- HAGS — a company that is building creative and fun digital experiences for Gen-Z students — announced that it has raised $1 million in a seed round of funding led by GV
HAGS — a company that is building creative and fun digital experiences for Gen-Z students — announced that it has raised $1 million in a seed round of funding led by GV with participation from BoxGroup and several angel investors. The company’s first product — which is called HAGS: Yearbook Signatures — launched in the summer of 2020 and it enabled tens of thousands of high school students to sign yearbooks through Snapchat.
As students across the globe are transitioning to remote and hybrid high school experiences this year, the HAGS team decided to expand its product to include new app features that connect students and their peers in a virtual setting.
HAGS now works with over 200 high school ambassadors across the U.S. as they continue to deliver products and experiences created by and for Gen-Z. Going forward, HAGS will launch its new digital classrooms in beta in six high schools in California and students at these schools will be able to walk into their high school on HAGS and interact with their classmates.
After COVID-19 prevented Jameel Shivji and high school students across the country from finishing the school year in person, the 18-year old partnered with his sister Suraya Shivji and co-founder James Dale to create a yearbook powered by Snapchat for students to use. HAGS is based out of New York City, remotely distributed and it is continuing to grow its team and experiment with imaginative interfaces.
KEY QUOTES:
“The HAGS founding team is part of, and deeply understands, a generation that is increasingly shaping the cultural landscape. The team consists of incredible consumer product thinkers, and they are deeply committed to building a product that grows alongside the customer. We are impressed with HAGS’ ability to create refreshing new experiences that resonate with Gen-Z.”
— Terri Burns, Principal at GV
“We’re excited to brainstorm new ways to use SnapKit and how we can work together to make high school students’ lives more fun. We’re looking forward to continuing to collaborate with our advisors and investors at GV and BoxGroup as we bring new digital experiences to high school students.”
— Suraya Shivji, CEO and co-founder of HAGS
“The founding team drew on our collective design and software engineering experience at Apple, Spotify, and Figma while creating HAGS. We’re excited to experiment with new technology as we build out the next stage of the company.”
— James Dale, co-founder of HAGS
