LOS ANGELES — The Family Fund & Founder Community, a newly formed venture capital firm, has raised its first fund of $25 million to invest in emerging consumer brands and technology companies.
Founders and general partners include Sean Kelly, chief executive officer and co-founder of Caroo; Josh Wand, founder of ForceBrands; and Kurt Seidensticker, founder and CEO of Vital Proteins. Limited partners include the founders and leaders of brands such as Skinny Pop, Essentia Water, Pirate’s Booty, Super Coffee and more.
“It was important to me to create a community of seasoned founders who could offer support and advisement to entrepreneurs throughout their journey,” Mr. Seidensticker said. “Having such advisers to offer learnings and firsthand insights not only helps founders rapidly execute but provides them with the right strategy to accelerate growth and create category leading brands.”
The fund brings together dozens of operational experts, founders and industry thought leaders with an extensive network of partners, vendors, suppliers and manufacturers to provide meaningful and differentiated support to portfolio companies. The Family Fund primarily backs Series A companies and expects to make 20 to 30 investments for its first fund. Food and beverage investments to date include CanDo, a maker of nutrition bars; Hop Water, a non-alcoholic beverage company; and Cann, a brand of canned drinks formulated with cannabis.
“For me, what sets The Family Fund apart from other VCs is the team that makes up the fund — Josh Wand, Sean Kelly and Kurt Seidensticker — and their deep industry connections combined with their own experiences as successful entrepreneurs, and their unique ability to see where a company has the potential to win,” said Lizzi Ackerman, co-founder of Birch Benders and limited partner of The Family Fund. “As a founder, having direct access to other entrepreneurs that have been through what you are experiencing is invaluable. We are excited to be a part of The Family Fund and have the opportunity to guide and invest in other entrepreneurs along their startup journeys.”Enjoying this content? Learn about more disruptive startups on the Food Entrepreneur page.
