soona co-founders Hayley Anderson and Elizabeth Giorgi.
Say cheese! And by cheese, we mean the green kind — money.
Minneapolis-based photography and video studio soona has closed a $3.5 million Seed 2 led by Matchstick Ventures and Starting Line. The oversubscribed round comes less than nine months after the company’s initial seed.
“Our team has proven there is a clear need for a content creation player who can produce beautiful visuals at scale” Elizabeth Giorgi, soona co-founder and CEO, said in a release. “We believe soona has the best product, the best technology and the best customer experience and we can’t wait to bring it to more markets.”
According to a release, the latest funding sets the stage for the company to expand into Austin, Texas, establish a soona “digital fulfillment studio,” and launch an eCommerce app within the Shopify platform.
Since opening in the spring of 2019, soona has quickly built up buzz with its pricing structure — $39 for each photo, $93 for each video clip —and client flexibility thanks to both in-studio and online shoots.
“Content is the beating heart of every marketing department,” Hayley Anderson, soona co-founder and CCO, also said in the release. “Today’s marketers deserve a solution that gives them freedom, scale and fun. soona is that solution.”
The round is also notable for including the Candor Clause. Created by Giorgi and Anderson, the Clause is an, “innovative, open-source legal framework for promoting gender equity in Venture Capital.” To date, the Clause has been part of more than 50 deals.
[Update]
We asked soona co-founder Elizabeth Giorgi what she was most excited about in regards to the new funding. Here’s what she had to say.
“These new dollars will allow us to continue to improve the soona platform,” Giorgi said. “From creating dynamic shot lists to planning shoots to shopping content and new apps, soona is positioned to completely redefine how creative production gets done thanks to this new funding.“
Photo courtesy of soona.
