• Winc

  Led · Series B · May 2016

  Winc operates a direct-to-consumer online subscription service and builds a portfolio of wine brands aimed at younger drinkers. The company launched in 2011 and leverages consumer insights to develop brands such as Summer Water Rose and Folly of the Beast. Winc’s brands are also sold in progressive restaurants and premium retailers nationwide. The company said it has seen a dramatic increase in subscribers since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Winc is developing new brands, including a line of health-conscious wines under the Wonderful Wine Co umbrella, and is using its banking relationship to support continued expansion and brand development. Winc, which rebranded from Club W, is a Los Angeles-based startup that has expanded from an online marketplace into a full-fledged alcohol business. The company sources and produces the wines it sells and uses customer "palate profiles" to deliver personalized recommendations. Winc says it can offer bottles for as low as $13 by eliminating middle-men such as importers and wholesalers and sourcing directly from vineyards. Its wines are sold online and distributed offline as well, including being served at restaurants and sold at select retailers. CEO Xander Oxman describes the business as a digitally native approach to the traditional wine-club model focused on delivering more value and a better consumer experience. The company has raised funding to support growth, with total funding now over $30 million. Club W offers personalized wine recommendations based on customers' palates and a new curated selection each month, with bottles starting at $13. The company emphasizes collapsing the supply chain to deliver proprietary wines directly to enthusiasts at value price points. Club W is venture-backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, Shining Capital Holdings and Crosscut Venture Partners. CEO Xander Oxman said the additional financing is a vote of confidence as the company continues to grow and expand. Bridge Bank's Southern California Technology Finance group worked with Club W to deliver a customized financial solution to support its growth. Club W is a Los Angeles, CA-based wine company that built a distribution platform to deliver high-quality wines from around the world at lower prices. It provides individual monthly recommendations for members using its proprietary Palate Profile™ system. Members can also make their own selections, with bottles available from $13. The company was founded in 2011 by Xander Oxman, Geoffrey McFarlane and Brian Smith. Club W raised $9.5M in a Series A round led by Bessemer Venture Partners. The company intends to use the funds for product development, further integration of its supply chain and expansion of marketing initiatives. Club W operates a personalized and curated subscription service for wine, positioning itself as an online community for wine enthusiasts. Founded in 2011, the company aims to simplify discovery by matching curated selections to consumers' personal tastes and removing pretension from wine buying. As part of its growth strategy Club W announced a relocation to Los Angeles and has been associated with incubator Amplify.La. Management cites strong traction and says the new capital will expand reach and better connect with consumers. The company previously closed a $500,000 angel round in early 2012. No revenue or user metrics are disclosed in the articles.

• Home Chef

  Led · Series A · Apr 2016

  Home Chef offers a flexible meal‑kit service with a weekly menu of 10 dinner choices that emphasizes home‑cooking staples rather than exotic dishes. The company delivers nationwide and charges a standard price of $9.95 per serving. Home Chef reports it is delivering 1.5 million meals each month and employs more than 600 people. To support scale, it opened a new distribution facility in Atlanta to complement existing facilities in Los Angeles and Chicago. Founder and CEO Pat Vihtelic highlights flexibility and choice as the company’s differentiators. Home Chef is a subscription meal-kit service that delivers recipes and ingredients and uses a "taste algorithm" to recommend meals to customers. It offers flexibility by letting customers choose from roughly 10-13 menu options each week and emphasizes customer-driven menus. Since launching in 2013, the Chicago-headquartered company has grown to more than 400 employees and delivers over 540,000 meals per month. Leadership, including founder and CEO Pat Vihtelic, stresses capital efficiency as the business scales. The company plans to use the new funding to open a West Coast distribution center. Home Chef has raised $12 million in total funding to date. Home Chef provides a subscription service delivering personalized recipes with pre-portioned, fresh ingredients, and cooking instructions and tips. The company offers free delivery of those curated meal kits. Recipes are developed by experts and menus are tailored to customers' dietary restrictions and preferences. The business is led by Bryon Finke, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer. The company raised a new seed funding round with an investment from Guild Capital (amount undisclosed). The raise was reported by FinSMEs on 25/07/2014.

• JustFab

  Participated · Series D · Aug 2014

  JustFab is an online fashion styling service and lifestyle brand that offers members a personalized shopping membership. Members receive monthly customized selections of shoes and handbags along with JustFab essentials such as denim and sunglasses. The service is led by Creative Director Kimora Lee Simmons and provides clickable style boards, fashion tips, and access to a team of personal stylists and fashion consultants. JustFab presents members with curated outfits and a celebrity-style experience through its membership platform. Financially, the company has secured outside capital, most recently raising $85 million in a financing led by Passport Special Opportunity Fund with participation from existing investors Matrix Partners and Shining Capital. The company is based in El Segundo, CA. JustFab operates a subscription commerce model where members are charged $39.95 per month for a monthly item (or can buy à la carte) across footwear, accessories, kids’ clothes and apparel. The company reports 35 million users globally, including over 3 million users in Western Europe and adding about 400,000 members per month in that region. It has expanded internationally both organically and via acquisitions such as Fab Shoes and FabKids, and recently merged with ShoeDazzle. The new funding will be used to accelerate international growth in Asia, Western Europe and potentially Australia, and may be deployed for further acquisitions or opening offices. JustFab says it will launch a new product category before year-end and expects the newly-merged company to be profitable by next year. The company has faced some controversy over subscription-charge transparency but continues to pursue scale and global brand building. JustFab operates an online fashion styling and membership service that delivers personalized selections of shoes, handbags, jewelry, denim and other accessories to members. The company combines subscription and pay-as-you-go pricing, with VIP members able to purchase items for $39.95 and access free shipping and style consultants. JustFab reports more than 6 million members and emphasizes high personalization via a style panel and community features. The company is pursuing aggressive international expansion, rapidly acquiring users in Germany and Canada and planning a UK launch in September 2012 with additional European markets by the end of Q1 2013. Management plans to use new capital to expand into additional fashion categories requested by members and to provide cash flow for future acquisitions. JustFab is headquartered in El Segundo, CA and is part of the Intelligent Beauty incubator ecosystem. JustFabulous operates a monthly subscription-style boutique: members input style preferences and receive a personalized selection of shoes and handbags each month, with styling advice and outfit recommendations. All items are created and branded by JustFabulous, priced at $39.95, and sourced directly from manufacturers; the company compares product quality to brands like Steve Madden and Nine West. The site has grown rapidly since being incubated by Intelligent Beauty in March 2010, reporting over 2.5 million members (nearing 3 million) and $3 million in monthly revenue, up from $500,000 monthly a year prior. JustFabulous is on track to sell 1.5–2 million handbags and shoes in the coming year. The company is expanding its assortment into denim, jewelry, and sunglasses and plans international expansion. It also intends to curate celebrity- and stylist-led selections as part of its growth strategy.

No current team members are available.