Participated · Series C · Jul 2019

4th & Heart is a Marina del Rey, CA-based maker of Ayurvedic ghee butter and related kitchen essentials, including flavored spreads and oils. Its products are sold nationwide in over 12,000 stores, including Whole Foods, Kroger, Albertsons, Publix, Wegmans, Walmart, and on Amazon in the U.S. The company positions its ghee products as kitchen staples and continues to expand retail distribution. 4th & Heart received a minority investment from Aterian, which company leadership says will fuel growth in current and emerging markets. Aterian invested approximately $0.2 million in cash and approximately 145,000 shares of Aterian common stock as part of the transaction. No other terms of the transaction were disclosed. 4th & Heart is built around grass-fed ghee and offers a portfolio of flavored ghee butter spreads, pourable oils, sprays and chocolate spreads. Founded in 2015 and based in Venice, CA, the company positions itself as the North American ghee category leader. It currently carries 21 SKUs and is available in over 10,000 stores nationwide including Amazon, Whole Foods, Kroger, Sprouts and Gelson’s. The brand is expanding into mass retail with a Target roll-out (SuperTarget and PFresh) and is adding new items at existing retailers such as Sprouts and Whole Foods. Product roadmap includes the upcoming WOKE line of grass-fed collagen ghee protein and energy bars. Management says it will use new capital to bolster innovation and distribution to grow household penetration and reach. Fourth & Heart is a Los Angeles-based premium artisanal ghee company led by founder and CEO Raquel Tavares Gunsagar. It produces flavored, grass-fed, pasture-raised, glyphosate-free ghee in gourmet varieties including White Truffle Salt, Himalayan Pink Salt, California Garlic, Madagascar Vanilla Bean and Original Recipe. The brand is sold in over 3,500 stores nationwide — including Whole Foods Market, Kroger and Sprouts — and is available online at Thrive Market and Amazon. The company planned to launch an e-commerce section on FourthandHeart.com and aimed to be in 6,000 stores by the end of the year. Fourth & Heart closed a $1M Series A on the CircleUp platform from an undisclosed individual. The company intends to use the funds to develop new innovative food products.

Participated · Seed · Mar 2019

Bitmo operates a mobile gifting platform that eliminates physical gift cards by enabling users to purchase, send, split, and exchange digital gift-card value at over 130 nationwide retailers. The product aims to create a social gifting experience and gives retailers direct engagement and data-driven customer connections. Since its public launch 18 months ago, Bitmo reports strong traction: growing 28% month-over-month, on track to surpass one million users before the end of 2019, and over 100,000 gifts redeemed with recipients spending on average 3.5x the gift amount. The company says over 10% of gift recipients discover new stores via the platform and half of those become repeat customers. Bitmo plans to use the new capital to accelerate consumer growth, expand retailer-focused enterprise products, and build out marketing, sales, product, finance, and engineering teams, as well as expand its Carlsbad, CA office. The company was founded in 2017 by CEO J. Michael Smallwood and is led by a team of industry executives, startup veterans, and mobile payment experts.