IDEA Fund Partners Makes Second Florida Investment in 71lbs

CED Member and Mentor Partner IDEA Fund Partners just announced an investment in Florida-based 71lbs, a technology firm that helps companies collect the money-back, on-time guarantees offered by shipping companies. 

IDEA Fund Partners invested alongside OCA Ventures, Tamiami Angel Fund and Excelerate Labs (now TechStars Chicago). According to a statement issued by the company, the funds will enable 71lbs to accelerate product development and expand marketing efforts.



According to a statement released by IDEA Fund Partners, 71lbs’ analytics will make it easy for small and medium-sized businesses to easily understand their parcel shipping spend and make better business decisions through graphs, charts and dashboards.


“We have seen how large shippers operate, but more importantly, have been shippers ourselves, and have experienced their pain points and challenges,” says 71lbs founder Jose Li, in a statement. Mr. Li has over 15 years of experience in the shipping, logistics and e-commerce industry, running FedEx’s $1 billion retail and e-commerce practice. “Hundreds of thousands of businesses receive late shipments from UPS and FedEx but never receive the reimbursements they are owed. We’re talking a $2 billion business in missed refunds. 71lbs sets out to sift through the systems and shipments, getting customers the refunds they deserve.”

“Jose is a veteran of the shipping and logistics industry and has built an innovative company to address the pain points he and other shippers have experienced,” said John Cambier, IDEA Fund Partners Managing Partner, in a statement. “We are happy to now have 71lbs in our investment portfolio and look forward to working alongside Jose and his team as they seek to democratize shipping and logistics for SMBs.”

71lbs is IDEA Fund Partners’ second investment in Florida, joining GradSave which was announced earlier this year.

In conjunction with the investment, IDEA Fund Partners Managing Partner, John Cambier, will join the board of 71lbs.