Latest news with #GeorgeCook
Forbes
14-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Small business capital wIth coaching, and community support.
The acquisition of IFundWomen (IFW) by Honeycomb Credit, announced today, signals a transformative shift in small business financing—one that goes beyond capital to provide everything entrepreneurs need to succeed: coaching, community, and connection. At a time when traditional funding is increasingly out of reach, this merger combines two proven models that address not only access to money but also the technical support and peer networks critical for business success. Together, they are redefining what it means to fund a business—particularly for women and other underestimated entrepreneurs—by creating a more human-centered, sustainable, and empowering funding ecosystem. Honeycomb's acquisition of IFW is more than just combining two types of crowdfunding platforms—it's about creating a more complete path to funding for young and small businesses, backed by entrepreneurial support. Both companies understand that while capital is critical, it's not enough. Building a small business also takes know-how, guidance, and a community to lean on when making decisions. "The vision is to create the place on the internet where entrepreneurs come not just for the capital," explains Honeycomb's CEO and cofounder, George Cook. 'Coaching helps with technical assistance. Community is finding other entrepreneurs who have been on that journey before and not having to learn every lesson the hard way." IFW's success has been built on its emphasis on coaching, a philosophy shared by Honeycomb. Karen Cahn, founder and CEO of IFW, and board member and principal advisor at Honeycomb, explains, "Our differentiator has always been coaching. The entrepreneurs that invest in the coaching services raise exponentially more when they go to crowdfund." On IFW's Community Slack, entrepreneurs connect to bounce ideas around, share challenging moments, and cheer each other on. This combination of capital, coaching, and community is vital for entrepreneurs, as highlighted in the 2025 Wells Fargo Impact of Women-Owned Businesses* series. The research indicates that women-owned small businesses face particular challenges related to limited access to funding and a lack of access to experienced networks and mentors. The reports emphasize that capital alone is not enough—growth and sustainability also require coaching and community, especially for underestimated women entrepreneurs. Honeycomb also fosters a strong sense of community, recognizing the power of peer support. As Cook notes, "We've started to formalize some of that community already. We're thinking about how we take the best of both of these things and continue to build on them." This mirrors IFW's belief that while entrepreneurship can be lonely, community and peer connections offer essential encouragement, perspective, and resilience. IFW's brand partnerships create benefits for small businesses and established companies. It partners with brands like Visa and Caress that want to build stronger relationships with specific customer groups. Through these collaborations, entrepreneurs gain access to coaching and capital grants, while brands benefit from authentic connections with their target audiences and meaningful ways to elevate their brand. 'Thank you for the opportunity to express my gratitude for the Caress Grant and IFundWomen,' said Heather Davis, owner and pastry chef at Chic Sweets Bakery in Texas. 'If not for you, my business wouldn't be operating today.' By integrating IFW's coaching and community-building expertise with Honeycomb's funding platform, the acquisition aims to create a more supportive and effective ecosystem for young businesses and businesses seeking smaller financing than a traditional bank might lend. In today's turbulent economic climate, access to capital can be critical for small businesses to survive and thrive. With banks raising their lending criteria, it's becoming tougher for entrepreneurs to get approved. IFundWomen and Honeycomb Credit offer alternative ways to raise capital when traditional financing options may be harder to obtain. The financial climate is unpredictable and tightening—marked by rising interest rates and declining loan approval. Understanding rewards and investment crowdfunding options, like Honeycomb and IFW do, is more critical than ever. Honeycomb is a FINRA- and SEC-compliant Reg CF platform providing community investment crowdfunding, enabling businesses to raise capital from their customer base, local investors, and community members. Honeycomb's approach unlocks essential funds and cultivates a robust support network. "We didn't have to convince strangers," says Simon Huntley, CEO of Harvie and a Honeycomb borrower who raised over $480,000. "We invited our own community to invest. These are people who already believe in the independent food economy, so the alignment was there from day one. It felt less like fundraising and more like fueling the movement". Honeycomb offers mostly debt-based funding, with some revenue-sharing or equity structures available. IFW rounds out the funding landscape by offering grants and rewards-based crowdfunding. This funding continuum helps women entrepreneurs, who often face systemic barriers in accessing traditional capital. Women entrepreneurs have demonstrated a strong aptitude for crowdfunding, effectively mobilizing their communities through compelling narratives and building trust with potential backers. A majority of Honeycomb's fundraisers are women entrepreneurs. They represent nearly double (64%, according to the company) the share of all fundraisers compared to all Reg CF platforms (34%, according to Kingscrowd). As Cahn, founder and CEO of IFW, explains, "Our differentiator has always been coaching. The entrepreneurs that invest in our coaching services raise exponentially more when they go to crowdfund". The acquisition of IFW by Honeycomb Credit represents a decisive step towards creating a more accessible and effective funding ecosystem. Bringing together a diverse range of community-backed capital options for small businesses alongside robust coaching and a strong sense of community, these two companies demonstrate the significant impact of pairing financial resources with comprehensive support for entrepreneurs on a larger scale. This approach addresses the immediate need for funding and fosters small businesses' long-term growth and resilience, driving a fairer and more resilient economy.
