By:  Benyamin Davidsons

Roughly a year ago, Crain’s NY began a bi-weekly column named

“Chasing Giants”, which features various local startups aiming to take on industry leaders.  By now, column writer Anne Kadet has done profiles on more than 25 startups.  Some of those companies have since tanked, others have made it big, and some have entered new markets. Here’s a briefing on how some of those companies are faring now, as per Crain’s New York.

Blank Street Coffee was featured in March as a “Chasing Giants” startup.  This Brooklyn-based coffee chain is one of the featured companies that has seen the most growth. When the story ran, the company operated 29 storefront and cart locations across New York City, having started in summer 2020 with just one spot.  Since then, the founders got $25 million in funding from a Series A round, and fired up a massive expansion.  They now boast 61 units, 42 of which are in NYC.  Added locations include 14 locations in London, UK, and three in both Washington D.C., and Boston.

Kaiyo is an online used furniture platform featured by Crains in May.  The company had five warehouses across the East Coast and was processing hundreds of transactions daily.  It had acquired $36 million in Series B funding and was hoping to expand into the West Coast.  Kaiyo has since successfully launched in Los Angeles and San Diego, and has more than doubled its number of staffers, now boasting some 300 employees.  “Those markets are doing extremely well for us. We are very happy with their growth, reception [and] with the quality of product we’re getting there,” CEO Alpay Koralturk told Crains.

Stuf, a real estate startup that turns empty spaces in buildings into neighborhood self-storage, was also featured in May.  At the time, the company had raised $1.8 million in seed funding and had 14 locations.  Last week, it announced it had closed an $11 million Series A funding round, which the company will use to expand into more locations.   “We have proven the concept across multiple markets and asset classes—office, multifamily, retail and hotel,” said founder Katharine Lau.

Balanced, an online fitness startup offering on-demand and live-streamed fitness instruction to older adults, was featured in April by “Chasing Giants”.  At the time, the company had several hundred members across the country paying $20 a month for unlimited access to the service.  The company has since doubled its membership base, expanded its Brooklyn office and studio space, and grown to employ 18 staffers.  The company has reached another of its goals, by starting to offer their platform through Medicare Advantage plans, said CEO Katie Reed.

Alinea was the first startup featured by Crain’s “Chasing Giants”.  Featured last February, the NYC-based investing platform caters to novice investors and especially young women.  At the time, the company which was trying to compete with Robinhood, had just seven employees and a few thousand customers.  The company prides itself in enabling Gen-Z investors to invest in like-minded companies who care about sustainability or are founded by women.  Now the platform boasts some 50,000 customers.  In August, the company was named by RealSimple as one of the Best Financial Apps and Services of 2022.  In June, co-founders Eve Halimi and Anam Lakhani were recognized in Crain’s 20 in Their 20s list.