Teen Entrepreneur Eric Zhu’s Venture, Born in a High School Restroom, Emerges from Stealth with $2.3M in Funding

From the unconventional launch site of his high school bathroom in Carmel, Indiana, Eric Zhu embarked on creating Aviato, a platform offering insights into the private market. At just 17 years old, Zhu’s initiative has now stepped into the limelight, bolstered by a significant $2.3 million investment from venture capitalists.

Aviato not only provides information on funding rounds and company sizes, akin to what one might find on Crunchbase or PitchBook, but it also delves into more nuanced data such as revenue from company credit cards, stock option vesting timelines, and the work locations of leading engineers, among other details. Zhu envisions Aviato becoming akin to the proprietary platform developed by SignalFire, acknowledging a close collaboration with SignalFire’s creator, Walter Kortschak, in refining Aviato’s offerings.

During the pandemic’s monotonous height, Zhu was serendipitously introduced to venture capital and startups, facilitated by his participation in Discord chats that included industry luminaries like Sam Altman. This exposure spurred him on to create Esocial, a digital environment for educational institutions, in 2021, which he successfully exited ten months later. His subsequent stint at Bachmanity Capital, focusing on early-stage ventures with potential for significant governmental impact, paved the path toward developing Aviato after identifying a gap in analytical depth within existing data platforms.

Zhu explained, “The inception of Aviato was driven by the realization that private market data was profoundly disorganized. This was the impetus behind investment funds allocating massive resources toward their internal database infrastructures.”

Aviato’s development phase saw Zhu taking an unconventional route, conducting meetings from the confines of a high school bathroom, equipped with a green screen and ring light—all in an effort to carve time out of his school day. Despite ultimately being expelled for his innovative approach to multitasking, Zhu’s venture succeeded in attracting notable clients such as NEA, Republic Capital, and 8VC.

Investments in Aviato’s seed round amounted to $2.3 million, with contributions from 8VC, Soma Capital, SoftBank, and a personal investment from Eric Bahn of Hustle Fund, who was initially intrigued by Zhu’s persuasive cold email. Reflecting on their first meeting over Zoom, Bahn was impressed by Zhu’s mature demeanor, despite the oddity of the conversation’s location—a bathroom stall.

Bahn reminisced about making an initial $3,000 investment, half-jokingly considering it potentially wasted. Three years on, his view has shifted significantly, bolstered by the quality of the team Zhu has assembled and the product they have developed.

With the recent addition of David Razavi as co-founder and COO, and Harrison Kessel as CTO, Aviato’s founding team is solidifying its capabilities. Zhu, now based in San Francisco and completing his high school education online, remains focused on expanding Aviato’s client base across the private market spectrum, undeterred by his parents’ bemusement over his career trajectory.

Zhu confidently states, “We’ve developed a product that has gained traction. Our target market includes venture and private equity funds. Our ambition is to set a new industry standard, surpassing platforms like PitchBook.”