Student entrepreneurs celebrate a summer of growth as part of Race to Revenue 2024 // IDEA Center // University of Notre Dame
Summary
Founded in October 2023, Finly Club is a consumer software-as-a-service product that allows customers to streamline credit card rewards to get the best benefits each time they make a purchase.You really do see how the intern-to-founder strategy helps, said Alimchandani. Last year I was able to learn from the financials and business philosophies of other startups further ahead in their journey than mine, and that gave me a whole new level of insight to apply to my own company this year.Finly has now raised $220,000 from top venture capital firms, including the Sequoia Scout Fund and Plug and Play, as part of its $1 million pre-seed investment round. He is now eyeing the lofty goal of $500,000 for 2025 and believes what he has learned from Race to Revenue will be helpful in that pursuit.The program allows you to get deeper into figuring out what your business is really all about, said Giordano. Im now thinking about adding new services to expand our reach.The concluding Race to Revenue event saw the student founders pitch to South Bend - Elkhart area investors. A tour of the Studebaker Building in downtown South Bend was also arranged, followed by a happy hour where the students, investors and mentors mixed.The skill we really focus on at Race to Revenue is getting the students pitches compelling enough so that it leads to a 30-minute meeting with a potential investor or mentor, which, in turn, leads to two or three hours of ongoing engagement with that individual.