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For-profit

Civic Eagle

Website:

www.civiceagle.com/
Location:

Saint Paul, MN
Formation:

2015
CEO:

Damola Ogandipe
Type:

For-profit legislative tracking

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Civic Eagle is a for-profit company that sells Enview, a federal and state-level legislation tracking and explaining service to businesses, nonprofits, lobbying groups, and law firms,

From its founding in 2019 to May 2022, Civic Eagle had served more than 2,000 users 1 and 100 clients, including Google, Common Cause, Comcast, America Votes, The Nature Conservancy, the Center for Secure and Modern Elections, Fair Fight Action, the University of Minnesota, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Sierra Club, Voices for Racial Justice, and Fresh Energy. After the death of George Floyd, Civic Eagle provided its services to “racial justice” organizations for free. 2 3 4 5 6

Though based in St. Paul, Minnesota, Civic Eagle has a fully remote workforce. 7 By 2023, Civic Eagle plans to have 30 employees. 8

History and Founders

Civic Eagle was cofounded in 2015 by Damola Ogandipe, Yemi Adewunmi, and Shawntera Hardy as a business-to-customer service based on an app. Ogandipe started the company with his own funds and didn’t raise any money from outside investors for two years. His idea for the company came from his experiences navigating the United States legal system as an illegal immigrant from Nigeria and from having trouble understanding the Affordable Care Act while working in health care. 9 10 11 12

One year after its launch, the Civic Eagle app only had a few thousand downloads despite the 2016 elections. 13 In 2018, the Civic Eagle pivoted to a business-to-business model on the advice of investors due to low user numbers. 14 15 16 17

Chief executive officer Ogandipe is the owner of Sky Resort Studios, a company which converts shipping containers into music studios, and he previously worked at Oxford Strategic Consulting for over six and half years. 18 19 20

Chief operating officer Adewunmi previously worked at the Public Consulting Group and as a policy analyst for the New York State Assembly. She previously interned on the unsuccessful New York Senatorial campaign of Joanne Yepsen (D-NY). 21

Hardy now serves as a consultant for Civic Eagle. 22 She is the founder of PolicyGrounds Consulting and Fearless Commerce, a former fellow at the Bush Foundation, the former deputy chief of staff for Governor Mark Dayton (D-MN), and the former city planner of St. Paul, Minnesota. 23

Enview

Enview is the core service program of Civic Eagle, which is updated by the company’s staff constantly while following legislation across the United States. Customers can order Enview to track legislation federally or across numerous states. Tracking can be widened to specific domains. For instance, Enview provided updates on legislative responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Enview provides descriptions of legislation and updates on progress toward passage. Organizations that use the platform can communicate and coordinate their advocacy efforts. 24

Open States

Open States is a program developed in 2009 and acquired by Civic Eagle. Open States also provides information on legislation across the United States. As of 2022, it has 11,000 “technical users.” 25

Funding

Civic Eagle’s funding sources include Backstage Capital, Techstars, M25, ff Venture Capital, Incite, Higher Ground Labs, Comcast NBC Universal, and Camelback Ventures. 26

Google for Startups provided between $50,000 and $100,000 to Civic Eagle through its Black Founders Fund. 27 28 Civic Eagle cofounder Damola Ogandipe was an entrepreneur in residence at Google for Startups in 2017. 29 After attending, Civic Eagle received its first significant outside funding of $25,000 from Backstage Capital founder Arlan Hamilton, who had been a competition judge at Google for Startups. 30

In May 2022, Civic Eagle raised $10 million from S3 Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Debut Capital, Nigeria-based Consonance Capital, and football player Colin Kaepernick. The investment brought Civic Eagles total fundraising to over $14 million. 31

