Key Takeaways
- • H Venture Partners closed its debut venture capital fund, H Venture Partners Brand Fund, L.P. ("Brand Fund"), raising over $10 million, according to a Business Wire release dated July 8, 2021.
- • The Cincinnati-based, female-founded firm is focused on purpose-driven, science-based consumer-essential brands, a category the firm says represents over 90% of consumer spend.
- • The fund is backed by more than 75 LPs, including retired executives from Target, P&G, Coca-Cola, Tyson, Estee Lauder, Clorox and Revlon, half of whom are female.
- • The initial portfolio comprises Cerebelly, Kinship, Felix, Parsley Health, Hazel, Better Booch and Avaline.
- • The firm frames its strategy around what it calls a "Trillion Dollar Blindspot": consumer purchases represent 69% of U.S. GDP but only 3% of venture capital investment.
Summary
H Venture Partners ("H Ventures"), a female-founded, owned and controlled venture capital firm based in Cincinnati, Ohio, announced the close of its debut venture capital fund, H Venture Partners Brand Fund, L.P., raising over $10 million, according to a Business Wire release. The firm says the raise makes it one of the few female-led venture capital firms to reach this milestone.
The firm focuses on consumer-essential brands, categories it states represent over 90% of consumer spend. Its strategy targets purpose-driven, science-based consumer brands led by experienced and diverse teams. Managing Partner Elizabeth Edwards founded the firm; the release notes she previously invested in more than 30 consumer brands, including Peloton, Bill.com, Freshly and Roots, and at prior firms was part of investments in Peloton, Bill.com and Roots IPOs and Freshly's acquisition by Nestlé for $1.5 billion.
H Ventures cites a funding gap it calls the "Trillion Dollar Blindspot." According to the firm, 85% of consumer purchasing is done by women, yet 93% of venture capital is managed by white men, and consumer purchases represent 69% of U.S. gross domestic product but only 3% of venture capital investments.
The fund's LPs include more than 75 founders, entrepreneurs and investors, among them retired executives from Target, P&G, Coca-Cola, Tyson, Estee Lauder, Clorox and Revlon. Kathy Waller, former EVP and CFO of Coca-Cola and a current director of Delta Airlines and Beyond Meat, is an investor and sits on the Investment Committee. The initial portfolio, which the firm says was identified through a rigorous screening and due diligence process, includes Cerebelly, Kinship, Felix, Parsley Health, Hazel, Better Booch and Avaline.
The firm focuses on consumer-essential brands, categories it states represent over 90% of consumer spend. Its strategy targets purpose-driven, science-based consumer brands led by experienced and diverse teams. Managing Partner Elizabeth Edwards founded the firm; the release notes she previously invested in more than 30 consumer brands, including Peloton, Bill.com, Freshly and Roots, and at prior firms was part of investments in Peloton, Bill.com and Roots IPOs and Freshly's acquisition by Nestlé for $1.5 billion.
H Ventures cites a funding gap it calls the "Trillion Dollar Blindspot." According to the firm, 85% of consumer purchasing is done by women, yet 93% of venture capital is managed by white men, and consumer purchases represent 69% of U.S. gross domestic product but only 3% of venture capital investments.
The fund's LPs include more than 75 founders, entrepreneurs and investors, among them retired executives from Target, P&G, Coca-Cola, Tyson, Estee Lauder, Clorox and Revlon. Kathy Waller, former EVP and CFO of Coca-Cola and a current director of Delta Airlines and Beyond Meat, is an investor and sits on the Investment Committee. The initial portfolio, which the firm says was identified through a rigorous screening and due diligence process, includes Cerebelly, Kinship, Felix, Parsley Health, Hazel, Better Booch and Avaline.
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