Diem raises $900,000 pre-seed funding to build a social media alternative

Diem, a new social universe designed for women and non-binary folks is announcing a $900,000 pre-seed led by Xfactor Ventures and Acrew, with participation from leading angels such as Create & Cultivate founder, Jaclyn Johnson and Discord Executive, Amber Atherton.

Diem, a Techstars NYC ‘20 portfolio company, adds community expert, Abadesi Osunsade and creator, Kirsty Godso to their advisory board to shape the future of a social platform they want to engage in.

Diem is tackling the inequality that exists for women and non-binary folks IRL and on social media, creating a safe, alternative space for them to share knowledge about the “things we don’t talk about openly.” Diem provides an authentic learning experience for folks, moving away from the orchestrated, performative content that we’re used to seeing on social media and toward a more equitable, personal experience where knowledge is the ultimate form of social currency.

Diem has been in beta since January 2021 and amassed a waitlist of over 20,000. Ahead of its public launch, Diem is carefully curating 100 “Founding Hosts” to share their own experiences and qualified insights with relevant, interest-based communities within the platform. This collective of women & non-binary folks offer a diverse range of acquired knowledge through their careers and lived experiences, Hosts come froma range of backgrounds such as financial advisors, entrepreneurs and OBGYNs, they include influential experts such as Sabia Wade, Amy Fraser and an exciting suite of household names, that the company is keeping under wraps until launch.

Diem was co-founded by Emma Bates and Divia Singh. Emma started her marketing career in blogging and transitioned into marketing and partnerships roles at some of the fastest growing consumer brands in NYC and the UK. Prior to founding Diem, she was Head of Global Marketing at the DTC travel brand, Away. Emma’s work has been featured in Forbes, HuffPost, Entrepreneur and The Cut for her unique approach to marketing, community building and partnerships. Divia is the COO and co-founder of Diem, and is passionate about building technology-based solutions for people in need from the ground up. Prior to Diem, she was one of the first hires on the digital team at Away and also worked at Zocdoc in various roles across product, operations and CX.