Coca-Cola stretches portfolio with billion-dollar startups

Coca-Cola Founders, a program orchestrated to work with startups by the global brand, said one of its portfolio companies has raised a seed round and several others are in talks with investors.

Wonolo Inc., whose name is short for “work now locally,” has raised $2.2 million at a valuation of $7.5 million for software that matches short-term corporate jobs with people who have the flexibility to do those jobs on short notice.

Wonolo was founded in 2013 by Mr. Brustein and Yong Kim, two Coca-Cola employees who had grown restless in their day jobs and set out to solve what Coca-Cola considered to be a billion-dollar challenge.

According to the program's website, other startups in the portfolio include: Curated video search, Winnin; Retail management system, Savasti; Curated mobile e-commerce, Tobuy; Smart vending system, Vending Analytics; On-demand meals, Home Eat Home; Mobile network operator for millenials, Truu Mobile; Real time activity finder, NoSolo and Curated brand content, Twistilled.

Launched in 2013, the Coca-Cola Founders platform is a new model for creating seed-stage startups. We partner with experienced entrepreneurs around the world and give them access to Coca-Cola's relationships, resources and reach before they develop their next startup.