Eric Zhu launched Aviato, an innovative analytical platform for private market data, in an unconventional place for an entrepreneur: the bathroom of his high school in Carmel, Indiana. Now, at just 17 years old, his startup is emerging from stealth mode with an impressive $2.3 million in venture funding.
Aviato differentiates itself by tracking funding rounds, headcount, company credit card revenue data, employee vesting schedules, engineer job locations, and various other metrics. Inspired by SignalFire’s internal database, Zhu aims to create a platform that mirrors SignalFire’s capabilities and has worked closely with founder Walter Kortschak to develop Aviato’s product.
Zhu’s interest in venture capital and startups was sparked during the pandemic when he joined Discord group chats in 2020 at the age of 13. This led him to start Esocial, a digital platform for schools, which was later acquired. His experience at Bachmanity Capital fueled the idea for Aviato as he recognized the need for an analytical layer in existing data tracking platforms like PitchBook and Crunchbase.
Aviato addresses the historically unstructured nature of private market data that has driven firms to invest heavily in developing internal databases. Despite facing challenges, including getting expelled from school for conducting meetings in the bathroom, Zhu secured clients like NEA, Republic Capital, and 8VC.
The $2.3 million seed funding for Aviato came from investors such as 8VC, Soma Capital, and SoftBank. Recognized for his maturity and the quality of his team, Zhu has proven his worth to investors like Eric Bahn, who initially made a small investment but now acknowledges the growth and potential of the product.
With a strong team including David Razavi as co-founder and COO and Harrison Kessel as CTO, Zhu has relocated to San Francisco to focus on the growth of Aviato. Despite his parents’ initial confusion about his career path, Zhu is determined to revolutionize the private market data industry and aims to eventually surpass competitors like PitchBook.
