Carpe DM Companies to Watch - Social SX & Esker Beauty

This week we have some real exciting news to report on some previously featured companies we covered in earlier newsletters.

Social SX – Co-founder Valerie Brown

This is an exciting startup that is getting significant traction (78,000+ signups) for its beta. Social SX is a platform designed to help professionals and consumers navigate and find the right medical information and services for them. The platform will let consumers create profiles and show their success. They will have easy access to an appointment setting platform, support groups, and medical information in an easy to navigate platform. For the professionals they’ll be able to verify the licenses, showcase their services, have a simple appointment setting tool at their disposal and reach 1000s of potential customers. The company is currently raising $1MM in a seed round. If you’d like their pitch deck please feel free to email me or reach out to Valerie on Twitter at @HonortheV

Esker Beauty – Founder Shannon Davenport

Esker is a premium bodycare brand helping consumers turn their bathrooms into self-care headquarters. Their body oils, washes, and tools are part of a head-to-toe wellness regimen that brings care and attention to the skin below the neck. They have been getting some excellent traction and have done an excellent job navigating the pandemic to continue their growth

· Revenue: 75% eCommerce + 25% wholesale, with a 3x ROAS and $20.42 CAC. With an AOV of $61, they are profitable on the first purchase.

· Current wholesale accounts include Net-a-porter, Free People, Standard Dose, and Verishop.

· Bootstrapped to $450K in revenue in 2020 and cash positive. No outside capital has been raised to date.

· Strong DTC performance, with average margins of 80% and a healthy conversion rate of over 3.5%.

The Company is looking to raise its first outside fund. Here is a link to their presentation.

Good News from Previous Companies Covered

Soona Studios just raised $10.2 M in a series A and will be expanding their services. Great job by Liz Giorgi and her team. Here’s a link to an article announcing their success.

Mac Conwell of Rarebreed.VC was featured in a recent article and has currently raised $3.5M for his fund. You can still join Rarebreed and be an LP. Talk to Mac, you’ll be impressed.

Saki Dodelson, CEO of Beable is a winner in the EdTech Digest 2021 Awards – taking home the prestigious EdTech Leadership Award for CEO/Founder. This is an incredibly well-deserved accolade. Saki has dedicated the past 20+ years to turning ed-tech into a transformative force for equity and achievement in education. Our congratulations to Saki and to all the winners.