Profitable, bootstrapped sensory toy maker raises first institutional round to remove growth constraints; CEO Hagan Walker and fractional CFO Jon Ver Steeg featured in CFO.com
STARKVILLE, Miss., July 31, 2026 – The Glo Companies closed a Series A financing round on July 29, securing a $3.5 million investment at a $40 million valuation. The round is the company’s first institutional raise after more than a decade of profitable, self-funded growth, and roughly doubles the valuation set in a small 2022 round. The financing and the company’s evolution from founder-led finance were the subject of a feature published today by CFO.com.
“We never wanted to build a business around raising money,” said Hagan Walker, CEO and co-founder. “We always wanted to build a real business. We’ve always tried to stay profitable. That gave us options. We weren’t raising money because we had to. We were raising money because we wanted to remove some of the constraints on how fast we could grow.”
Founded in 2015 with Glo Cubes, light-activated ice cubes for bars and restaurants, Glo shifted its focus after a mother wrote to say the cubes had allowed her autistic son to enjoy a bath for the first time. The company launched Glo Pals in 2018, and the sensory toy line now accounts for 90 percent of sales. Today Glo employs 28 people and ships to more than 60 countries, with long-standing licensing partnerships including Sesame Street.
As the business matured, so did its finance needs. In early 2025 the company brought on Jon Ver Steeg, whose background spans public companies, private equity-backed businesses and high-growth firms, as fractional CFO. His first priority was a rolling 13-week cash forecast that extended leadership’s visibility well beyond the next payroll.
“One of the things I like to say is surprises are for birthdays,” Ver Steeg said. “Let’s shine the headlights for the company a bit farther than next week or next payroll.” The model reshaped board conversations around working capital, inventory risk and 12-month planning scenarios, and ultimately informed the decision to raise equity.
In preparation for the round, Glo converted from a Mississippi LLC to a Delaware C corporation, a step requested by the lead investor that also simplified governance. “It was a lot of work, but it cleaned everything up,” Walker said. “We went from units to shares, and it made the business much easier to understand from an investor standpoint.”
The past year has also seen Glo move into a new 50,000-square-foot headquarters and complete its first acquisition, sensory toy brand Meavia. Looking ahead, the company is investing in intellectual property that extends beyond physical products, including the recently launched Light-Up Library interactive book series and upcoming titles featuring Sesame Street characters.
“The idea there is to do more character development of the Glo Pals,” Walker said. “I think at some point there probably will be an animated series of the Glo Pals. That’s when all this IP moat that we’re trying to create will be most important.”
Read the full CFO.com feature at cfo.com.
About The Glo Companies
The Glo Companies is a children’s sensory toy and interactive content company headquartered in Starkville, Mississippi, with additional offices in Birmingham, Alabama. Founded in 2015, the company has sold more than 10 million products in more than 60 countries. Its brands include Glo Pals, the water-activated light-up bath toy; Glo Cubes; Light-Up Library; and Meavia. Through Glo Fulfillment, the company also provides warehousing and fulfillment services to other brands. Learn more at glo.co.
Media Contact
Cecilia Wood, Communications Manager
pr@glo.co
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