We Just Closed an Investment Into FishTank

A few months ago, FishTank App Inc. was just an idea sitting in my head.

I kept thinking about how difficult early-stage fundraising feels — especially for younger builders, solo founders, and people who document their work in public.

Most existing processes are optimized for polished companies with traction, warm introductions, and networks that already exist.

Founders also communicate online: progress, failures, community, distribution. That communication is not the same thing as raising capital, and it is not the principal basis for judging a founder or making an investment.

That gap is part of why I started FishTank App Inc., the software company I founded and lead as CEO. FishTank Funding Portal LLC is a separate legal entity formed in connection with Regulation Crowdfunding. This post does not treat that LLC as a registered funding portal, and it does not describe a live Regulation Crowdfunding offering.

Today, I’m sharing that Jason Butcher has made a private investment in FishTank App Inc. That is private fundraising in the operating company. It is not Regulation Crowdfunding, and it is not an investment made through FishTank Funding Portal LLC.

For me, this wasn’t just about capital.

One of the biggest things I’ve learned while building is that early investors shape more than your cap table. They shape the pressure, expectations, and direction around the company.

Jason understood the problem I am trying to work on: making company information easier to find, and treating distribution as a real part of building a company—not treating social posts as a substitute for diligence or as a way to invest.

That alignment matters.

We’re still very early. There’s an enormous amount left to build. Most of the hard work is still ahead.

But moments like this matter because they validate that the problem is real — and that other people see the future the same way you do.

To everyone who’s supported FishTank so far: thank you.

More soon.