Foundry Group Leads $30M Seed Funding For Matchstick Ventures

Minneapolis-St. Paul-based Matchstick Ventures raised $30 million in a second seed funding round led by Foundry Group, reports said on Friday (Sept. 20).

Matchstick Ventures said it will use the money to fund startups in the Rockies as well as in the northern U.S. that include, “rapidly growing, yet underserved startup ecosystems,” the company said. 

The company said in a statement that investments in new firms would be in the range of $500,000, with follow-up funds between $1-2 million.

Co-founders Ryan Broshar and Natty Zola said the underserved ecosystems they’re focused on include “the North, the Rockies, and companies across the Techstars ecosystem,” reports said. 

The company has already backed several startups, including Denver’s Soona, a same-day photo and video content creation studio that is dually based in Minneapolis and Denver, Colo. 

Both Zola and Broshar were founders before they were funders. Zola co-founded the travel blogging platform Everlater. Broshar has exited two successful companies, including student publication service University Guide.

“We’ve co-invested and served on boards with them and [Foundry Group Managing Director] Seth Levine has been an official advisor to Matchstick since inception. As we’ve gotten to know Natty and Ryan, we’ve also seen the ecosystems in which they operate — the North and the Rockies — begin to really thrive and gain momentum,” Foundry Group said in a press release.

“We believe great companies can be built anywhere and are excited about Matchstick’s opportunity to leverage Natty and Ryan’s positions within their respective communities to partner with incredible founders and build their firm,” the post said.

Matchstick Ventures led funding with Royal Street Ventures to help fund San Francisco Bay Area startup Onward in July. Onward raised $1.5 million in seed funding to help seniors get to their destinations safely. JPK Capital also participated in the funding round.

In addition to seniors who can’t get behind the wheel, Onward’s customers also include people who can’t drive for medical reasons (surgeries, eye exams, etc.) and caregivers who aren’t able to transport their loved ones.