Tinder founder boards advisory team as StoryUP closes oversubscribed $1M+ round
Summary
Building a global company requires boots on the ground, Sarah Hill said as she waited to board a flight to Kansas City, hours after the close of her startups first million-dollar funding round.Once the Kansas City investors hopped in, thats when it came to be oversubscribed we were just delighted, said Hill, founder and CEO of StoryUP Studios, maker of Healium a drugless, VR-based solution for stress and anxiety.Click here to read more about Healium and StoryUP Studios.Carrying a total of $1.3 million, the funding round will see the Columbia, Missouri-based startup increase its sales and marketing efforts and explore new product development. A slew of other growth-related opportunities will help the company fuel ongoing pilots that use Healiums technology to treat conditions beyond anxiety, Hill explained.A different kind of stress, raising the round required worldwide hustle, she added.Its ironic that Im talking to you while running through an airport, Hill said in reference to a whirlwind year of travel thats seen her pitch Healium to investors across the globe.My team was in Thailand shooting a project for Google. We were in Amsterdam with the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, she detailed, pinpointing but a few of the stamps on the startups passport.If you want to build a global brand, you have to meet people where they are and were fortunate that people outside of Missouri are discovering our products, Hill said.A direct result of such a philosophy: Healiums winning pitch at SXSW in March, which put the startup in direct contact with Sean Rad, founder of Tinder and the newest member of the StoryUP advisory board, Hill revealed. That level of product consult is incredibly valuable for us.With global reach and growing allure for tech talent, StoryUP is just getting started, Hill said. So, thats always a possibility as we continue to scale up and grow, she said.Click here to learn more about the Launch Accelerator and how its elevating women-led startups.StoryUP plans to release additional information about the funding round, including a look at its Kansas City-based investors, on Sept. 16.This story is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn