Topknot 🧘🏼

setting the scene

• you debate quitting your 9 to 5 to pursue your startup full-time 🚀

• you need encouragement to make the leap, so you try:

  • listening to motivational speakers

  • reading self-help books

  • hyping yourself up in the mirror 🪞

• these options fail to help you self-reflect and plan for the future

• this week’s company provides a peer coaching platform that enables users to work toward their goals

in a sentence

Topknot is a wellness platform that connects and guides users through peer development sessions

• wellness: for users looking to take action on an area in their lives

• connects: the core offering, Topknot Time, matches two users with similar goals in a synchronous, hour-long session where users take turns prompting and sharing

• guides: the platform automates prompts, provides self-evaluation tools, and helps users take actionable steps

bulleted version: Topknot is like a workout class for personal development, where users join sessions to exercise their self-improvement muscles 🏋🏻‍♂️

the basics

• industry: consumer internet, health & wellness, professional development

• headquarters: San Francisco, CA 🌁

• year founded: 2020

• company size: 3 employees

• investors: Full Circle, Homebrew, Uprising, Base Ventures, 27V, Backstage Capital, Copper Wire Ventures, Phin Barnes, Nick Caldwell, Melissa Tidwell, Laura Butler, Merline Saintil, Jeff Lawson, Aston Motes, Joe Greenstein, Rachel Sheinbein

• amount raised: $1m total, pre-seed stage

• business model: b2c

sponsored by

• Sweater Ventures is proud to announce round two of Barnburner, the world's largest CONSUMER pitch competition.

• Imagine Shark Tank meets America's Got Talent. Founders will compete to pitch on a live stage for a $500k investment from a panel of VCs, filmed in front of a live consumer audience, and premiered to a global consumer audience.

• Your vote makes all the difference in deciding who makes it to the final stage. Vote here today through the Sweater app.

due diligence

what we like

• 💨 affordable solution: the $41b personal development market has skyrocketed post-pandemic as individuals seek flexible ways to manage stress and navigate life changes

  • Topknot makes coaching accessible and affordable by eliminating the need for an expensive coach

• 👥 community focus: by allowing users to feel part of a community, Topknot builds retention, presents a wellness alternative to traditional coaching, and brings features of a club online

• 🔀 expansion opportunities: Topknot has the potential to expand its addressable market by catering the platform to different communities and life stages

risks

• 🏢 no b2b: by focusing solely on a b2c model, does Topknot miss out on a massive opportunity to provide a wellness product for the workplace?

• 📝 all synchronous: Topknot requires users to be present at specific times, which may limit the potential for early user growth and high active use time

• 👁 regulation: as Topknot scales, how does the company plan to regulate and ensure appropriate and productive conversations between users?

founder profiles

• Claire Shorall (prev. Principal @ Neo, Teach for America)

• Brook Osborne (prev. @ Code.org, Duke)

comps

• Medley: $3.7m raised from a16z, Aglaé Ventures

• The Grand World: $2.4m raised from Seven Seven Six, Precursor Ventures

• Pace: $18m raised from Sequoia, BoxGroup

why Topknot: with 500+ trial members, 200+ unique session attendees, and early paying customers, we are confident that this company is a top-notch platform for personal development 📈

bulletin board

• 🚕 first event in the books: we loved meeting our NYC community at the Tech Breakfast Club last week!

  • huge thanks to Morgan and Ariel for co-hosting and helping us manage an event that hit capacity

  • shoutout to Jibby Coffee and Culture Pop for providing the refreshments

• 🤑 fundraise alert: in October, we covered OneRoof, a social platform for apartment communities

  • OneRoof raised a $3.2m seed round from Chamaeleon, Dream Machine, Gaingels, General Catalyst, and more