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Spring Pitch Deck (Use password: KnowwnODP) / Website

Journey ⛰️ 

Knowwn is redefining employee recognition with its data-driven “Recognition DNA” platform, delivering personalized care profiles to boost engagement and retention. Founded by Chelsie Lee and Matt Terry, this Cincinnati-based startup has hit $1.5M in revenue YTD (as of April 2025), created over 525K profiles, and maintains a 4.87/5 recipient score. With marquee partners like GoodRx, Amazon, and Clipboard Health, Knowwn’s healthcare focus is scaling to meet a workforce hungry for meaningful appreciation—starting from Ohio’s heartland.

Location 🗺️

HQ: 1311 Vine St, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 

Leadership 🤼

Contact email: matt@knowwn.co

Alignment 💫

    Stage: Seed with robust traction

    Key Achievements:

    • 525K+ care profiles created (up from 515K as of Jan 2025)
    • $1.5M revenue YTD (April 2025)
    • $14K single-day sales spike on Employee Appreciation Day (March 7, 2025)
    • 96 enterprise clients, including GE Healthcare, The Home Depot, and Clipboard Health
    • Recipient score: 4.87/5 with zero refunds
    • Strategic Partnerships: GoodRx, Amazon, DirectTV, Shopify ecosystem

    Upcoming Milestones:

    • 1M care profiles by end of Q2 2025 (revised from Q1)
    • Expanded healthcare focus with wellness dollar benefits

    Fundraise Details 💰

    Ask Pauly or reach out to the leadership team above for more information.

    Asks 🙋

    • Ohio-based investors
    • Third board member
    • intros to enterprise HR leaders
    • Guidance on healthcare market expansion

    Weather Reports ☂️

    February 2025

    • Achieved strong Q4 2024 results with $595,000 in top-line revenue, while maintaining efficiency with a $45 Blended CAC.  They show healthy customer retention with 89% repeat customers.  2025 Marketing and sales expansion will focus more deliberately on the HealthCare industry and the specific needs of the people who care for us in that industry. 
    • The platform is demonstrating strong customer satisfaction with a 4.83/5 recipient rating and zero refunds due to quality issues. They’ve reached 12,500+ recipients and added 96 new enterprise customers, including major names like GE Healthcare, The Home Depot, PWC, and NBCUniversal. A standout success story is The Linux Foundation, which upgraded from gift cards to their Recipient Choice collection, increasing spend by 21% with 25% higher margins.
    • Their product mix shows strong performance in physical gifts (61% of orders) with top categories including Kitchenware, Electronics, Beauty, and Food/Snacks. Popular items include Whiskey Stones, JBuds Mini Earbuds, and Cold Brew/Tea Makers. Looking forward, the company is focusing on enhancing their marketing, PLG strategy, and direct sales capabilities, while continuing to build on their core strengths in product, operational efficiency, leadership, and scalability.
    • Their fundraising efforts are progressing well, with 75% of their $1.8M round closed ($1,350,000), $135,000 raised in Q4, and $450,000 still open until March.

    March 2025

    • Recorded $14K in sales on Employee Appreciation Day (March 7), the biggest day of 2025, boosted by a Google ad campaign (first paid keyword spend) driving 8.1K conversions in the lead-up.
    • Expanded platform to support wellness dollar benefits, adding five Recipient Choice collections ($30–$160) with two new customers, aligning with key providers’ guidelines.
    • Added 3,000+ new Recognition DNA profiles and 10,000+ unique visitors in February, with two new 50-employee milestone campaign customers fitting the ideal customer profile (ICP).
    • Landed Clipboard Health as a customer, bringing big volume and revenue, plus a rave review: “We’d be pissed if we went with anyone else!”