Profitable growth is pretty rare to come by in the early stage startup world. This is the story of our portfolio company WithMe which provides printing and coffee amenity solutions to the multi-family real estate market.
I first met WithMe Founder & CEO Jonathan Treble while visiting Chicago in April of 2019. During our initial meeting, I immediately knew I wanted to invest in the founder and vision. I then spoke with one of their earliest customers based in Chicago CA Ventures, who confirmed my initial interest when they explained their decision to replace all printers across their student housing locations with WithMe’s kiosk solution. We closed our investment not too long after this initial meeting alongside other notable VCs which had previously invested such as M25, Network Ventures, and New Stack Ventures…
Here is what WithMe looked like back in April 2019-
- Product- The initial product, PrintWithMe, was a self-service printing kiosk.You could describe the model as ‘RedBox for printing’ where individuals could handle their own printing needs.
- Traction-
- PrintWithMe was installed in approximately 700 locations, primarily in independent coffee shops with a handful of early multi-family customers.
- WithMe was losing money.
- Team Size- 15 employees
In 2020, WithMe started turning a profit, using their cash flow to fund continued growth since then.
Now let’s look at where WithMe is at today, March 2024-
- Product- In addition to the original PrintWithMe product, WithMe has successfully launched a new product, SipWithMe, a coffee self-service kiosk.
- Traction-
- WithMe’s products are now installed at 4,200 locations!
- Revenue is 15 times greater than back in 2019.
- WithMe is profitable.
- Team Size- 70 employees
How has Jonathan and the WithMe team been able to achieve capital efficient growth? Three takeaways from my podcast interview with Jonathan from back in 2021- Execution is King: Jonathan Treble, PrintWithMe (libsyn.com)
- Adaptability in Ideal Customer Profile- WithMe initially partnered with a few hundred independent coffee shops to place their PrintWithMe kiosks in. Although this segment was performing okay, the multi-family apartment segment turned out to be a much better segment to target. Jonathan and the early WithMe team had the foresight to change market segments when their initial beachhead market was turning out to not be an ideal fit. This turned out to be a key factor contributing to their success.
- Past Experience Scaling At GrubHub- Back in 2013, Jonathan was in the 50-100 person product & tech team at the pre-IPO GrubHub. Jonathan credits part of WithMe’s success to him having seen what scale looks like across different functional areas from his time at GrubHub.
- Recruitment Process- It’s pretty clear in talking with Jonathan that once he found product-market fit within the multi-family market, he became deeply focused on scaling his team efficiently. This as it turns out, it is quite challenging for many startups to consistently recruit and retain top talent at the pace needed to support the growth of their business. Jonathan developed WithMe’s recruitment processes after melding ideas he captured from books like Recruit Rockstars. Jonathan and the team at WithMe have not been willing to settle when it comes to adding new team members.
Congrats to Jonathan and the whole WithMe team on their amazing, capital efficient growth! The WithMe story is far from being complete, yet it is already truly an inspiring one.
The Inc. 5000 List is Inc. Magazine’s data-driven list of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. Companies are ranked according to revenue growth from 2018 to 2021. To qualify, a company must have been generating revenue by March 31, 2018.
Congratulations to three of our portfolio companies, Branch, Dispatch, and WithMe (formerly known as PrintWithMe) for making the Inc. 5000 List! Being recognized is an honor and we are proud of each of these teams. Their execution has proven itself. All 2022 Inc. 5000 companies combined, the total revenue reached $317.6 billion, the median growth was 230%, and 1,179,282 jobs were created.
#220 Branch is a mobile-first technology that helps hourly workers get ahead financially. Over the last seven years, CEO and founder Atif Siddiqi has seen tremendous success. The team’s hard work has resulted in exponential growth over the past three years hitting 2,417% revenue growth. In 2016, Branch relocated from Los Angeles to Minneapolis after being 1 of 10 companies chosen for the Techstars+Target accelerator program. Expanding into Fintech in 2019, they became the first earned wage access provider to make EWA free. Domino’s was a crucial partnership in 2020, providing their employees with same-day, cashless payment of tips, mileage reimbursement, and wages. In August 2021, Branch secured a funding partnership with NB worth 500M to continue growing their EWA and payment solutions business. In March 2022, they raised an additional $75M in a Series C funding round. Celebrating yet another milestone two weeks ago with the introduction of the new Uber Pro Card powered by Branch which transforms the driver experience with new payment innovations, rewards and tools. Branch is pioneering innovation in Fintech and we are excited for the milestones to come.
