Birmingham tech startup Mixtroz reaches historic fundraising goal of $1 million

There’s been another big win for mother-daughter duo, Kerry Schrader and Ashlee Ammons, co-founders of Birmingham tech startup Mixtroz. The company has officially reached the historic fundraising goal of $1 million!

Bham Now first covered Mixtroz this past May when Schrader and Ammons won $100K in seed funding during the Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Tour.

Founded by AOL co-founder Steve Case, the tour travels to America’s growing startup meccas to invest in companies who win a pitch competition. Mixtroz won the competition, securing a $100,000 investment from Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Funding.

What was it like taking part in the Rise of the Rest pitch competition?

“Exhilarating,” Ammons said. “When the pitch ended the first thing Steve said was, ‘That was an awesome presentation’.  It was definitely a life moment to hear that from the ‘Father of the Internet’.”

Currently, Mixtroz is the only business from Alabama to win the competition. Not only that, but Shrader and Ammons are among only 40 black females to ever close $1 million in seeding funding. Pretty impressive, don’t you think?

“Achieving this milestone is a huge success for us,” Schrader said. “Especially considering we are black, female, non-technical tech founders.”

What Is Mixtroz?

So what exactly is Mixtroz? Well, it’s pretty neat. Mixtroz—a combo of ‘mixer’ and ‘introduction’—is an event app that helps take the awkwardness out of networking. Sounds pretty good so far, right?

The app allows the organizer and/or sponsor of the event to tailor specific questions to capture unique data from attendees. When an attendee arrives at an event, they can download the app (for free!) and answer a set number of multiple choice questions preselected by the host or sponsor. The questions are then used to match respondents on virtually any criteria—job title, professional interests, birthplace, hobbies, etc.

When it’s time for groups to assemble, the app tells everyone where and with whom they’ll be meeting. By helping coordinate people based on similar interests and professions, networking is given much more value.

“It’s a win-win for the attendees and the organizers,” Ammons said. “The attendees are guaranteed to meet people of interest at events, and the organizers and sponsors can gather valuable information about the event participants in real time.”

After the event, organizers and sponsors are given contact information and responses of everyone who completed the Mixtroz survey. This  makes it easier to make important decisions about upcoming events.

Mixtroz in Birmingham

Mixtroz, which originated in Nashville, Tennessee, relocated its headquarters to Birmingham shortly after. And it’s a decision, Schrader and Ammons continue to be happy with.

“Birmingham has proved to be a perfect home base for us,” Schrader said. “In fact, we would not have reached this milestone without the active support from Innovation Depot’s Velocity Accelerator; Bronze Valley, a Birmingham-based venture platform focused on diverse founders; as well as local corporations and businesses; and, of course, Birmingham’s robust investor community.”

Ammons added:

“To us, it feels like Birmingham is at the beginning of a Renaissance, it is evident in the way the city is building and it is exciting for us to be here for the start of it and do our part in working toward the vision for the Birmingham of tomorrow.”

We are honored to have such an empowering and successful tech company in Birmingham. We wish you the very best!