References

  1. “Civic Eagle Secures $10M in Series A Funding Led by S3 Ventures.” GlobeNewswire. May 11, 2022. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/05/11/2441096/0/en/Civic-Eagle-Secures-10M-in-Series-A-Funding-Led-by-S3-Ventures.html.
  2. “Civic Eagle: Tech that Streamlines Complex Policy Needs For a Better Democracy.” Techstars. October 6, 2020. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.techstars.com/the-line/startup-profile/civic-eagle-tech-that-streamlines-complex-policy-needs-for-a-better-democracy.
  3. “Trusted By.” Civic Eagle. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.civiceagle.com/.
  4. Niepow, Dan. “Civic Eagle Lands $10M Raise.” Twin Cities Business. May 11, 2022. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://tcbmag.com/civic-eagle-lands-10m-raise/.
  5. Lorenzo, Doreen. “This app is helping Sierra Club, Fair Fight, and America Votes influence public policy.” Fast Company. February 11, 2021. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.fastcompany.com/90603494/this-app-is-helping-sierra-club-fair-fight-and-america-votes-influence-public-policy.
  6. Greco, Patti. “This D.C. entrepreneur makes political engagement easier.” We Work. March 18, 2019. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.wework.com/ideas/community-stories/member-spotlight/the-work-week-of-an-entrepreneur-making-political-engagement-easier.
  7. “Civic Eagle: Tech that Streamlines Complex Policy Needs For a Better Democracy.” Techstars. October 6, 2020. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.techstars.com/the-line/startup-profile/civic-eagle-tech-that-streamlines-complex-policy-needs-for-a-better-democracy.
  8. Niepow, Dan. “Civic Eagle Lands $10M Raise.” Twin Cities Business. May 11, 2022. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://tcbmag.com/civic-eagle-lands-10m-raise/.
  9. Niepow, Dan. “Civic Eagle Lands $10M Raise.” Twin Cities Business. May 11, 2022. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://tcbmag.com/civic-eagle-lands-10m-raise/.
  10. “Civic Eagle: Tech that Streamlines Complex Policy Needs For a Better Democracy.” Techstars. October 6, 2020. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.techstars.com/the-line/startup-profile/civic-eagle-tech-that-streamlines-complex-policy-needs-for-a-better-democracy.
  11. “Entrepreneur Spotlight: Can Damola Ogundipe’s Political Startup Civic Eagle Change Elections in Africa?” African Vibes. June 29, 2021. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://africanvibes.com/entrepreneur-spotlight-can-damola-ogundipes-political-startup-civic-eagle-change-election-in-africa/.
  12. Lorenzo, Doreen. “This app is helping Sierra Club, Fair Fight, and America Votes influence public policy.” Fast Company. February 11, 2021. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.fastcompany.com/90603494/this-app-is-helping-sierra-club-fair-fight-and-america-votes-influence-public-policy.
  13. Greco, Patti. “This D.C. entrepreneur makes political engagement easier.” We Work. March 18, 2019. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.wework.com/ideas/community-stories/member-spotlight/the-work-week-of-an-entrepreneur-making-political-engagement-easier.
  14. Niepow, Dan. “Civic Eagle Lands $10M Raise.” Twin Cities Business. May 11, 2022. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://tcbmag.com/civic-eagle-lands-10m-raise/.
  15. “Civic Eagle: Tech that Streamlines Complex Policy Needs For a Better Democracy.” Techstars. October 6, 2020. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.techstars.com/the-line/startup-profile/civic-eagle-tech-that-streamlines-complex-policy-needs-for-a-better-democracy.
  16. “Entrepreneur Spotlight: Can Damola Ogundipe’s Political Startup Civic Eagle Change Elections in Africa?” African Vibes. June 29, 2021. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://africanvibes.com/entrepreneur-spotlight-can-damola-ogundipes-political-startup-civic-eagle-change-election-in-africa/.
  17. Lorenzo, Doreen. “This app is helping Sierra Club, Fair Fight, and America Votes influence public policy.” Fast Company. February 11, 2021. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.fastcompany.com/90603494/this-app-is-helping-sierra-club-fair-fight-and-america-votes-influence-public-policy.
  18. “US-based Political Tech Startup Civic Eagle Co-founded by A Nigerian Raises $1.3 Million In Seed Funding.” Afrikan Heroes. January 19, 2020. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://afrikanheroes.com/2020/01/19/us-based-political-tech-startup-civic-eagle-co-founded-by-a-nigerian-raises-1-3-million-in-seed-funding/.
  19. “Entrepreneur Spotlight: Can Damola Ogundipe’s Political Startup Civic Eagle Change Elections in Africa?” African Vibes. June 29, 2021. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://africanvibes.com/entrepreneur-spotlight-can-damola-ogundipes-political-startup-civic-eagle-change-election-in-africa/.
  20. “Damola Ogundipe.” LinkedIn. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dogundipe/.
  21. [1] “Yemi Adewunmi.” LinkedIn. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesleyadeyemi/.
  22. Niepow, Dan. “Civic Eagle Lands $10M Raise.” Twin Cities Business. May 11, 2022. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://tcbmag.com/civic-eagle-lands-10m-raise/.
  23. “Shawntera H.” LinkedIn. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnterahardy/.
  24. Lorenzo, Doreen. “This app is helping Sierra Club, Fair Fight, and America Votes influence public policy.” Fast Company. February 11, 2021. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.fastcompany.com/90603494/this-app-is-helping-sierra-club-fair-fight-and-america-votes-influence-public-policy.
  25. “Letter From the CEO: Civic Eagle Raises $10M to Make Understanding Public Policy Better for Organizations.” Civic Eagle. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.civiceagle.com/enview-blog/civic-eagle-raises-10m.
  26. “About.” Civic Eagle. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.civiceagle.com/about.
  27. “About.” Civic Eagle. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.civiceagle.com/about.
  28. “Black Founders Fund: Meet the recipients.” Google. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://startup.google.com/blackfoundersfund/.
  29. “Entrepreneur Spotlight: Can Damola Ogundipe’s Political Startup Civic Eagle Change Elections in Africa?” African Vibes. June 29, 2021. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://africanvibes.com/entrepreneur-spotlight-can-damola-ogundipes-political-startup-civic-eagle-change-election-in-africa/.
  30. Lorenzo, Doreen. “This app is helping Sierra Club, Fair Fight, and America Votes influence public policy.” Fast Company. February 11, 2021. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://www.fastcompany.com/90603494/this-app-is-helping-sierra-club-fair-fight-and-america-votes-influence-public-policy.
  31. Niepow, Dan. “Civic Eagle Lands $10M Raise.” Twin Cities Business. May 11, 2022. Accessed December 10, 2022. https://tcbmag.com/civic-eagle-lands-10m-raise/.
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Civic Eagle


Saint Paul, MN