Bags
Growth financing marketplace for women and diverse-owned businesses.
- 1-20 employees
- B2B
- Marketplace
- Financial Services
- Venture Capital
- Social Impact
- Civic Center, New York, NY
Jump to section
Company mission
To help business owners find the right financing for their short and long term needs, so that they can grow their business without giving away equity.
Our take
Bags is a funding marketplace and community for underrepresented US organizations and projects that looking to grow without handing over equity to VCs. Through the Bags online directory, users can access a spread of business-critical resources like funding opportunities, business development guidance, and educational content. Through access to these resources, which may otherwise be difficult for some groups, Bags promotes diverse entrepreneurship as a vehicle for greater financial inclusion.
Whilst engagement figures are hard to judge, there’s a healthy spread of new features and resources that Bags has built out since its relatively recent launch. It’s signed up partnerships with companies like ADmission, SLAP, and TONL, launched a Flowcode-sponsored Watt Program Pilot, and a guidance and funding program called Impact 5x.
This is a good start, and maintaining this kind of flexibility of purpose will give Bags the breadth and agility to remain relevant to the changing needs of its target community. There are already around 30 million small businesses in the US, with this number growing as more people pivot towards entrepreneurship. So Bags has a strong market to play to.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Benefits
- 💻 The equipment you need to get the job done
- 💜 Mission driven team and a stake in the business
- 🏥 Healthcare and unlimited mental health days
- 🌴 30 days holiday + 9 days public public holidays
- 🌎 Work from anywhere, or come into our (awesome) NYC office
Funding (2 rounds)
Oct 2022
$3m
SEED
Jan 2020
$1m
SEED
Total funding: $4m
Leadership
Daniel Taylor
(Co-founder and CEO)A serial entrepreneur, who previously co-founded AskTipster (acquired by the dtx company), BlocSide Sports, the AJAX Academy in Dubai, and Only4stars, and worked on the founding team of Flowcode. Is also a co-owner of Dundalk Football Club.
Ignacio Semerene
(Co-founder)Co-Founder and Head of Product at Bags. Former Chief of Staff and Director at Monzo Bank in the UK. Brown University alum.
William Hayden
(Co-founder)Worked in business development at Harrow Sports, then Next Level Resource Partners, before moving into an account executive role at Brunswick Group. Then pivoted into various tv and film content production roles at UM Worldwide, Please Don't Touch the Art (which he founded), and TRAVERSE32.