The Shift: Startup Wishfluence lands more investment
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Investors gave Wishfluence of Bentonville, makers of an app to help jewelry stores manage customer relationships, $55,000 earlier this year.
Why it matters: Continued investment in local startups helps build the entrepreneurial ecosystem and contributes to an ever-shifting economy buoyed by more than NWA's three public companies.
- The Validation Fund, which gave the company $100,000 last year to prove its concept, recently said it will invest another $30,000, CEO Andy Martin, told me, bringing its 2024 investment to $85,000.
How it works: A jeweler can use the app to generate a wishlist and keep a record of specifics. The list can be shared with the customer and then the retailer can use it to prompt follow-up conversations.
- This process is frequently done on paper, Martin said, which has obvious shortcomings.
- "It also serves as the feeder for, 'Okay, we need to sell more this month. Let's look at who's interested in buying stuff right now … let's categorize those and find a good way to do outreach to them,'" he said.
Automation makes it easier for the customer and retailer, he said.
State of play: Blakeman's Jewelry in Rogers is a customer and also invested $25,000, Martin said.
- A small chain of stores in North Carolina has been a customer since 2020 and five-store chain Nelson Coleman Jewelers in Baltimore plans to be fully signed on early next year, he told me.
Between the lines: Martin, who founded the business with his wife Carin Martin, said the Validation Fund's money will go toward growing the business, perhaps by adding a salesperson.
What's next: The company is looking for a lead investor, Martin said.
- "We are working to raise $415,000 more by next fall," he said in a text, noting that the Equity Investment Tax Credit from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission would put about $165,000 back into investors' pockets — in the form of a tax credit — when Wishfluence completes the pre-seed round of funding.
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