About CircleUp
CircleUp is a Financial Services company based in San Francisco (United States) founded in 2011 by Ryan Caldbeck, and was acquired by Brightflow AI in June 2023. Equity crowdfunding is facilitated for private consumer product companies. It operates in the Financial Services and Technology sectors. CircleUp has raised $30 million across 1 funding round from investors including Lyft, Angel List and Kickstarter. The company has 51 employees. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Ryan Caldbeck. CircleUp offers products and services including Helio Platform, Equity Financing, and Business Loans. Its focus areas include FinTech, Crowdfunding, Equity and Consumer Goods. Its legal entity is CircleUp Network Inc. Its competitors include NuMarket and CraftFund.
Company details
CircleUp was founded in 2011 in San Francisco, United States, as an equity crowdfunding platform focused on private companies offering consumer products. Investments are enabled for ownership stakes in screened firms, which must meet minimum annual revenue thresholds and demonstrate tangible products or services. Listings are restricted to US-based companies, with participation open to both US and international investors.
- Headquarters San Francisco, United States
- Employees 51
- Founders Ryan Caldbeck
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsFinancial ServicesTechnology
- Website circleup.com
- Social LinkedIn X Facebook Instagram
- Acquired by Brightflow AI (Jun 2023)
- Legal Name Circleup Network Inc
- Total Equity Funding$30M (USD)
in 1 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$30M (USD), Series C
Nov 2015
- InvestorsLyft
& 5 more
- Employee Count51
- Acquired byBrightflow AI
(Jun 2023)
Products & Services of CircleUp
CircleUp offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Helio Platform, Equity Financing, and Business Loans.
Technology for evaluating and funding consumer brands using data.
Provides investment support for growing consumer businesses.
Offers loans to accelerate brand growth and operations.
Funding Insights of CircleUp
CircleUp has successfully raised a total of $30M through 1 strategic funding round. The most recent funding activity was a Series C round of $30 million completed in November 2015. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $30M
- Total Rounds 1
- Last Round Series C — $30M
- First Round $30M
(Nov 2015)
- Investors Count 5
All 1 funding rounds of CircleUp with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2015 | $30M | Series C | – | Collab Fund |
6 investors in total: 6 institutional.
Investors in CircleUp
CircleUp has secured backing from 6 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Lyft, Angel List and Kickstarter.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Private equity firm investing in multiple sectors | collabfund.com | New York, United States | ||
Creative projects are crowdfunded via a cloud-based platform. | 2009 | kickstarter.com | Brooklyn, United States | |
Alternative investment platform for startups and investors is operated. | 2010 | angellist.com | San Francisco, United States | |
App-based ride-hailing aggregator | 2007 | lyft.com | San Francisco, United States | |
Online platform that connects users with local independent taskers | 2008 | taskrabbit.com | San Francisco, United States | |
Cloud-based AI-driven cash flow forecasting is offered for businesses. | 2019 | brightflow.ai | Berkeley, United States |
Investor details for CircleUp
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of CircleUp
6 people are tracked at CircleUp (4 in leadership, 2 in team); the tracked headcount is 51.
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Ryan Caldbeck | Founder & CEO | Leadership |
Nina McKinney | Partner | Leadership |
Jeffrey Priebe | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Mary Caroline O'Neal | Head Of Financial Advisory And Customer Success | Leadership |
Mark Mullen | Board Member | Team |
Allan Pineda | Data Engineer | Team |
Complete people profiles for CircleUp
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
- Professional contacts
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of CircleUp
3 dated milestones of CircleUp across 12 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded CircleUp is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $30.0M.
- Exit Acquired by Brightflow AI.
Competitors of CircleUp
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| numarket.co | 2020 | Boston, United States | Crowdfunding platform for food and beverage projects is operated. | |||
| craftfund.com | 2012 | Milwaukee, United States | Operates an equity crowdfunding platform for craft beer and food companies. |
Detailed competitors of CircleUp
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
- Competitive positioning
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Web traffic of CircleUp
The website of CircleUp (circleup.com) receives about 2.3K visits a month.
- Monthly visits2.3K
▼ 57.5% vs previous month
Websites whose visitors overlap most with CircleUp. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| seedinvest.com | 100% | View details | |||
| fundersclub.com | 99% | 13.8K | #1,840,467 | View details | |
| equitynet.com | 98% | 680.7K | #878,038 | View details | |
| startupvalley.com | 93% | 680.7K | View details | ||
| earlyshares.com | 84% | 680.7K | View details | ||
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 10 similar websites and full traffic analytics for CircleUp
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 10 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Top companies in Crowdfunding
3 companies that operate in the same segment as CircleUp (Crowdfunding) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reward-based crowdfunding is facilitated for content creators and musicians. | 2013 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 412.1 M | 1,218 | ||
An investment platform offering access to private market investments | 2010 | Washington, District Of Columbia, United States | USD 53.73 M | |||
Funds are raised online for social causes via crowdfunding platform. | 2008 | San Diego, California, United States |
Unlock complete access to The Company Check
Get unrestricted viewing across everything we track — from companies and brands to investors, funding rounds, acquisitions, financials, and more.
- Unlimited viewing on all profiles Companies, investors, financials, funding, acquisitions & directors
- Full access to every database India & global coverage, advanced filters and rich profile details
- Always-on access from your team account Single premium plan for everything you see on the portal
Related news about Circleup
Complete news archive for CircleUp
Full article history, source details, and older brand coverage require an active premium plan.
- Full article archive
- Source and publication date
- Older coverage
- Brand-specific news history
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Frequently Asked Questions about CircleUp
CircleUp was founded in 2011 and raised its 1st funding round 4 years after it was founded.
CircleUp is headquartered in San Francisco, United States. It is registered at San Francisco, California, United States.
Ryan Caldbeck is the CEO of CircleUp, as recorded in our data. They have also founded this company.
CircleUp is a funded company, having raised a total of $30M across 1 funding round to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series C of $30M, raised on Nov 2015.
CircleUp has 51 employees.
CircleUp was founded in 2011 in San Francisco, United States, as an equity crowdfunding platform focused on private companies offering consumer products. Investments are enabled for ownership stakes in screened firms, which must meet minimum annual revenue thresholds and demonstrate tangible products or services. Listings are restricted to US-based companies, with participation open to both US and international investors.
CircleUp offers Helio Platform, Equity Financing, and Business Loans.
CircleUp has 6 investors. Key investors include Lyft, Angel List, Kickstarter, TaskRabbit, and Brightflow AI.
CircleUp operates through Circleup Network Inc.
Yes. CircleUp was acquired by Brightflow AI in June 2023.