📦 Crate: Get Your (Online) Life in Order

Wil Chockley
WIl Chockley is a partner at 75 & Sunny, where he evaluates potential investment opportunities across sectors and works with founders to build their strategy and execute on their vision.
📦 Crate: Get Your (Online) Life in Order

Hi folks,

We have another founder profile for you this week. It’s a fascinating early stage consumer business with just about the strongest LA ties possible. Read on below for more!

🏃♀️ Quick hits

The Founder: Anna Bofa is an LA native and Dartmouth graduate (go Big Green 🌲🌲), who has worked for some of the most successful consumer internet companies in Silicon Valley, including both Google and Facebook (pre-Meta shift).

The Company: Today, Crate is your AI-enabled space to save all your content, from any source and any file type. As it matures, the AI engine will learn about you and be able to curate “Crates” of content for your next trip, research project, hobby, or event without you having to lift a finger. Crate has raised pre-seed and seed rounds and is actively raising capital now!

LA Connection: Crate founder Anna Bofa was born and raised in Los Angeles, has raised money from multiple top LA VCs (Upfront Ventures, MaC VC), and the company is headquartered here as well.

I don’t know about you, but my online life is a mess. I have five email addresses, files stored across a multitude of Google Drives and my personal desktop, social media accounts on the major platforms, a notes app full of random ideas, shared albums on my phone, and a multitude of other content saved in places I don’t even know. I’m sure I’m not the only one in desperate need of a digital Marie Kondo. If you’re like me, Anna Bofa and her company Crate are coming to save the day.

Pre-Crate

🌴 Anna Bofa was born in sunny LA but went about as far from home as possible (in the continental US) to attend Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. At Dartmouth she immersed herself in the startup scene. While her classmates were prepping for jobs on Wall Street, reading the Financial Times and WSJ, Anna was avidly poring over TechCrunch, starting from its earliest days in the mid 2000s. Anna was hooked on reading about the seismic shifts in the business world, led by companies like Google and Facebook. Her jumping off point into the world of technology happened when she organized a speaker from Google to come all the way to Hanover New Hampshire to speak to her business club. After the talk, she and the speaker were at dinner, where he asked her why she was still thinking about a career on Wall Street, when she should be working for an innovator like Google.

In 2009, Anna applied to Google’s bizdev team, got the job, and moved to the Bay Area right out of school. For context, in 2009, Google’s share price was less than $10 per share (adjusted for stock splits), while it’s now trading at $136 per share. It was already a massive company, but it wasn’t yet a true pillar of the business world as it is today. When she was starting out, she still had to explain to business owners what internet marketing was and why it was superior to advertising in the Yellow Pages and in magazines.

My first job at Google was to help businesses understand the world had changed. Back then most businesses still used the Yellow Pages. There was this divide between the internet and the physical world, which was just starting to get bridged.

After two years helping transition the world to the digital age, Anna moved to Dropbox, which had just raised a Series B. She was one of the first hundred employees, and got her first taste of creating software for storage and organization of information. She then left to be an early employee at Pinterest (which was pre-revenue at the time), where she was even more immersed in the world of consumer content curation and organization.

After three years at Pinterest, Anna decided to do something a little different. She left Silicon Valley for Africa, working for a year with the Grameen Foundation in Kenya and Uganda, helping local entrepreneurs build a for-profit mobile data collection business. While Anna had been in the tech and startup scene for almost a decade at that point, she had never truly been on the ground floor of a startup, and she started getting the entrepreneurial itch.

That said, she still had to get one more feather in her Silicon Valley cap before setting off on her own, so she joined Facebook in 2017.

Thanos collecting Anna’s resume

2017 was an interesting year for Facebook. The 2016 election had just happened, moms - not college students - were now the dominant force on the platform, and the company had to do some soul searching. Zuck and co decided the core of the product should be Facebook Groups, and Anna joined to help lead that effort. Facebook Groups are still massive, with over 1.8 billion users per month in 2021. Anna was on the ground figuring out what made groups like “New Moms of Los Angeles” and “Massachusetts Real Estate Agents” tick. What she found was that the most successful, happy, and engaged groups were those where curated content was shared constantly.

This helped crystalize her vision for a new startup - one where content curation, sharing, and discovery was central, but people were not the product.

Crate

📦 Initially, Anna thought about building her new idea within the Facebook ecosystem, but (rightly) decided that building something just to be owned by her employer was probably not the best use of her time. So she struck out on her own, going through months of “co-founder dating” before eventually realizing she could just build the initial product herself as a solo founder.

I had this idea in my head that you need to have a co-founder to start a company. And I felt like I tried it, but I was sort of being held back because I was trying so hard to fit in with another person. So that's when I just decided to just go out on my own and be a solo founder.

Anna had been trying to get the company off the ground in London and then in San Francisco, but eventually connected with LA-based Upfront Ventures to lead her pre-seed round, after which, she decided it was time to move back home to Los Angeles. She then went on to raise another round led by another top-tier LA fund, MaC Venture Capital.

