BuyNow Worldwide, an Omaha-based startup, has raised $355,000 in seed funding from Foundry Group’s Angels and Invest Nebraska.
Founder and CEO Shaz Khan told SPN the funds will help reach more publishers and advertisers to increase BuyNow’s reach, maybe open a New York office and help rebrand the startup’s image.
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BuyNow is a mobile-commerce app that enables consumers to instantly purchase advertised products or services off of any multimedia ad by sending a text message.
Khan said the relationship with Foundry Group, a Boulder, Colo.-based venture capital firm, came through hustle. Its angel group is a network of angel investors known as FG Angels.
“I went out and compiled a list of all the early-stage investors that specialize in mobile and big data and Foundry Group was one of them,” he told SPN. “I sent a few emails with our value proposition and background and they pointed us to their angel group.
“We were on AngelList, but never did stuff on there. Since we needed to grow fast, they said the angel group could close a dealer faster.”
He was pleasantly surprised by the positive reaction, raising $55,000 more than he had planned.
He also credited relationships he made through Straight Shot—BuyNow is a 2013 alumni of the Omaha accelerator. That’s where he met Mark Crawford and others of Invest Nebraska, who Khan said understood the long- and short-term vision of BuyNow. Invest Nebraska is a partially state-funded venture development organization focused on helping entrepreneurs and investing in high-growth companies in Nebraska.
After Straight Shot, Khan (right) applied and was accepted as a 2014 Pipeline Fellow. It’s only helped in his and the company’s growth.
“We have come a long way in the last few months toward accomplishing our goal,” Khan said. “Our momentum to date would not have been possible without the financial and strategic support from Foundry Group and Invest Nebraska.
“We are truly grateful to them for believing in us.”
Seth Levine, managing director of Foundry Group, said BuyNow sits at the unique intersection of mobile, commerce, advertising and consumer fulfilment.
“BuyNow’s simplistic, secure and convenient approach provides customer control, giving them access to purchase anything from anywhere,” Levine said.
The app so far has worked by having a reader or viewer text a keyword listed on the ad to the BuyNow text number. They can then purchase the item using Amazon Payments. BuyNow was started with that idea in mind, but has since pivoted to become more of a real-time behavioral and predictive analytics tool to maintain ongoing consumer engagement, a release stated.
With the raise, he hopes to reach more advertisers that want to work with him. But the BuyNow site, app and brand needs an update if it wants to be taken seriously by major players, Khan says. He hopes to do that and make a move in New York, either taking the whole company or just opening an office to be closer to larger advertising firms and publishers.
He did say the connections and work he’s done in Omaha have been invaluable, but it comes down to being closer to people he needs to work with.
“We still don’t know if it will be a full move or a satellite office,” he said.