#671 Dispatch is a business-to-business delivery platform for the industrial distribution segment. Dispatch has been on the media’s radar since their start. CNBC did not miss a beat when they recognized Dispatch in their article, 100 of the World’s Most Promising Startups to Watch in 2019. Dispatch rose to the occasion with 935% growth during the past three years. Forbes took notice and ranked them 5th on America’s 10 Best Startup Employers 2020. The company was ranked #6 again in 2021. From 2019 to 2020, they expanded their national reach to 30 U.S. markets. Raised an $11.15 million Series B funding round in July of 2020 while also receiving an Inno-on-Fire Award. In January 2021, the company launched a new SaaS product–Dispatch Connect, an enterprise delivery management software with real-time delivery updates, automatic updating digital delivery routes, overflow management and other features. CEO, Andrew Leone, was a 2021 E&Y Entrepreneur Of The Year Finalist!
#1,371 WithMe is the parent company of PrintWithMe and SipWithMe. Their mission is centered on bringing high-quality convenience to you, whenever you need it. PrintWithMe is a self-serve, wireless printer station. SipWithMe is an innovative and cost-effective way to serve locally roasted premium coffee. Both companies can be found nationwide in retailers, co-working spaces, apartment buildings and more. WithMe experienced 471% revenue growth between 2018 and 2021. 2021 was a critical year for them, WithMe became the parent brand of PrintWithMe and they launched SipWithMe. They also attended 2022 NAA Apartmentalize. We eagerly await the new spaces that WithMe transforms with their unmatched convenience
Most of our portfolio companies are growing very rapidly, but some of the ones that likely would have been ranked very high on this list had they participated would be FactoryFix, SiteKick, Parallax, Inhabitr, and Quicklly. They are all serving fast growing markets with major tailwinds which has led to their explosive growth. FactoryFix is a talent platform that connects manufacturing businesses with skilled workers. At the start of the year, it announced a $10M Series A financing. SiteKick, a streamlined construction management software was recognized on the 2022 BuiltWorlds Smart Jobsites 50 Top List! Parallax is a workforce planning solution using predictive analytics to deliver a shared perspective around resource supply and demand for professional service organizations. Inhabitr, uses AI to make furniture subscription cheaper than owning. Quicklly, an Indian and South Asian grocer has expanded their partnership with Instacart to deliver Indian pantry staples in as fast as an hour. We are proud of the work of our portfolio companies and continue to celebrate all of their wins!
Career opportunities: Branch | Dispatch | WithMe | FactoryFix | SiteKick | Parallax | Inhabitr | Quicklly
April Newsletter
June Newsletter
Demystifying Startup HR
Head of Finance & Fund Administration- Venture Capital Firm (Remote)
Demystifying Startup HR
3 Portfolio Companies Make Inc. 5000 + Quicklly & Instacart Expand
iraLogix closes $22M + Branch expands with Uber
iraLogix closes $22M Series C
Flywheel lands Gates Foundation grant
Venture Capital Analyst
Orazio Buzza, Founder and CEO of Fooda – on Episode 13, “Execution is King”
$40M Fund II Raised!
Eric Martell, Founder of Pear Commerce: Episode 13, Execution is King
Great North Ventures Raises $40 Million Fund II
Investment Thesis: Fund II Strategy
Investment Theme: Community-Driven Applications
Investment Theme: Digital Transformation Through AI
Investment Theme: Solving Labor Problems
Trends in the Gig Economy + Work in the Metaverse
Portfolio raises $125M + talking fundraising with Branch CEO
Omnia Fishing closes $4M round, joins Great North portfolio!
Atif Siddiqi, Founder/CEO of Branch: Episode 11, Execution is King
Michael Martocci, CEO and Founder of SwagUp: Episode 10, Execution is King
Yardstik new to portfolio, closes $8M Series A
First venture studio startup comes out of stealth!
Insights for founders from a data guru, + FactoryFix raises a Series A!