The idea for Crate at inception was pretty much what it is today, two years later. The goal is to help you organize your online life by saving content across all platforms and file types into a single location, a “Crate,” and making that Crate shareable and AI-enabled. For those of you who love Pinterest, Crate definitely has echoes from Anna’s time there. The key difference is that, according to Anna, Crate is a data company rather than a social company - more a Google than a Facebook or Pinterest.

🤔 So how does Crate work?

The easiest way to understand is with an example. Let’s say I’m planning a trip to New York. I’m scrolling on Instagram and see a photo a friend took. I add that to my crate. Next I’m looking at flights on Kayak or Google Flights and am deciding between two flights. I add them to my crate. I go on Yelp or Tiktok and find cool restaurants, I add them to my crate. Now this Crate is shareable, but the unique part comes from the AI enablement. Crate has built its own AI models, which take in data from all Crate’s users and build you custom Crates based on what the community is adding to Crates, and what you’re personally adding.

The end goal looks something like this: You’ve used Crate for a while. It knows your general preferences across entertainment, travel, education, etc. Now you’re planning a trip to Mexico City, and instead of you manually pulling in everything for your Mexico City experience, Crate takes what it’s learned about you, adds it to what it’s learned from everyone else going to Mexico, and pulls together a completely AI generated Crate with the best possible restaurants, activities, and travel details curated for you. This doesn’t only work for travel, but also for anything else you do on the internet. It will be able to help with research, with news, with entertainment. It will be like a personal assistant organizing your internet life for you.

Crate is still in its early days. Anna and team have spent the last two years building a cutting edge product, which is finally available as public beta. I’ve been playing around with it, and it’s been pretty helpful to have a single place to go for topics I’m passionate about (e.g., Los Angeles tech, dinosaurs, etc.), and the AI recommendations are just starting to kick in.

What’s next for Crate? Anna and co are actually just hitting the market now to raise some new capital to “build the next great consumer platform,” so if you’re interested in learning more, feel free to reach out to her directly or to dot.LA, and we’ll put you in touch.

Today Crate is available as an iOS app and a Chrome extension, so you can find it wherever you live on the internet. 📦🎁📦🎁

🍵☕️Top 6 Coffee Alternatives for Enhanced Productivity

In the fast-paced world of startups and venture capital in Los Angeles, maintaining peak productivity is essential for founders and investors alike. As the hustle intensifies, many are seeking alternatives to traditional coffee that not only provide a sustained energy boost but also support overall health and well-being. The following list highlights some of the top-rated coffee alternatives that can enhance focus and productivity while minimizing the adverse effects of caffeine. These options incorporate adaptogens, superfoods, and gut-friendly ingredients, making them ideal choices for those looking to optimize their performance without the afternoon crash.


Matcha

Image Source: Jade Leaf Matcha

Matcha is a finely ground green tea that offers a moderate amount of caffeine, along with L-theanine, which promotes relaxation without drowsiness. This combination can enhance focus and concentration, making matcha a suitable alternative for those looking to boost productivity without the jitters of coffee.

Popular Brands: ReNude Chaga Matcha (60 mg caffeine), Golde Pure Matcha (60 mg caffeine), Organic Ceremonial Matcha - Teahouse Edition (30 mg caffeine)


Dandelion Root Coffee

Image Source: Amazon

Dandelion root coffee is a caffeine-free alternative that mimics the taste of coffee. It is known for its potential to support liver health and digestion, which can contribute to overall well-being and productivity. The drink can help avoid the acidity and jitters that often accompany regular coffee, making it a gentler option for those sensitive to caffeine.

Popular Brands: Dandy Blend (0 mg caffeine), Teeccino Dandelion Dark Roast (0 mg caffeine)


Adaptogenic Drinks

Image Source: MUD\WTR Masala Chai

Adaptogenic beverages, which include ingredients like ashwagandha, reishi, and maca, are designed to help the body adapt to stress and promote mental clarity. These drinks can provide a sustained energy boost without the crash, supporting productivity throughout the day. They are often made with superfoods and spices that enhance both physical and mental performance.

Popular Brands: MUD\WTR Masala Chai (35 mg caffeine), Four Sigmatic Think Coffee (150 mg caffeine), ReNude Chagaccino (0 mg caffeine)


Golden Milk (Turmeric Latte)

Image Source: Golde

Golden milk, made from turmeric, ginger, and milk (or a milk alternative), is a caffeine-free option that can improve mood and reduce inflammation. The calming properties of this drink can help maintain focus and clarity, making it a great addition to a productive morning routine.

Popular Brands: Golde Turmeric Latte Blend (0 mg caffeine), Blume Turmeric Blend (0 mg caffeine), Four Sigmatic Golden Latte Mix (0 mg caffeine)



Chicory Root Coffee

Image Source: Teeccino

Chicory root coffee is an excellent alternative that satisfies the desire for a warm beverage without caffeine. It is rich in inulin, a prebiotic fiber that aids in digestion and promotes gut health by supporting beneficial bacteria. Chicory coffee has a nutty, earthy flavor and can help control blood sugar levels, contributing to overall energy and productivity throughout the day.

