WOO! This moment is surreal. I’m so so excited (and proud) to announce @getstarkco's $1.5M pre-seed round. Co-led by @darlingventures and @indicatorventures, and followed by an incredible group of angels.

A brief run down on where we’re headed... https://twitter.com/getstarkco/status/1321151290207014914

Before getting to all of the news (there’s tons more than just funding), a million thanks to our team— @fookay @ru_beep @ItsEmaly @Treggify @albertojorsini & @dordio.

Thank you for bringing your A-Game every day, never delivering anything less. You're *damn* good humans.

The new brand is a culmination of mind-blowing talent and hard work. From a design system ( @arielhernandez @albertojorsini), relentless attention to craft, and the best illustrations ( @aldodlp) on the internet.

I hope tech sees that accessibility and beauty are not at odds.

In a world where objects can be landed in space and returned back to earth, there is no reason the world’s technology shouldn’t be accessible and in turn easily usable, to everyone—regardless of physical, mental, or socioeconomic background.

Accessibility is a byproduct. It’s accessible because it’s usable, and it’s usable because it doesn’t exclude based on abilities or socioeconomic profiles.

Disabled does not mean unable. Let's stop excluding, and start building cross-abilities, not just cross-platforms.

Stark has a big mission to help teams make the world's software products accessible. But this isn't a single discipline problem, it's an entire product development problem.

Knowing that means understanding how to build for the future, not continually push dated tech + thinking.

Our goal is to spearhead accessibility by replacing the dated thinking, often slow + expensive, and predominately web-focused tech. And do so with modern tools made for a community, AI-powered, and cross-platform world.

For teams of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises.

We’ve worked hard to create a community, product, and brand that delivers quality and value at all touch points.

Now we gear up to give you seamless, assisted, and automated workflows that remove re-work, reduce cost and time to compliance & increase your customer satisfaction.

In order to do this, we knew we wanted and needed investors that understood the value and priorities in servicing our community, that we don't compromise on quality, inherently believed everyone should be given access, and that accessibility wasn’t a nice-to-have.

We needed teammates that were eager to learn, come from all over the world, and invest in a mission that went far deeper than the tools we build.

It's a privilege to have gotten not just investors, but an extended team that hit the ground running with us from the very beginning.

It’s our team, along with our community and boosted by this investment (as well as partners) that ensure Stark stays ahead of the game. It means Stark has the space to re-define and re-shape the accessibility market.

It's incredible to see so many of you from some of the best tech startups and corporate companies like Microsoft, Oscar Health, US Bank, Instagram, Pfizer, Volkswagen, Dropbox, and more using Stark in your daily workflows.

The positive impact at scale isn't lost on me.

So when I say today is much more than funding, I mean it.

We're pumped to roll out a beautiful account system (SIGN UP FO' FREE!) to provide centralized billing needs for individuals and teams plus a new brand that changes the way people see and understand accessibility.

Our plan is, and always has been, to enable everyone to create and build accessible software in a way that enhances your workflow and educates you along the way. With that being said, sign up for an account and/or our newsletter for news on new features, content, and more.

Soon along with some awesome new features, we launch our first dev integration as we shift from design-only toward being the foundation for accessibility for the entire product team.

Any guesses what's coming? ANY REQUESTS?!

Finally, a massive thank you to all of you.

You built Stark right alongside us and have made our tools faster and even more beautiful. We’ve watched as you ship some of the most incredible products we use on a regular basis. To say it is humbling would be an understatement.

Over the next days we'll be sharing more goodies on how we crafted the new brand, the investors that are on board, and what our community thinks about categorizing a hot dog as a sandwich.

Here’s to making the world’s products accessible for everyone. Here's to seeing people.