A new startup has moved into an office at 117 S. 14th St. Photo by Michael Schwartz.
With one local startup vacating its Shockoe Bottom offices as it ponders what’s next, another new Richmond venture has quickly snatched up the space.
PlanG, a company launched in 2012 by Marti Beller with the backing of some Richmond heavyweights, recently cleared out its office in the Watkins-Cottrell Building at 117 S. 14th St.
Beller said in an interview this week that the company, which was created to be an online portal to centralize consumers’ charitable donations, moved out of the building about a month ago as it is in “transition mode.”
She would not go into specifics as to what changes are in store or exactly what state the company is currently in.
“I’d love to articulate what’s next,” she said. “We’re literally on the cusp – maybe two to four weeks away from extremely exciting news for PlanG.”
Marti Beller
In addition to allowing users to create accounts that can send money directly to charities of their choice, PlanG also incorporated a loyalty program aspect, allowing retailers and other companies to reach consumers and encourage charitable donations. Beller spent nearly two decades working for what is now Connexions Loyalty, which creates and manages consumer loyalty programs, including 10 years as the company’s president.
Beller said the company is rethinking its approach, its strategy and how to scale the business, without going into further specifics. She did say that some aspects of the PlanG website have been suspended during this process.
“We’re in transition, and we proactively and alongside our investors decided to go through that transition,” she said.
PlanG came out of the gate with $4 million in capital from members of the Ukrop, Massey and Goodwin families, among other notable local names. New Richmond Ventures, a downtown venture capital firm run by Jim Ukrop, Ted Chandler and Bob Mooney, lists PlanG as one of its investments.
It raised another $3.2 million from investors through promissory notes in mid-2013, according to SEC filings.
Beller said PlanG had some successes and faced some challenges over the last few years. The successes included running national marketing campaigns to try to help draw shoppers from retailers like the Gap, Children’s Place and JJill to give through PlanG.
Shawn Boyer
The challenges, she said, included figuring out how best to utilize its financial resources and figuring out what defines a viable product for the company.
As for giving up the prime real estate in the Bottom, Beller said the 2,700-square-foot office was a big space for an early-stage company.
“(Vacating the space) is not necessarily indicative of what we’re trying to accomplish,” she said. “Like all startups, we’re reading and reacting to what’s in the market.”
The opening left in the Bottom by PlanG proved to be an opportunity for another Richmond startup.
DieHappy, an app development company led by Snagajob founder Shawn Boyer, has taken over the ground-floor office in recent weeks.
Emails sent to Boyer, who stepped down from the role of CEO at Snagajob in 2013, were not returned by Wednesday evening.
Christian Kiniry, a broker with Bank Street Advisors, handled the listing for the 14th Street property. Other tenants in the 30,000-square-foot building include Punch Marketing and Tenant Turner.
A new startup has moved into an office at 117 S. 14th St. Photo by Michael Schwartz.
With one local startup vacating its Shockoe Bottom offices as it ponders what’s next, another new Richmond venture has quickly snatched up the space.
PlanG, a company launched in 2012 by Marti Beller with the backing of some Richmond heavyweights, recently cleared out its office in the Watkins-Cottrell Building at 117 S. 14th St.
Beller said in an interview this week that the company, which was created to be an online portal to centralize consumers’ charitable donations, moved out of the building about a month ago as it is in “transition mode.”
She would not go into specifics as to what changes are in store or exactly what state the company is currently in.
“I’d love to articulate what’s next,” she said. “We’re literally on the cusp – maybe two to four weeks away from extremely exciting news for PlanG.”
Marti Beller
In addition to allowing users to create accounts that can send money directly to charities of their choice, PlanG also incorporated a loyalty program aspect, allowing retailers and other companies to reach consumers and encourage charitable donations. Beller spent nearly two decades working for what is now Connexions Loyalty, which creates and manages consumer loyalty programs, including 10 years as the company’s president.
Beller said the company is rethinking its approach, its strategy and how to scale the business, without going into further specifics. She did say that some aspects of the PlanG website have been suspended during this process.
“We’re in transition, and we proactively and alongside our investors decided to go through that transition,” she said.
PlanG came out of the gate with $4 million in capital from members of the Ukrop, Massey and Goodwin families, among other notable local names. New Richmond Ventures, a downtown venture capital firm run by Jim Ukrop, Ted Chandler and Bob Mooney, lists PlanG as one of its investments.
It raised another $3.2 million from investors through promissory notes in mid-2013, according to SEC filings.
Beller said PlanG had some successes and faced some challenges over the last few years. The successes included running national marketing campaigns to try to help draw shoppers from retailers like the Gap, Children’s Place and JJill to give through PlanG.
Shawn Boyer
The challenges, she said, included figuring out how best to utilize its financial resources and figuring out what defines a viable product for the company.
As for giving up the prime real estate in the Bottom, Beller said the 2,700-square-foot office was a big space for an early-stage company.
“(Vacating the space) is not necessarily indicative of what we’re trying to accomplish,” she said. “Like all startups, we’re reading and reacting to what’s in the market.”
The opening left in the Bottom by PlanG proved to be an opportunity for another Richmond startup.
DieHappy, an app development company led by Snagajob founder Shawn Boyer, has taken over the ground-floor office in recent weeks.
Emails sent to Boyer, who stepped down from the role of CEO at Snagajob in 2013, were not returned by Wednesday evening.
Christian Kiniry, a broker with Bank Street Advisors, handled the listing for the 14th Street property. Other tenants in the 30,000-square-foot building include Punch Marketing and Tenant Turner.