Leighton Elevate Angel Development Fund Announces First Investment

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (Nov. 29, 2021) – Judd Leighton Foundation and Elevate Ventures today announced the first investment from their joint Leighton Elevate Angel Development (LEAD) Fund into a new company called Cobomba. The funding was included in a seed round led by Pit Road Fund at the Notre Dame IDEA Center.

Cobomba launched in 2020 from a partnership between Vennli, a South Bend-based market research provider, and three of its former employees: Alex Davis, Bart Frischknecht and Jason Stele.

“I’m excited that the LEAD Fund is working with Cobomba to help bring clarity to the noisy content creation, scheduling and measurement space. This is a great tool that will provide a significant lift for many organizations,” said Nicholas Kuhn, Elevate Ventures’ entrepreneur-in-residence serving Startup South Bend-Elkhart, a partnership supporting entrepreneurs in north-central Indiana. “Bart has been able to apply his previous marketing experience to building a team and platform that will create an impact.”

Cobomba uses artificial intelligence to help marketers develop effective content strategies. The company’s software can identify what an audience is searching for, as well as understand how well a company’s content is performing in its industry.

Funding from the round will enable the company to advance its software platform, enabling marketing professionals to get better content recommendations in less time. It will also create more opportunities for sales, marketing and customer service.

“We are so excited to provide intelligent content recommendations that make marketing content simple by applying these funds to Cobomba’s growth,” said Frischknecht. “This funding solidifies Cobomba’s place in the growing tech ecosystem in South Bend and northern Indiana.”

The LEAD Fund was launched in May to provide capital for startups located in Elkhart, Marshall or St. Joseph counties.