "gives us the opportunity to continue to grow and also establish a nice product line designed for the top of the funnel versus companies with employees,” she said.
Currently, four organizations are using CaHill’s technology, but Hill expects that number to grow to 12 to 15 by spring 2024.
“CaHill is a team of hard-charging innovators who are building a world-class technology company in Western New York,” Tom Quinn, CEO of the impact fund, said in the release. “Their new product will have a deep impact in our hometown by launching people from low-income communities into meaningful careers.”
CaHill Tech is the eighth local company to acknowledge a private, growth-oriented round of funding this year. The list includes Azuna ($3 million), Immunaeon ($600,000), Latte ($100,000), Aerovec ($178,000), CleanFiber ($6.7 million), HELIXintel ($11 million), Arbol ($350,000) and CaHill Tech ($250,000).