A Raleigh-based air filter delivery service focused on reminding customers when a filter change is needed raised $6.9 million in its latest investment round.
FilterEasy Inc. has raised over $18 million from outside investors since 2016.
In a release, the company stated that the funding will be used for innovating and developing its products, expanding its warehouse and service capabilities and continuing to accelerate growth.
FilterEasy offers a subscription-based platform guaranteeing the delivery of correctly-sized HVAC air filters to customers’ doorsteps on a regular basis.
The company was launched out of beta in March 2014 by former N.C. State University students Thad Tarkington and Kevin Barry, who left college to build the business.
A previous investment round from July last year hauled in nearly $7 million from 35 investors. A round from the previous year resulted in $4.2 million from 44 investors.
Durham-based venture capital firm One Better Ventures LLC led the newest investment round. John Replogle, a partner at One Better Ventures, said FilterEasy has found a way to overcome common challenges to the success of air filter companies.
“There’s a massive opportunity in home air filter subscription service, and FilterEasy is paving the way in this sector,” Replogle said.
One Better Ventures’ Triangle-area portfolio includes personal care products company Burt’s Bees, commodity coffee producer Slingshot Coffee Company and creator of a date rape drug-detecting test Undercover Colors.
Tarkington, now FilterEasy’s CEO, said that the company’s mission-driven brand makes it compatible with One Better Ventures’ portfolio.
“We are excited to have them join us in helping drive sustainable and socially responsible category innovation and product development,” Tarkington said. “Together, we can create a positive impact on people’s everyday life.”
Further contributions came from Lead Edge Capital LLC, a software, internet and consumer business investor with past contributions to Spotify and Uber.
On Sept. 7, the company launched Smoke Pollution Relief by FilterEasy, a program focused on assisting West Coast communities impacted by the 2018 hurricane season by donating new air filters to homes with compromised indoor air quality.
Barry, now FilterEasy’s chief operating officer, said the company was built on a recognition of the problems that can occur when consumers forget to change their air filters.
“We’ve always believed we’re here to make a difference in consumers’ lives, giving them tools to simplify the chaotic work-life balancing act,” Barry said.
