VENTURE CAPITAL
Aperture VC—a fledgling fund investing in minority founders and women-led startups—is “bullish on SoCal,” according to co-founder and Managing Partner Garnet Heraman.
“We are aggressively looking for more fintechs in the OC because our market research shows at least 40 fintech companies based out of Irvine alone. I’ve also been surprised by the quality and quantity of companies outside Irvine, like Happy Money in Tustin,” Heraman told the Business Journal. “Other SoCal deals in our pipeline are in L.A. and San Diego.”
Aperture, co-founded by Heraman and William Crowder last July, bills itself as “VC for the Multicultural Mainstream.”
Backed by fintech giants FIS (NYSE: FIS), Truist (NYSE: TFC) and PayPal (Nasdaq: PYPL), it has reportedly raised $75 million of its $100 million goal thus far, placing it among the largest venture funds of its type in the county.
The fund can lead, co-lead or participate in early-stage investment rounds, with checks of up to $1.5 million, although it plans to more than double that sum in a second fund, said Heraman, who moved from the East Coast to Laguna Beach in 2019 and previously invested in Irvine-based AR/VR company Candy Lab.
“We invest in historically underappreciated founders and underserved communities,” he added. “In addition, we define ‘diverse’ as geographically. About 70% of the money in our fund will be invested outside of the Silicon Valley and San Francsico.”
PRODUCTS
Abbot’s Butcher of Costa Mesa reported March 7 nearly 2,000 retail stores nationwide will carry its line of plant-based meat products by spring of 2022.
The news comes as Abbot’s inked deals with several restaurants, including Chicas Tacos and Pizzanisa in Los Angeles, and as Abbot’s became the first-and-only vegan meat company to be Whole30 Approved, said Abbot’s Butcher’s CEO Kerry Song.
“Whole30 has been a goal for us for a while because they embody our ethos of using the highest-quality ingredients,” Song told the Business Journal. “We aim to bring craftsmanship to the plant-based category.”
Prior to founding Abbot’s Butcher in 2016, Song studied economics at Princeton University and worked as a financial analyst for CitiGroup and Morgan Stanley in New York.
Today, Abbot’s employs nine full-time workers, and manufactures up to 15 million pounds of products annually in its San Diego facilities.
According to Song, revenue surged nearly 3,000% from 2020 to 2021, and 2022 revenue is expected to grow another 300%.
Last October, the company raised $7 million in a Series A round led by Melitas Ventures and joined by celebrities Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson. It aims to raise a Series B round by the end of this year.
Guru Nanda, a Buena Park developer of holistic wellness products, announced March 3 three new, holistic oral care products will be available at Walmart stores and Walmart.com.
Guru Nanda was founded in 2015 by Puneet Nanda, an Indian entrepreneur and yoga studio owner. It creates essential oils and natural cough and flu products inspired by Ayurveda, an ancient system of holistic healing.
“For thousands of years, Ayurveda has taught what Western medicine has only recently accepted: that oral health is the key to whole-body wellness,” Nanda said in a statement. “As a certified Ayurvedic practitioner who comes from a family of toothbrush manufacturers, I am proud to lead Guru Nanda in making top-quality, natural, and non-toxic oral care accessible to all.”
In 2020, it reported revenue over $50 million, according to manufacturing publication Company Week.
Each of the new products—Concentrated Mouthwash, Oxyburst Whitening Mouthwash and Natural Pulling Oil Rinse—is packaged with recycled and sustainable materials, officials said.
According to officials, the company will release more new products in addition to its oral care products in the coming months.
EXEC HIRES
Litigation support firm Lit Support 365 announced March 7 it has hired Sarah Fruchey as chief operating officer.
Lit Support 365, also known as LS365, was founded in 2016 to provide paralegal services to service providers, corporations and solo practitioners. The Irvine-based firm counts 27 locations nationwide on its website.
“Our people are the lifeblood of our company and Sarah is the perfect COO to orchestrate our operational success,” LS365 CEO Chris Waters said in a statement. “We’ve grown to this point thanks to our hard work and dedication to our customer service and Sarah is going to ensure we take that service to yet another level. This is just the next step in our evolution.”
Fruchey has been in the legal field for over a decade. A graduate of Oregon State University, she previously held positions in civil law, federal law, white-collar law and more, according to LS365.
In her new role, Fruchey will oversee the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of the business and establish policies and operations that “promote [the] company culture.”
PARTNERSHIPS
Fwaygo Inc., a new music discovery platform based in Irvine, has partnered with New York digital music distributor TuneCore.
Fwaygo is an app designed to help undiscovered artists increase exposure and earnings by avoiding “exploitative music ownership, royalty and streaming revenue” of legacy labels and streaming services, officials said. It leverages AI to match fans with music they will enjoy.
It reports over 40,000 artist profiles and is garnering the support of well-known artists like Young Thug since its launch late last year.
“I’m happy to disrupt the music industry, because it’s been broken for a very long time,” said Fwaygo CEO Jeremy Greene. “We are thrilled to be partnering with the TuneCore team and look forward to joining the revolution for independent artists.”
The new deal allows artists on Fwaygo to send their music to over 150 digital stores and streaming platforms, officials said.
“Fwaygo taps into two areas of importance for independent artists: opportunity for music discovery and a fast and easy music upload experience,” TuneCore CEO Andreea Gleeson said in a statement. “We’re looking forward to the partnership and working with Fwaygo to get their artists’ music distributed to audiences around the world, while they keep their ownership, and get paid too.”
Fwaygo recently added a second office to its base at the Irvine Towers complex.
Newport Beach-based NFT ticket provider TicketSocket recently announced an integration with crypto payment processor CoinPayments, which allows all cryptocurrencies to be accepted as a form of payment for admission.
Formed in 2012, TicketSocket serves thousands of events and venues worldwide with event management and custom ticketing solutions.
The announcement comes as TicketSocket released its new NFT Ticketing solution, which allows buyers to receive a unique, customizable NFT, embedded with event information, that can be transferred on any exchange, the company said. About seven customers have reportedly used cryptocurrencies and NFTs as modes of payment since January.
“We feel that this partnership with CoinPayments is extremely timely in the industry as we simultaneously release support for NFT ticketing, this provides our clients with all the tools they need to be successful and stay cutting edge,” Mark Miller, CEO of TicketSocket, said in a statement.
