Chicago-Based Startup Raises $1 Million for SMB Growth

October 2024- IN BOLD PRINT, Inc. A minority women-owned, venture-backed startup in Chicago has secured $1 million in pre-seed funding to grow its carbon tracking and reporting platform for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Just as new regulations require businesses in each industry to track and report their carbon emissions, VC414 closes a strategic round at this moment of great importance for the young company.

This investment will help IN BOLD PRINT develop its platform further, in a more streamlined manner that explains carbon reporting for businesses in the consumer goods supply chain to stay abreast with growing environmental regulations. The funding will also support the company’s new features and expand the product offerings for other industries as well.

Increasing Demand for Carbon Reporting Solutions

The pressure on business carbon tracking and reporting has never been higher. Changes in the rulings of regulation-for instance, the ruling that set new California guidelines on how businesses have to report their emissions-have put increasing pressure on the SMEs to report accurate data regarding sustainability. Only large corporations are not alone in the task; their suppliers and partners in various fields also have to submit sustainability data. IN BOLD PRINT’s solution fills this gap with an intuitive means for SMBs to track, report, and improve carbon footprint.

The timing for the infusion of funds couldn’t be any more perfect with the emerging new focus being put into practice on sustainability and ESG practices. With increasingly more businesses having to align themselves with such regulations, suddenly there is an uptick in demand for effective, user-friendly carbon accounting tools.

A Platform for the SMBs

Founded by Ashley Pradhan and Cierra Valor in 2021, IN BOLD PRINT addresses the ease and simplicity of tracking carbon by any business, especially SMBs. It works in much the same way as many of the popular accounting tools where companies get dashboards and reports to manage the emission data efficiently.

While the platform of the company will help the SMBs fulfill their regulatory requirements, it will at the same time provide stakeholders with transparent data on emission amounts. This will hence enable businesses to better decide how they improve their sustainability practices, thereby reducing their carbon footprint over time.

“We started in bold print believing that what’s good for the environment can also be good for business,” stated Ashley Pradhan, CEO of IN BOLD PRINT. “Whether a business owner is proactively trying to improve their carbon footprint or is being asked for an emissions report by a customer or investor, our aim is to enable them to easily get a snapshot of their emissions and how it can be improved.”

Strategic Partners and Investors

In addition to VC414, other climate-focused investors joined the funding round. The most exciting ones were the two customers of IN BOLD PRINT – Schreiber Foods and Palermo’s Pizza – joined as strategic partners. Their involvement speaks to how carbon tracking has become the most important thing within a consumer goods supply chain and underlines the requirement for a streamlined tool for sustainability reporting.

The involvement of strategic partners in their endeavor truly underlines the applicability of IN BOLD PRINT’s platform to the reality of business practice, specifically industries that have now come under pressure to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable operating practices. As more companies in the supply chain are required to report their emissions, platforms like IN BOLD PRINT are emerging as critical tools in managing and checking the environmental impact associated with their operations.

Drivers of Regulations on Carbon Reporting

The new ruling, such as the California one that was announced just recently, is forcing the businesses to meet up with their needs for tools, which are helping them report sustainability. Under this new ruling, businesses not only have to track their carbon emissions but also report them according to guidelines provided. This is not limited to the businesses themselves but their entire chains of suppliers and partners; they are all compelled to provide data on their own emissions.

This is a problem for SMBs, which do not have in-house carbon accounting team-building budgets. However, IN BOLD PRINT’s platform fills that gap by providing an accessible, easy-to-use, and affordable solution for businesses to be compliant with such regulations without requiring huge expertise or resources.

Strengthen the Reach of the Platform

With this $1 million in pre-seed funding, IN BOLD PRINT intends to scale up its platform and add new features that can cater to a wide range of industries. The company originally started targeting businesses operating within the consumer goods supply chain but is now going to focus on developing tools that can be applied by other corporations across a different sector, thereby widening the market scope.

The company’s continued innovation and expansion of its service platform would seek to position it at the forefront of carbon tracking and reporting solutions provided to SMBs. According to the founders, the main driving force behind this endeavor is helping businesses and not only ensuring that they are in compliance with the relevant regulations but also that they understand their environmental impact and take meaningful steps to reduce it.

This money will help accelerate the growth of the platform while also introducing features that will continue to engage more industries. With business operations rapidly becoming “green,” IN BOLD PRINT is positioned perfectly to capitalize on carbon reporting, which more and more businesses demand.

The Future of Carbon Reporting for SMBs

As environmental regulations continue to evolve, this sort of pressure will continue to mount on SMBs to track and report their carbon emissions. IN BOLD PRINT’s platform is that practical and scalable solution with which businesses can meet their regulatory obligations and participate in global sustainability efforts.

So, in short, the company’s founders believe that it is if they can make carbon tracking easy and accessible. Businesses across industries will better realize the benefits from reducing their carbon footprint. With such investors as VC414 and strategic partners like Schreiber Foods and Palermo’s Pizza, IN BOLD PRINT will definitely make its difference in sustainability.

Source: IN BOLD PRINT

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