š Crunch #040: Creator Portfolios, Unique Productivity Task Manager
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Hey, Trevor here. Iām excited and proud to publish the 40th episode. Thanks to everyone reading this.
If youāre a frequent reader, please do me a favor and recommend this newsletter to your peers or friends. Much appreciated.
Letās jump in, here are two brilliant startups crushing it!
šŗšø CLLCTVE: Portfolio platform connecting creators to their next opportunity. (Founded 2018, Total Funding Amount: $120k pre-seed)

How it works
Brands are spending big bucks to target Gen-Z consumers, but are failing at authentically reaching those consumers with content that speaks directly to them.
The only people who understand Gen Z consumers, are Gen Z consumers.Ā
So, whatās the best way to reach them? Source user-generated content directly from your target audience.
See for the MVP demo to get a feel for the platform.
The Metrics
MRR: $16k
$100k+ in brand sales revenueĀ
2,300 creators on the waitlistĀ
200 portfolios createdĀ
Techstars, Google for Startups Founders Academy, Forbes 30U30
The Team
Founder/CEO:Ā Kelsey Davis, BS in Film, MS in Entrepreneurship, Forbes 30U30Ā
Co-Founder/COO:Ā Brendan O'Keeffe, BS in Information, Management, and TechnologyĀ
Chief Growth Officer:Ā Jenna Trabulus, Former Head of Biz Dev @ FabFitFun + Former Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships @ Conde NastĀ EntertainmentĀ
Lead Software Engineer:Ā Yahkeef Davis, Data ScientistĀ
The backstory
P.S: CLLCTVE is currently raising a seed round. If this sounds interesting, reply to this email, and Iāll put you in touch with the right folks.
Sponsored By
This post was brought to you byĀ Eyal Toledano.Ā Eyal is a founder and angel investor.
He is the author of the āThe framework I'm using to turn $500k in micro-acquisitions into $1.4m over the next 2 yearsā article.
You can find more about him on his Substack called Micro Angel, where he writes about his investments, acquisitions, and running a business.

Iām a reader ofĀ Eyalās blogĀ and heās putting inspiring content out. Highly recommended read!
Interested in becoming a sponsor?Ā Fill in this short formĀ and pick a package, and Iāll get in touch with you.
š¦šŗšŗšø llama life: Productivity task manager that helps you work through to-do lists, not just make them. (Founded 2020, Total Funding Amount: $100k angel round)
How It Works
Llama wants you to say goodbye to never-ending lists, and say hello to daily bliss.
Add tasksĀ to your list. For each task,Ā add the durationĀ in minutes. If no duration is added, it will default to 25 min.
When you're ready to begin the task,Ā start the timerĀ by clicking the āplay button'.
Check out the product walk-through for an in-depth taste of it.
TheĀ task at the topĀ of your list is automaticallyĀ loaded into the timer. This task should be your current focus.
The Metrics

Marie Ng š @threehourcoffee
Not quite (currently 286 / 500) but saving this nice bottle of wine for when it does happen š. Itās on my dining table so I see it every day. https://t.co/4ak7C5m66JThe Team
My name is Marie, and I built Llama Life because my to-do list was gettingĀ out of control. I needed a tool to help meĀ focusĀ and provide just a little moreĀ structureĀ to get things done.
I discovered that setting aĀ fixed amount of timeĀ for each task, gave me a strangeĀ sense of calm. It also gave me theĀ mental spaceĀ to focus on ONE thing at a time.
I used to live in the US, New York for 9 years. Now Iām based in Melbourne, Australia.
Recently, I was accepted into the LAUNCH accelerator, which is backed by Jason Calacanis. Itās run in the US but remotely at the moment.
The backstory
Llama Life is inspired by a small village I visited outside Peru back in 2018. They had no electricity or running water but they had a lot of llamas.
It struck me how peaceful, calm, and content they all were. When it came to naming the app, I wanted to replicate that feeling.
My mission with Llama is to help people achieve calm, focused productivity. There's a lot of emphasis on hustle culture right now with people working insane hours.
I'm not against working hard, but I think we can work more smartly.
š Youāre allĀ set!
Startups Crushing It!Ā is a premium newsletter about early-stageĀ (before series A)Ā technology startups. I publish the insights eachĀ TuesdayĀ orĀ Friday.
You tell me which startups excite you. And if requested, Iāll introduce you to the founders.
I look for strong positive signals using the FPTM model: FoundersāāāProductāāāTractionāāāMission.
I interview the founder(s), toy around with products, crunch numbers, and based on that, I decide which startups to feature.
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