Tilt

Tilt, originally launched as Crowdtilt in 2012, was a social payments and crowdfunding platform that enabled groups to pool money for various purposes. The company was founded by James Beshara and Khaled Hussein, who launched the platform out of the Y Combinator accelerator program. The initial concept stemmed from Beshara's experience as a microloans officer in South Africa, where he saw the potential of using social collateral for group funding. This led to an earlier platform, Dvelo.org, which evolved into Crowdtilt when users began using it for non-charitable fundraising like parties and events.

The platform's core product allowed users to create campaigns with a specific funding goal, or a "tilt point." Funds were only collected from contributors if this minimum threshold was met, mitigating risk for participants. Initially, Tilt's business model included a 2.5% fee on successful campaigns, but it later pivoted to a fee-free model for organizers collecting money, charging only a standard 3% processing fee on credit card payments. The company primarily served social organizers and groups, gaining significant traction on college campuses for funding events, parties, and shared expenses. Notable successful campaigns included fundraising over $2.1 million for the meal replacement Soylent and raising over $500,000 for the realistically proportioned Lammily fashion doll.

Tilt secured significant venture capital, raising $2.1 million in a seed round in 2012, followed by a $12 million Series A in 2013 led by Andreessen Horowitz, and a $23 million Series B in late 2013. In July 2014, the company rebranded from Crowdtilt to Tilt. Despite its rapid user growth and high valuation, which peaked at an estimated $375 million, Tilt struggled to establish a sustainable revenue model and prioritized growth over profitability. Faced with mounting cash flow problems, the company was acquired by Airbnb in February 2017 for approximately $12 million. The deal was largely considered an "acqui-hire," with Airbnb primarily interested in the talent of the Tilt team to enhance its own group travel and payments capabilities. Following the acquisition, the Tilt platform was retired in June 2017.

Keywords: Tilt, Crowdtilt, James Beshara, Khaled Hussein, crowdfunding, social payments, group fundraising, peer-to-peer payments, Airbnb acquisition, Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, payment platform, online fundraising, pooling money, social collateral, campaign funding, financial technology, startup exit, acquihire