Una Fox: Episode 9, Execution is King
Start With a Mobile App, Not a Website
2ndKitchen acquired by SoftBank-backed REEF + advice from an early Googler
Joe Sriver, 4giving: Episode 8, Execution is King
2ndKitchen Acquired by REEF
Venture studio startup jobs + advice for founders from founders
Best Advice from the Great North Annual Event: Episode 7, Execution is King
Newsletter: Do you fit our investing themes?
Jonathan Treble, PrintWithMe: Episode 6, Execution is King
Anna Mason, Revolution: Episode 5, Execution is King
Mynul Khan, FieldNation: Episode 4, Execution is King
Nick Moran, New Stack Ventures: Episode 3, Execution is King
Molly Pyle, Center on Rural Innovation (CORI): Episode 2, Execution is King
Justin Kaufenberg, Rally Ventures: Execution is King Episode 1
Newsletter: “Podcast Launched: Execution is King!”
“Execution is King” – the Great North Ventures Podcast
Newsletter: Fund II is open for business!
Unlocking the Potential of Anonymized Commercial Real Estate (CRE) Data
Fund II is open for Business!
Mike Schulte Promoted to Venture Partner
New Name + New Venture Studio
Great North Launches Startup Studio
We Don’t Need No [full-time MBA] Education
How the University of Minnesota is Embracing Startup Culture
Top Stories of 2020, iraLogix, and LaunchMN Calls for Mentors
Building Capacity for Innovation
Seizing Opportunity in a Recession, Allergy Amulet, and Twin Cities Startup Week
Recessionary times, a record-setting IPO, and Minnesota’s Resilient Startups
Minnesota's Resilient Startups
July 4th, Equitable American Dream-ing, and Robots Diagnosing COVID
Jumpstart, the Startup School, and Branch Wins a Webby!
COVID-19 Trends, the Great North response, and our Founders Survey
Giving in the Time of Coronavirus
COVID-19 Resources for Startups, State-by-State
COVID-19, the CARES Act, and startups stepping up
New Business Preservation Act
Digital Future Boardroom, PartySlate, and The Lean Startup School
Great North Labs’s Startup Summit 2020
Great North Labs's Startup Summit 2020
World Economic Forum, NoiseAware, and the Startup School reboot
Great North Labs at the World Economic Forum 2020 in Davos
Top 5 Stories of 2019
Taking the Founders Pledge, Inhabitr, and gBETA Pitch Night
Founders Pledge: Support the Organizations that Support You
BETA Showcase, Greater MN, and Launch MN comes to St. Cloud
7 Places to Spot Us at Startup Week
The Greater MN Meetup, Parallax, and Exponential Medicine
Greater MN at the big show, Neela Mollgaard heads Launch MN, and Misty’s roadtrip.
Talking VC, tech kids, and Forge North’s Horizon
June: Great North Labs’s first fund raised!
May: Innovation Ecosystems, SingularityU Kickoff, and PrintWithMe
April: Minnebar Recap, ZenLord Pro, and Supporting Entrepreneurs
MinneBar 14 Recap
Dispatch and 2ndKitchen claim Tech Madness titles
Minnesota Innovation Collaborative
March: Minnebar, Hockey + Hustlers, and Innovation Workshops
Great North Labs at CES
Dec.-Jan.: Top Posts from 2018, pepr, Glowe, and Misty Robotics
Carried Interest: Top Posts from 2018
Oct.-Nov.: Singularity University, Exponential Tech, and the State of Innovation
Digital Transformation Summit, July 25th in Minneapolis
June: Silicon Lakes, FactoryFix, and the Digital Transformation Summit
Putting the “Silicon” in Silicon Lakes
Digital Manufacturing and Logistics
May: Team Genius, IoT, and the Future of Everything
IoT 3.0
Healthcare Innovation
March: Exponential Tech, the “Goldilocks Zone”, and Minnebar 13
February: Team Expansion, Dispatch, and Startup School Events
Great North Labs Newsletter – December 2017
A Letter To My Younger Self
Great North Labs Newsletter
Great North Labs Featured on Tech.mn
Great North Labs Featured in St Cloud Times
Great North Labs – Featured on BizJournals.com
