Capstar Ventures Raises $41.3 Million Inaugural Fund to Invest in Innovative Consumer Companies
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Capstar Ventures LP, an early stage venture capital firm, announced last week that it had closed its $ 41.3 million inaugural fund.
Founded in 2019 by Kathryn Cavanaugh and based in Austin, the VC company invests nationwide in innovative consumer goods companies.
Capstar has raised the fund from individuals, family offices and institutions such as Capital Creek Partners, Tiger Partners LP and JP Morgan.
Capstar Ventures is the first fund to close under JP Morgan Asset Management’s Project Spark and is focused on helping emerging alternative fund managers, including minority and women-run venture capital funds.
“Kathryn embodies the kind of fund manager we wanted to support when we launched our Project Spark initiative and we are excited to be working with Capstar Ventures on its founding fund,” said Jamie Kramer, Head of Alternative Solutions, JP Morgan Asset Management and Investment Committee Chairman for Project Spark said in a press release. “Kathryn brings a unique perspective, deep expertise and a nuanced vision for investing in the next generation of consumer goods companies, and we are excited to participate in the fund.”
Capstar Ventures invests in seed and Series A rounds for digitally native brands, consumer goods and services, and technologies that power these startups. The focus is on Millennial and Gen-Z consumer products, services and platforms.
“We seek to invest in founders who solve their own problems and who are directly related to and similar to their customers because we’ve seen that authentic connection translate into high-growth companies,” said Cavanaugh, Founder and Managing Director Partner of Capstar Ventures, in a press release. “And how millennial and Gen-Z consumers address this authenticity when they reconcile their purchasing power with their values.”
Cavanaugh has invested and advised young companies in the consumer goods, healthcare and technology sectors for the past 15 years. While at Grace Beauty Capital, Mainsail Partners, and De Novo Ventures, she has provided and actively supported over $ 350 million in equity investments, including early-stage disruptive consumer brands such as Rothy’s, Supergoop !, Parachute, Primary, andM.M.LaFleur.
In 2019, she moved to Austin to found Capstar Ventures with anchor capital from successful Texas entrepreneurs Steve Hicks, Kendra Scott and Robert Gauntt.
“Steve, Robert and I are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Kathryn to create Capstar Ventures because we share the commitment, innovation and passion that entrepreneurs bring to our world and believe this is critical to building a better future is. ”Scott, founder of Kendra Scott LLC, said in a press release. “We are excited about the opportunity to support those in the early stages of building their business and work with phenomenal partners to provide a seat at the table for more diverse founders.”
Capstar Ventures has invested in ten portfolio companies to date, including Culina, a leader in plant-based foods, Stylust, a trading technology platform, The Class, a health and wellness platform, Sarah Flint, a luxury women’s shoe brand, Packed Party, a celebration lifestyle brand ; St. Frank, a luxury home decor brand; Museum of Ice Cream, an experience-based development company; Bravo Sierra, the first military wellness company; Eterneva, a grief wellness company; and Intraloop, a technology platform for community insights.
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