Working out of a bright blue remodeled school bus parked off the interstate outside of Salt Lake City—or sometimes by Bridal Veil Falls, depending on the day—married co-founders Jason and Natalie Fairbourne have been trying to fundraise for their early-stage company (a peer-to-peer marketplace for used gear and items called Yoodlize), during one the most challenging markets in a decade.
The first time I spoke with the two of them, via Zoom from the inside of their double-decker bus, it was mid-September. The fundraising market had been depressed in most sectors for much of the year. Yoodlize had just opened a seed round two weeks prior, and the founders were aiming to reel in about $3-5 million in capital to expand into five new cities in addition to Salt Lake City—a goal that, coming off a record two years of venture funding, still felt within reach. The energy between the two co-founders was palpable as they told me about how they met skiing more than 24 years ago. They virtually showed me around their bright blue mega-bus as they talked me through their fundraising plans.
