Serra Ventures Commits $750,000 to St. Louis-Based OPER

OPER, the largest and fastest growing mobile payment and rewards platform in St. Louis, has raised $750,000 in funding from Champaign, Illinois-based venture firm Serra Ventures. Serra is participating in the company’s $1.5M convertible note financing round with an initial commitment of $250,000. Serra intends to invest another $500,000 over the balance of 2016.
 
“From our very initial interaction with OPER’s CEO David Laiderman, it was obvious that his passion, work ethic and deep industry experience formed a powerful combination that could drive this company toward success. David and his team are executing beautifully on a well conceived strategy. The foundation of success in St. Louis has prepared them well for the next two target cities – Los Angeles and Denver,” Serra Ventures CEO and Partner Tim Hoerr said.
 
To date, OPER has raised a total of $2.5M in investment capital. The company now has over 20,000 users and recently topped $250,000 in revenue. OPER is growing at a rate of 40 to 60% month over month, and has landed key investments from groups deeply integrated with McDonalds, Outback Steakhouse and the Tilted Kilt.
 
David Laiderman, CEO of OPER shares: “I was really excited to be introduced to the team at Serra.  You could tell immediately that all of them were experienced technology investors.  Given their strong network and Midwest roots, I’m really looking forward to our partnership.”
 
About Serra Ventures
 
Serra Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm investing in technology companies in emerging Midwest technology centers and selected other geographies. Sectors of focus include information technology, devices/instrumentation and agricultural technologies. The profile of an ideal startup is one that has just finished an accelerator program, an Innovation-Corps program or has been through a round of seed funding to establish and prove a strong product-market fit. 
 
Serra Ventures is headquartered in the University of Illinois Research Park in Champaign, Illinois. Champaign’s central Midwest location enables Serra to act local in several Midwest markets. Entrepreneurs know that critical business issues requiring advice are rarely scheduled. Serra’s central location means hands-on work with entrepreneurs at a moment’s notice when they need it the most. For more information, visit www.serraventures.com.
 
About OPER:
 
OPER is the largest and fastest growing mobile payment and rewards platform in St. Louis. Customers can order, pay, earn and redeem rewards instantly with OPER, while earning 5% back every time ordered, or they can pay and redeem at over 150 St. Louis restaurants. For more information, visit https://paywithoper.com.
 

Contact Information

Tim Hoerr

CEO

Serra Ventures, LLC

(1) 2178195201

tim@serraventures.com