Software startup aimed at nursing moms raises seed round amidst COVID-19

Pumpspotting, a startup building software to support breastfeeding moms at home and work, has raised more than a half million dollars in its first seed round as investors see promise in its ability to meet the new and challenging needs of working moms in a post-COVID-19 workforce.

MooDoo Investments, a venture capital fund with offices in Boston and San Diego, led the $537,000 round, which closed April 10. Maine Venture Fund, as well as angel investors from Maine Angels and Boston-based Launchpad, also participated in the round.

The company, based in Kittery, was in the midst of raising its first round when COVID-19 hit. At first, the crisis threw everything into question, Founder and CEO Amy VanHaren tells Maine Startups Insider.

But VanHaren was quickly able to regroup and adapt. In a quarantined world, the company’s products—a social networking app for nursing moms and a B2B software platform to help employers support breastfeeding moms returning to work—began to take on new meaning and importance. In the end, the crisis accelerated the process, she said.

“While the pandemic brought much uncertainty, it also brought social distancing and increased isolation to new moms, and that made the core features of our Pumpspotting platform more vital,” VanHaren said. “We serve a virtual community of trust and support for parents and employees who feel even more disconnected and more burdened navigating parenthood and professional life remotely.”

She found investors receptive to the new value proposition and how Pumpspotting was positioned in the market.

“Support for working parents has never mattered more and this pandemic crisis is bringing to the forefront not only conversations about the struggles of working mothers but also an increased demand and interest from employers for virtual, family benefit solutions,” she said. “We’re seeing a rise in famtech and tele-health innovations—and the necessity for them—and Pumpspotting is part of that.”

Gaining traction

When VanHaren founded Pumpspotting in 2015, the original vision was to create a social platform to support moms who were breastfeeding and pumping. The app, which included Yelp-like reviews of places where a mom could nurse or pump, was first launched in 2016.

The company was self-funded, though it raised $41,254 through a Kickstarter campaign in August 2017. In 2018, it participated in MassChallenge in Boston and ended up winning a $75,000 award from PepsiCo for developing an innovative solution in business services.

That same year (2018), VanHaren traveled the country in a 40-foot RV that had been turned into a mobile nursing and pumping suite to raise awareness and help build its online community. She completed a second Breast Express tour last year, which included stopping in 50 cities to meet nursing and pumping mothers in person, providing support and conducting research. In September, as part of the journey, she stopped at NASA to host on-site events for its working families and drive conversations with employees and HR leaders.

In 2019, the company returned to MassChallenge, this time as part of its HealthTech cohort, which allowed it to work closely with teams at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Atrius Health to shape its B2B platform.

“We learned from our users and from our two years touring the country that the biggest challenges were happening at—and because of—work. Working, pumping mothers were struggling and it was clear there was a great disconnect between the needs of working mothers and the understanding of employers to meet them,” VanHaren said.

While the B2B opportunity really took shape in 2019, the pandemic has solidified the opportunity, VanHaren said.

Pumpspotting’s corporate software platform provides mothers virtual access to the app’s global community, as well as a custom company chat portal, 24-7 lactation consultant support, scheduling of internal workplace lactation rooms, and timely check-ins.

“It’s comprehensive, reducing the burden on HR by keeping breastfeeding communication and support in one turn-key, centralized place and supporting moms in the workplace (wherever that might be) in addition to at home,” VanHaren said.

The private company isn’t reporting revenue figures, but VanHaren said revenue increased 100% year over year from 2018 to 2019 and she is projecting the same growth for this year, though COVID-19 could still impact those projections.

The company currently has 27,000 users on its platform, according to VanHaren. She said month-over-month user activity is up 50% between March and May, and its active devices among new users is up 75%.

Conversations with B2B clients is gaining momentum and VanHaren said they’re nearly back to the pre-pandemic velocity of new leads. Inbound traffic to the Pumpspotting website is up 130% yer-over-year, she said.

The company only has two employees, but post-raise plans call for hiring three additional full-time employees in key sales, marketing and product positions. VanHaren said the goal is to hire the majority of those in Maine.

“We’re headquartered in Kittery and proud to not only support Maine employers and working mothers in the state but also to run a female-founded, family friendly company here,” she said.

Out-of-state VC firm leads round

MooDoos Investments, a venture capital fund with offices in San Diego and Boston, led Pumpspotting’s seed round.

Because the firm invests primarily in early-stage companies, its investment decisions rely heavily on the quality of the prospective portfolio company’s team, Caitlin Wege, a partner at MooDoos, told Maine Startups Insider.

“Before we invested, we had the pleasure of getting to know Amy VanHaren in various capacities since the inception of Pumpspotting,” Wege said. “An investment in Pumpspotting was an investment towards a critical product that mothers need, and it was an investment in a natural leader with a powerful voice and the capacity to problem solve, be creative, and flexible in any environment. We are thrilled to be a part of this journey and cannot wait to see the Pumpspotting team’s success unfold.”

Wege said being headquartered in southern Maine provides Pumpspotting several advantages, including the ability to access talent and additional capital sources from the Boston area.

“Maine continues to be an attractive place for many professionals to relocate, too,” she said.

Wege is based in San Diego, but one of MooDoos partners is based in Boston, which allowed the firm to leverage its local network to syndicate with investors, including from Launchpad, an angel investment group in Boston.

Besides Maine Venture Fund and Maine Angels, the Maine Technology Institute has also supported the company, including recently awarding it a $50,000 grant to further development of its corporate software product.

From MooDoos’ perspective, the support Pumpspotting has received from groups like MVF, MTI and the Maine Angels “is very attractive for any outside fund or investor,” Wege said.

“We feel really fortunate to have such champions in the state of Maine and New England behind us,” VanHaren said.