Technical.ly
09-04-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
Crowdfunding platform Honeycomb Credit seeks $3M in new funding round
A Pittsburgh-based startup that helps people invest in local small businesses is pursuing its next round of funding. Fintech company Honeycomb Credit is actively raising up to $3 million, according to a Form D filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week. The company has already secured more than $760,000 toward that goal, which the filing shows it received in late March. Honeycomb has not disclosed its current valuation. The total offering amount listed indicates an intent to raise $3 million, though the round is still in progress and not yet fully raised. Cofounder and CEO George Cook declined to share additional details at this time. The ongoing raise brings Honeycomb Credit's total funding to over $19 million, marking another milestone for the Pittsburgh fintech startup. The crowdfunding platform has steadily built momentum, with some of the biggest quarterly raises in Pittsburgh in recent years.. In June 2024, the company raised $6 million, following an $8.8 million round in December 2023 and $7 million in December 2022, according to prior reporting from Founded in 2017, Honeycomb provides a crowdfunding platform that allows everyday investors to support local businesses nationwide through debt-based financing. To date, the company has helped fund over 40 businesses nationally, including 90 in the Pittsburgh region. For example, it's helped sustainability startup Ecotone Renewables raise over $80,000 and healthtech company Korion Health raise over $105,000. A firm files Form Ds when it's raising money from private investors under an exemption from SEC registration requirements. Honeycomb Credit did not disclose investors in this latest round, as it's not required to do so. Honeycomb helps businesses secure small, crowdfunded loans Honeycomb was born out of firsthand frustration with the traditional lending system. During his time as a community banker, Cook saw many qualified local business owners denied loans from big commercial banks. Around the same time, fellow cofounder Ken Martin was struggling to secure funding for his juice shop — an experience that cemented the need for a better way to finance small businesses. Together, they launched Honeycomb Credit to fill that gap, specifically focusing on investing opportunities for small businesses. 'Instead of putting in $100 and getting a t-shirt or thank you note,' cofounder Cook told in 2019, 'someone can actually invest a hundred or a thousand dollars or more into a locally owned business, helping them grow while at the same time, earning a competitive rate on the investment.' Small businesses have also used the platform beyond the traditional crowdfunding route, like to consolidate debt. For example, when the owners of Iron Born Pizza in the Strip District and Millvale found themselves in over their heads with monthly payments from merchant cash advances, they used part of their campaign funding from Honeycomb to refinance the debt, making monthly payments more manageable and expansion possible. Honeycomb has also helped Pittsburgh's food scene grapple with inflation. North Side-based vegetarian restaurant EYV Hospitality opened in December 2022, coinciding with a 3% increase in pricing across the board on produce. Items such as napkins, chemicals and paper products also came with heftier price tags. Honeycomb users helped the restaurant open during that time with a campaign that raised over $47,000. Honeycomb's efforts have won it national attention and awards like the Pittsburgh Tech Council's 2019 Innovator of the Year in Fintech.
