Pigeonly
The affordable way to search, find & communicate with an incarcerated loved one.
Overview
Raised: $129,147
Total Commitments ($USD)
Republic
02/19/2018
03/31/2018
$100
SAFE
RegCF
$15,000,000
0%
Rolling Commitments ($USD)
04/29/2018
$3,229
158
2013
Consumer Products, Goods & Services
Las vegas, Nevada
Do you have a loved one in prison, and are you frustrated with how hard and expensive it can be to stay in contact? If you said yes, then Pigeonly could be the investment you’ve been waiting for. Their service allows for you to stay in touch, and even send things like pictures, in an easy, simple, and affordable way.
The Company:
Pigeonly is “the leader in providing families with easy to use, low-cost inmate communication services.” Through their platform, users can use their mobile phone, tablet, or computer to search and find inmates, and then send them printed photos, letters, greeting cards, postcards, or even online articles. Pigeonly also provides a low cost VoIP phone solution for prison phone calls, using their proprietary technology Haystac™. So far, they’ve connected over 100,000 prison inmates on their platform; they’ve secured $5M in VC funding from Silicon Valley investors; they have over 10,000 active users; and they support every Federal, State, and County jail in the US, which is over 17,000 facilities. They’ve also saved families over $8MM in phone fees, and they’re earning over $175,000 in monthly revenue, with an expected 50% increase in daily subscribers and revenue for 2018.
The Bottom Line:
Almost 27 million Americans have at least one friend or family member that is currently in a US prison, and that group collectively spends $4B annually in supporting inmates. Pigeonly is disrupting that industry and revolutionizing communication with inmates. They want to make sure you can stay in touch with your loved ones, and they’ll be your metaphorical (and affordable!) carrier pigeon to help out….one letter, photo, and phone call at a time.
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Summary
One of my favorite things about covering the equity crowdfunding market is that with each passing week the opportunities and selections get stronger and stronger as legitimacy, awareness, and ultimately capital begin to flood the space.
This week, I bring you the first weekly KINGSCROWD deal recommendations. First up, Pigeonly currently raising on Republic.
Overview
Pigeonly is in the business of providing low-cost inmate communication services, which turns out is a $4 billion market, with 10% of the US population having at least one friend or family member incarcerated. To date, the services available for communicating with inmates have been wrought with predatory pricing.
With the proprietary Haystac KPI the team has built, Pigeonly can track where over 1M inmates across 17K prison facilities are at any one time, and make it seamless for friends and family to find and connect with them for one low subscription price. The team is on pace to reach over $3M in revenue this year and has over 10K subscribers across 88 countries connecting with over 100K US based inmates.
Some of the biggest names in VC have backed Pigeonly including 500 Startups, Social Capital and Kapor Capital. Interestingly enough, this business was born out of a real life experience for founder Frederick Hutson, who went to prison himself in his early 20’s. From that experience he decided to take his life in a new direction and has proven that second chances can lead to great results. At a $15M valuation, which is 5X the current annual revenue, Pigeonly presents a reasonably priced opportunity with the team estimating $40M in gross revenue over the next 24 months, aka a 3X upside on the current valuation.
Want to learn more about our top deals? Reach out to hello@kingscrowd.com