Sponsored by
March was a tremendous month of internal and external growth for Trivium.
We closed our second deal.
We made great strides towards solidifying an exceptional summer team.
We constructed much more in depth diligence reports (as requested by LPs).
We moved our business operations onto an AI native CRM.
That’s all good but WHY? I read Start with Why by Simon Sinek on a recent 16 hour plane ride to Nepal. Sinek argues that leaders and businesses succeed not because of what they do or how they operate but their WHY - their mission and purpose. The “why” differentiates exceptional brands ad allows them to succeed in their competitive vertical. Primary examples include Apple, Southwest Airlines, and Harley-Davidson.
The “why” for Trivium is clear: We are building these investor and advisor networks to give liberal arts-oriented entrepreneurs as good a shot as those coming from traditional educational backgrounds. Liberal arts founders have already changed the world, Trivium exists to ensure the next generation does it faster and better.
Please take a minute to consider the liberal arts founded startups we featured this month below 🔽
Updates
💰 Spike SPV Close 💰
Over six-figures total from multiple NESCAC angels
Schools represented: Hamilton, Amherst, Tufts, and Middlebury
Earned about 25% allocation in their fully-comitted pre-seed round
📸 Photoshoot in NYC with Hamilton Alumni Founders 📸
Shoutout to Jarod Estacio (Grid) and Greg Milnarik (Koomba)
Stay tunned for a magazine feature on Trivium
🤝 First Monthly Investor, Family & Friends Business Report 🤝
Let us know if you want to receive these metrics on Trivium’s internal business, growth, where / how help is needed, etc.
🗽First Event with TRIIBE in NYC was a Success🗽
A Look Back at Our Recent Startups
Acrylic (Williams): AI-Powered Music Data Platform for Social Content Performance
Acrylic replaces generic stock music with real, licensed music selected based on audience fit.
The platform uses AI and a proprietary data model to match independent artists with sports teams and brands, predicting which fanbases will drive engagement. Each campaign generates feedback loops on audience response, building a compounding data moat that stock music libraries cannot replicate.In early traction with top European football clubs, Acrylic has demonstrated strong engagement lift and cost efficiency.
Campaigns with clients like Paris Saint-Germain consistently rank in the top 8% of engagement, while reducing music licensing costs by ~95%. The company is currently in beta SaaS pricing ($5K–$10K/year) with a target scale to $15K–$25K/year plus a 30% licensing fee. Acrylic has secured backing from Techstars and is raising a $500K bridge round.Founded by Jeremy Da (Williams) and Dennis Baliton (CSU Dominguez Hills)
EcoClaim (Bates) Carbon Intelligence Platform for Insurance Claims .
EcoClaim embeds carbon measurement directly into insurance claims workflows to guide lower-cost, more resilient rebuilds.
The platform measures claim-level emissions (especially Scope 3) and uses AI-driven insights to recommend materials and rebuild strategies that reduce both carbon impact and future risk. By integrating at the point of claim, EcoClaim turns emissions data into operational decisions rather than static reporting.EcoClaim is gaining early traction with insurers, demonstrating both cost savings and regulatory value.
The platform reduces claims costs by an average of 27% while enabling Scope 3 reporting and compliance. EcoClaim has achieved 5x YoY revenue growth, with ~$3M in pipeline including major insurers (Zurich, QBE, Travelers), and is connected to $11B+ in claims activity. Approximately 40% of Canadian property claims are EcoClaim-certified.Founded by Nick Shipley (Oxford) and Lily Elsner (Wellesley)
Engine Room Media (Williams) AI-Powered Analytics and Growth Capital for the Creator Economy.
Engine Room unifies fragmented creator data (YouTube, Meta, Spotify, TikTok, Patreon) into a single dashboard with actionable insights. Their second product, PartnerPro, deploys growth capital to high-potential creators, recouping from incremental revenue before sharing 40% of upside.
In the test case with cooking channel SweetAmbs, SweetAmbs has seen 7x growth in YouTube views, 2x increase in paid memberships, and 4–5x improvement in brand deal pricing. The company has $550K committed out of a $950K angel round. The management team brings experience across $1B+ in media transactions at Paramount, Def Jam, Netflix, and HBO.
Founded by Geordie McClelland (Williams), Keith Quinn (Harvard), and David Harleston (Harvard).
Upcoming
🌆NESCAC Day of Entrepreneurship in Boston 🌆
Friday, April 17th
📚Hamilton Liberal Arts Venture Conversation 📚
@ Hamilton College Burke Library on Monday, April 20th
No need to RSVP just show up!
🔊 Engine Room Media SPV 🔊
Reply if you are interested in looking at further diligence 🔽
Sponsored Content
Replace your first 4 hires with AI. Free workshop on April 8th.
Most early-stage founders can't afford their first four hires. Sales, marketing, dev, and support alone can run hundreds of thousands in salaries.
On April 8th, AI thought leader Heather Murray shows pre-seed and seed founders how to build all four functions using AI tools. Live, with demos, for free.
Register today and get a free AI tech stack worth $5K+ including Claude, AWS credits, Make, and 90% off HubSpot.
Learn AI in 5 minutes a day
This is the easiest way for a busy person wanting to learn AI in as little time as possible:
Sign up for The Rundown AI newsletter
They send you 5-minute email updates on the latest AI news and how to use it
You learn how to become 2x more productive by leveraging AI
Trivium Venture Network is a registered LLC. Nothing in this content constitutes investment or legal advice. The information provided should not be used as the basis for making investment decisions. Readers should conduct their own research and consult with investment advisers before making investment decisions.