This week Powderhook, a free web and mobile service connecting outdoorsmen with places to hunt and fish, closed a $650,000 seed round led by the Nebraska Angels.
The funding, which has been secured for a few months, will build Powderhook’s software development team. They’ve already hired four developers, a vice president of customer acquisition and are looking to hire any and all Rails developers and an iOS developer. Funds from the round also will be used to continue expanding Powderhook’s platform.
“Powderhook’s marketplace fills a substantial gap in the outdoors,” said CEO and co-founder Eric Dinger in a press release. “Lack of access to quality hunting and fishing spots is the No. 1 reason people cite for going less often.”
Dinger, whose resume includes exiting his first company, brand and web development firm Thought District,
says the idea for Powderhook grew out of personal experience.
BECOME A SPONSOR
Join us in championing the narrative of success, resilience, and ingenuity that defines Nebraska’s startup community. Learn more »
A native of Redfield, S.D., Dinger grew up hunting and fishing on his grandfather’s land near the Sand Lake Refuge outside of rural Hecla, S.D. After leaving to go to high school in Minnesota, and moving to Lincoln for college, Dinger says it’s been harder to find places nearby to hunt and fish.
Nebraska Angels President Bart Dillashaw says the Angels—an affiliated group of individual angel investors—felt Powderhook was the right product model and team, at the opportune time.
“Powderhook is led by a proven entrepreneur and technical co-founder who are passionate about the problems the company seeks to solve,” Dillashaw said in a release. “Coupled with a strong development team and a clear plan of action, we have great confidence in the company’s ability to meet their goals.
“The hunting and fishing industries are massive and in need of the technology Powderhook delivers.”
Six months into its product development, led by co-founder Heath Roehr, Powderhook boasts hunting and fishing locations in every state and 12 countries. In all, more than 265,000 spots and 550 million acres of land are available on the site.
Read more about Powderhook with Eric Dinger’s guest post: “10 reasons to quit your job and work at a startup.”
