# Start Garden

> Start Garden is a VC fund backing Information Technology and Apps. See 9 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Grand Rapids, United States
- Total investments: 9
- Last investment: Sep 2022
- Lead investor: 11%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10144846?trk=tyah&trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Acompany%2CclickedEntityId%3A10144846%2Cidx%3A1-1-1%2CtarId%3A1441407007090%2Ctas%3AStart%20Garden
- X (Twitter): http://twitter.com/startgarden
- Website: http://startgarden.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/strtgrdn?fref=ts

Start Garden is a VC fund in Grand Rapids focused on Information Technology and Apps. Start Garden provides investment and space to work and connect, creating an ecosystem that helps ideas become businesses.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Start Garden. Shizune tracks 3 team members at Start Garden. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/start-garden?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Information Technology | 3 | 33% |
| Apps | 2 | 22% |
| Software | 2 | 22% |
| E-Commerce | 2 | 22% |
| Enterprise Software | 2 | 22% |

25 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 5 | 56% |
| Angel | 1 | 11% |
| Grant | 1 | 11% |
| Series A | 1 | 11% |
| Funding Round | 1 | 11% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Paul Moore | Communication Director | 0 | — |
| Benjamin Gott | EIR | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/benjamin-gott-2 |
| Rick DeVos | Founder | 1 | — |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Opnr | Opnr is an all-in-one data-powered entertainment marketplace removing the time and friction associated with talent discovery & booking with the added benefit of fanbase-influenced ticket sales. | $40K |  | Sep 12, 2022 |  |
| Payload | Payload CMS is a self-hosted, headless TypeScript CMS created with Node, React, and MongoDB. | $20K | Grant | Jul 10, 2018 |  |
| Scanalytics | Scanalytics measures the movements of individuals in physical locations such as retail establishments, tradeshows, promotional events, and medical spaces. They enable businesses to maximize customer engagement, predict patterns, increase customer retention, and measure in-store conversions. They record, store, and analyze where people walk, stop,orient, how long they stay, and how it all connects to conversions and floor layout/effectiveness. They have developed a proprietary technology that gathers this data passively and unobtrusively without cameras, RFID, or the need for cell phones. | $1.5M | Seed | Mar 07, 2016 |  |
| Fluency Mobile | The world gets smaller every day, but language barriers remain. Fluency provides live, on-demand interpreters who speak 200+ languages starting at $5 per minute.We help you connect with anybody, anywhere on your terms. They help you focus on what you do best--opening up new opportunities to grow your business across multiple time zones andcultures. |  | Seed | Jan 06, 2015 |  |
| Roomations | Roomations is a crowdsourced website that provides homeowners with easy online access to custom design services.The website offers various design resources to guide its users through their home improvement processes such as design visions, style boards, and crib sheets. It also provides interior design services through a network of freelancingdesign professionals in the United States.Roomations was launched in 2009 and is based in Oak Park, Illinois, United States. | $25K | Angel | Oct 20, 2014 |  |
| Sportsman Tracker | Sportsman Tracker is a cross-platform digital toolset designed to increase success opportunities for hunters and fishermen and allow them to quickly share their experiences. Powered by W.I.T. (Wild Life Intelligence Technology), the tracker calculates the variables that directly affect wildlife behavior. The platform lets track species and getsadaptive features that are specific only the species.Founded in 2012 by Jon Schwander and Jeffrey James Courter, Sportsman Tracker is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. | $100K | Seed | May 01, 2014 |  |
| CorkCRM | CorkCRM provides contractors the tools they need to manage their business: sales tracking, appointment setting, electronic proposals and contracts, job scheduling, automatic emails, and payroll. | $5K | Seed | Oct 25, 2013 |  |
| SurgeryEdu | SurgeryEdu aims to help healthcare professionals educate patients about medical procedures using 3D interactive animations through our tablet based mobile applications. We hope to improve patient satisfaction by facilitating more effective, interactive, and engaging doctor-patient communication. www.surgeryedu.com | $5K | Seed | Aug 01, 2013 |  |
| Chalkfly | Chalkfly is reinventing the experience of buying office and school supplies online. With over 50,000 products, 24/7 customer service, a 365 return policy and a mission to change the world - Chalkfly is bringing excitement and purpose to the office supply world.Chalkfly customers can choose a teacher to receive five percent of theirpurchase. We believe that doing good is good business and we're committed to supporting the communities in which we serve.Founded in late 2012, Chalkfly is ranked as one of the fastest growing e-commerce companies in country (we’re the youngest member of the Internet Retailer’s Second 500 for 2013). Chalkfly is also proud to be ranked as one of Turnstone’s 2013 Best Young Companies To Work For.We’re proudly based in Detroit and through our amazing team and commitment to education, we hope to change the way supplies are bought online.Chalkfly is currently fundraising. We'd welcome the chance to explore partnership opportunities. Please reach out to smile@chalkfly.com if interested. Thank you! | $750K | Series A | Mar 19, 2013 |  |

9 of 9 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Wakestream Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/wakestream-ventures) — VC Fund, 6 deals together
- [Bizdom](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bizdom-u) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Detroit Venture Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/detroit-venture-partners) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Fulcrum Investing](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/fulcrum-investing) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Griffon Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/griffon-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Ludlow Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ludlow-ventures-llc) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
- [Antler](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/antler-be9c) — VC Fund
- [Alumni Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alumni-ventures-group) — VC Fund
- [Right Side Capital Management](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/right-side-capital-management) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Start Garden invest in?

Start Garden invests primarily in Information Technology, Apps and Software startups, most often at Seed and Angel stage. Most of the 9 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### How do I contact Start Garden?

Public channels for Start Garden include LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at Start Garden?

The team at Start Garden includes Paul Moore (Communication Director), Benjamin Gott (EIR) and Rick DeVos (Founder). The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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