Popular Brands: Anthony’s Instant Chicory Root (0 mg caffeine), Teeccino Chicory Coffee Alternative (0 mg caffeine)


Yerba Mate

Image Source: Guayaki Yerba Mate

Yerba mate is a traditional South American herbal tea made from the leaves of the Ilex paraguariensis plant. It contains about 40-80 mg of caffeine per serving, which is less than a standard cup of coffee but enough to provide a gentle energy boost. Yerba mate is rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, and users often report feeling energized without the jitters or crashes associated with coffee. It has a unique, slightly bitter flavor and can be enjoyed in various forms, including loose-leaf tea and pre-brewed options.

Popular Brands: Guayaki Yerba Mate (40-150 mg caffeine)


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LA’s Data Center Supply Crunch

🔦 Spotlight

Happy Friday Los Angeles!

The Los Angeles data center market is experiencing a significant supply crunch, ranking 12th in growth among top markets since 2020 with only 265 megawatts of colocation inventory (data centers where businesses rent space to store their computing hardware and servers). Despite this, demand is surging, driven by AI, cloud, and hyperscaler needs, with AI accounting for 20% of new data center demand nationally. This scarcity is creating a highly competitive environment, with vacancy rates at a record low 3% and asking rents rising 13-37% year-over-year. For Los Angeles, this presents both challenges and opportunities in the big picture. The city's strategic position as a global entertainment hub and its connectivity to international markets through subsea cables make it an attractive location for data centers. However, the limited inventory and rising costs could potentially hinder growth and innovation in the tech sector. To maintain its competitive edge, Los Angeles will need to address these constraints through new developments, such as GI Partners' 16 MW addition at One Wilshire, and by focusing on high-connectivity, high-power capacity submarkets. The city's tech community should prepare for a landscape of increased competition for quality data center space, higher costs, and the need for innovative solutions to meet growing demand, particularly in AI and cloud services. While Los Angeles faces a challenging data center supply crunch, its strategic advantages and ongoing developments offer a promising path forward.


🤝 Venture Deals

LA Companies

  • Daisy, a one-year-old startup that designs and installs smart home and office technology systems, raised a $7M Series B co-led by Goldcrest and Bungalow, with previous investors Bullish and Burst Capital also stepping up. The company has raised a total of $13.3 million. - learn more

LA Venture Funds


    ✨ Featured Event ✨

    LA TECH CEO SUMMIT

    LA’s tech leadership is set to reunite after a long break! This two day summit will focus on building strong connections, sharing insights, and fortifying the local tech community.

    Learn More Here

    Register Here


    Download the dot.LA App

    🌐Decentralizing Data & Vacations: Sony's Web3 Leap and Sensible Weather's KOA Partnership

    🔦 Spotlight

    Happy Long Weekend Los Angeles!

    Sony Group is making a significant push into the blockchain and Web3 space, leveraging its Sony Pictures and Sony Music divisions along with a new global incubator. The company has developed the Soneium blockchain through Sony Block Solutions Labs, a joint venture aimed at accelerating Web3 innovation. Sony is launching the "Soneium Minato" public testnet and a developer incubation program called "Soneium Spark" to foster ecosystem growth and adoption. The initiative includes strategic partnerships with Web3 companies such as Astar Network, Circle, and Optimism. Sony aims to create a fan community centered on creators and connect diverse values through Soneium, with the ultimate goal of integrating Web3 services into people's daily lives. While the company acknowledges the challenges faced by Web3, including limited user adoption and the need for mainstream use cases, it remains committed to decentralizing the concentrated power of the current internet landscape.

    In completely unrelated and more digestible news Sensible Weather, a leading weather protection provider that we’ve featured many times, has partnered with Kampgrounds of America (KOA) to offer Weather Guarantees at over 450 KOA Campgrounds across the United States. This collaboration allows campers to purchase weather protection for their outdoor experiences, providing peace of mind and potential reimbursements of up to 100% of their nightly rate if weather conditions exceed predefined parameters. The partnership comes at an opportune time, as camping has seen a significant increase in popularity, with active campers growing by 68% over the past decade. If you are looking to do some camping this fall make sure you look into Sensible Weather protections to ensure that unpredictable weather won't dampen (nailed it) your camping experience.


    🤝 Venture Deals

    LA Companies

    • Space and Time, a blockchain data warehouse developer, raised a $20M Series A led by Framework Ventures. - learn more
    • Miris, a provider of spatial content streaming solutions, raised a $26M Seed Round led by IAG Capital Partners. - learn more

    LA Venture Funds

    • Fika Ventures led a $4.55M Seed Round for Revenew, a San Francisco startup that aims to help digital platforms and marketplaces manage their payments and optimize financial operations. - learn more
    • Bonfire Ventures participated in a $25M Series A for Supio, an AI platform for personal injury law firms. - learn more
    • Amplify LA participated in a $2M Seed Round for Pryzm, a startup that provides tools and data to help businesses navigate government contracting more efficiently. - learn more

      ✨ Featured Event ✨

      LA TECH CEO SUMMIT

      LA’s tech leadership is set to reunite after a long break! This two day summit will focus on building strong connections, sharing insights, and fortifying the local tech community.

      Learn More Here

      Register Here


      Download the dot.LA App

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