Beam raises $13.3m to expand social impact on eCommerce checkouts
The firm claims its platform already demonstrated that it drives a 15% lift in average order value, an 11% improvement in conversion, and a 30% lift in quarterly order frequency for partner brands.
Beam Impact has raised $13.3 million in Series A funding led by Index Ventures and with participation from previous investors Ulu Ventures and HearstLab as well as strategic angels like Brian Long and Andrew Jones (co-founders of Attentive), and Ruchika Julapalli (Head of Product at Everlane).
The fundraiser, which brings Beam’s total funding to date to $15.4 million, will help fuel the firm’s mission to help eCommerce brands build stronger loyalty by empowering people to make an impact on massive social issues as part of their everyday purchases.
Beam is a way to make a measurable impact every day by building community and lifting loyalty with customers over shared values. The platform helps brands stand out amid growing greenwashing.
The funds raised will be used to grow the team, expand the network of partners, and deepen its product offering to fully serve brands, nonprofits, and consumers who want to make a difference.
Make an impact directly while checking out
Beam boasts a B2B2C model that lets customers discover mission-driven brands through the free Beam app, and make an impact directly while checking out with the Beam ecommerce integration.
Beam pairs partner brands with vetted nonprofits reflecting their values and lets customers choose a nonprofit while checking out, where the brand donates part of their purchase at no extra cost.
The firm claims its platform already demonstrated that it drives a 15% lift in average order value, an 11% improvement in conversion, and a 30% lift in quarterly order frequency for partner brands.
Stephanie Thrasher, Associate Director of Ecommerce at Hanky Panky, said: “At Hanky Panky, uplifting women has been core to who we are since 1977. Working with Beam has enabled us to make that commitment tangible to customers and allows our community to visualize how they’re part of something meaningful with every order— it makes them want to order from us more and more.”
Viveka Hulyalkar, CEO and Co-founder of Beam, commented: “We created Beam to connect people anxious to make a bigger impact every day with brands who have the resources and intent to. When we use our spending power to make brands ‘walking the walk’ win, we create accountability for others to be like them—especially as competition in ecommerce is at an all-time high and consumers demand more of the companies they choose to do business with. The private sector is not a silver bullet to complex problems like racial inequity or climate change, but by using it to drive tremendous resources to grassroots organizations, we can create lasting change at scale.”
Beam has already closed partnerships with more than 100 leading brands, such as Instacart, Roots Canada, and Parade. It has also partnered with over 500 nonprofits in the last year.
A few outcomes have been achieved, including funding more than 5 million meals for families experiencing food insecurity and preventing over 1 million pounds of CO2 emissions.
Len Proper, Executive Director of the Military Veterans Resource Center, said: “I was stunned when Beam reached out — their offer was so good that I even wondered if it was legit. Rather than just providing corporate donations, partnerships like the one they’ve facilitated with Instacart are increasing awareness of food insecurity among veterans in central Ohio on a larger scale by getting customers involved at the point of purchase. Our partnership with Beam and Instacart has helped us expand our operations beyond central Ohio to help veterans and their families across the entire state.”
Damir Becirovic, partner at Index Ventures, added: “We are so excited to partner with Viveka, Alex, and the Beam team for many reasons. We believe Beam is representative of a unique business that is becoming the connective tissue between for-profit businesses and nonprofits. It’s clear that Beam represents a rare win-win-win between consumers, brands, and nonprofits. Consumers are able to direct donations to causes they find important, businesses generate a stronger connection with their customers, and nonprofits increase their impact on society. Beam has innovated on a seamless product and a fair business model that has allowed the company to now power giving for iconic brands like Instacart and others. We believe it’s only a matter of time before Beam is ubiquitous across all ecommerce transactions.”
