Events startup Posh just raised $22 million as the IRL space heats up. Read the 12-page pitch deck it used.

Like many tech startups, Posh, an events marketplace platform, was born in a college dorm room.

Founded by Eli Taylor-Lemire and Avante Price in 2019 while still students at New York University, Posh was initially a project to help other college students in NYC socialize and build community.

But just as the two got things rolling, the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down.

"We pivoted from an event company into a software company," as a result, CEO Price told Business Insider.

Since then, after relaunching in October 2020 in Miami, Posh has expanded and now competes with other event tech companies like Eventbrite and Partiful. Last month, the app had over 5,000 events listed on the app, Price said.

"It really is just to help people find belonging," Price said. "It's really hard to meet friends."

Posh announced on Tuesday that it had raised a $22 million Series A round led by Goodwater Capital. It puts the startup's total funding at $31 million, following its seed round from 2023, the startup told BI.

Price said that Goodwater Capital was a natural fit for Posh because of the firm's thesis that the next big social winner would be a platform that "congregates people IRL and helps them connect IRL rather than online."

And that very well could be the case.

As loneliness continues to be a buzzword — and a real burden for millions of people — startups are trying to provide solutions with events, group hangouts, and other new ways to meet people.

Even OpenAI's Sam Altman is paying attention, Price pointed out.

"There's going to be a premium on human, in-person, fantastic experiences," Altman said on an episode of "The Logan Bartlett Show" in May.

Building a TikTok-like feed for IRL events

With the Series A announcement, Posh is also pushing its latest product update, which will focus on making the app more social and consumer-facing, rather than a B2B event marketplace.

You will be able to sync your contacts to the app, and your Posh feed will be sorted according to how many of your contacts are going to events, "rather than just what's trending in your area," Price explained.

This is part of Posh's idea of bridging the algorithmic recommendation feed of TikTok with the consumer desire to spend more time with friends IRL.

Additionally, the platform has been working with content creators to help bring their online communities into the real world. For instance, dating podcast and event host Ariana Nathani of "Drinks First" uses Posh to host events in NYC, according to the company's pitch deck shared with investors.

"A big thesis of ours is actually that we can create a new revenue stream for creators by congregating their top 1% of fans IRL," Price added.

Posh takes a 10% cut and an additional 99 cents per ticket transaction on the app, which is the startup's primary source of revenue.

The company currently has 27 staffers in New York and boasts a strict in-person mandate as a company dedicated to creating IRL experiences. Its latest funding will go toward resources to build out its tools like personalization to compete with incumbents like Eventbrite and host even more events on a monthly basis.

"We really want to just lower the barrier entry to you making plans on the weekend," Price said. "You should open this app and immediately your plans are made for you."

Read the 12-page pitch deck Posh used to raise its $22 million Series A:

Note: The company updated and redacted some figures in the deck.

Posh's pitch deck starts with a simple mission statement.

Courtesy of Posh

Posh says that it is "connecting the world through social experiences," per the slide.

Off the bat, Posh introduces its founders.

Courtesy of Posh

Here's what the slide says:

We started DJing and photographing events at 15.

We each founded our first startups at 17.

We were organizers for 5 years, utilizing platforms we compete with today.

We dropped out of NYU after building an MVP for our own events.

Avante Price

CEO

After learning how to DJ at 5, Avante has been immersed in events for 18+ years. He has always loved startups, bootstrapping countless projects throughout high school and college before POSH.

Eli Taylor-Lemire

CTO

In addition to teaching himself how to code at 14, Eli has curated creative for many A-list musicians. His passion for music & events led him to pursue a film degree at NYU before dropping out for POSH.

Posh claims that "human connection is lost."

Courtesy of Posh

"Generation Z is the loneliest generation the world has seen," the slide says.

Posh wants to "bring back meaningful human connection."

Courtesy of Posh

Here's what the slide says:

We're helping the world bring back meaningful human connection.

Whether it's a small dinner get-together, a themed rooftop party, an underground warehouse rave, or an independent festival, social experiences on POSH are intimate, fun, and grassroots.

POSH is the app that gets people off their phones.

Posh already works with creators and online communities to bring them IRL.

Courtesy of Posh

"We make it easy for anyone to start & scale their own ... IRL Social Community," the slide reads.

Here are the community examples Posh lists in this slide:

Drinks First

Dating podcast monetizing their audience IRL in NYC.

Attendees: 16k

Events: 29

Davis Rave Co.

College student monetizing student experiences.

Attendees: 2.7k

Events: 39

Vibeapple

Left senior role at EY to host Chicago social events.

Attendees: 6.1k

Events: 21

Then Posh shows screenshots of its app.

Courtesy of Posh

Posh says it helps consumers "find the communities most tailored to them" through its app.

Posh outlines the scale of its userbase by the numbers.

Courtesy of Posh

Here's what the slide says:

POSH has been used in 6 continents

POSH organizers have made over $95M, selling over 2M tickets

1% of Guam's population has attended a POSH event

1 in 10 NYC college students have made a purchase on POSH

The startup then dives into its growth.

Courtesy of Posh

Here's what the slide says:

In Q1'24, we tripled platform usage YoY

• Orders — +200% vs. Q1'23
• Events — +231% vs. Q1'23

Its marketplace is a core driver of that growth.

Courtesy of Posh

Here's what the slide says:

Marketplace usage has been growing faster than any other metric. Consumers are becoming confident in the POSH mobile app as a reliable source of personalized social experiences.

• Marketplace Orders — +1733% vs. Q1'23
• Marketplace Order Contrbuton — 9.7%

Posh then lays out its goals for its next phase.

Courtesy of Posh

Here's what the slide says:

What's next: empower anyone to find their tribe.

• Continue empowering existing organizers to grow faster via continuous product improvements + a hands-on approach to success.
• Educate potential organizers on how to start and scale their own communities through content and networking opportunities.
• Hyper-personalize the consumer experience, providing everyone with communities that match their interests.

Posh closes its deck with a plea to "end loneliness."

Courtesy of Posh

The last slide is a Posh graphic.

Courtesy of Posh