Clearco, the largest e-commerce investor revolutionizing the way founders grow their businesses, announced the launch of the Clearco Founders Fund, created to empower Clearco’s community of industry leaders to fund the next generation of online businesses.
Traditional VC scout programs remain exclusive to investors with the right network and connections. However, the Clearco Founders Fund aims to level the playing field of investing by empowering its partners to multiply their impact and fund under-represented founders, while simultaneously providing the resources for portfolio growth and networking.
Over the past five years, Clearco has funded 6,500+ online businesses without taking equity, all by democratizing access to capital and backing founders based on merit, not connections. Clearco’s portfolio looks totally different from the typical VC. In 2021, 35% of Clearco’s funding went to BIPOC founders, compared to 28% for traditional VCs, and 50% of the company’s portfolio is female-founded companies—that’s 25X more than the VC industry average. Through this new initiative Clearco will provide even more visibility and opportunities for these overlooked companies to grow.
“The Clearco Founders Fund is another major step in Clearco’s mission to create diversity in what businesses receive funding,” said Co-founder and President of Clearco, Michele Romanow. “We know that innovation exists in all corners of the world and with the Clearco Founders Fund, it not only provides a window for founders who are typically overlooked by traditional VC, but it gives opportunity for industry leaders of all backgrounds to support the entrepreneurs they believe can make a difference in their industries and beyond.”
Some of the platform benefits VC scouts receive by enrolling in the Clearco Founders Fund include:
- Engaging in thoughtfully designed community experiences;
- Learning about trends and best practices from top industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors;
- Participating in Clearco’s revenue sharing program and earning up to 1% on any funding given the brands they’ve scouted;
- Receiving access to growth metrics and insights for the companies on their radar and funding them when they’re ready;
“As a lifelong brand builder and founder, there is no better platform than the Clearco Founders
Fund to unite the best in the industry to invest in and scale online brands,” said Eric Schnell, Founder & CEO, Beyond Brands.
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The fund’s launch partners include female founders like Melanie Travis from Andie Swim,
Xiomara Rosa-Tedla from UnoEth and tastemakers like Jada Sezer, in addition to advisors from LAUNCH, Vendo, and Beyond Brands. Michelle Finizio, Co-founder of FounderMade, has partnered with Clearco to launch the fund with a goal of funding 1M founders. The fund’s venture scout program remains open for community leaders, investors, retailers, influencers and editors supporting online businesses to apply.
“My whole career, including Co-founding FounderMade, has been dedicated to partnering with the best in the industry to scale the missions they believe in and I couldn’t be more excited to scale this mission globally with Clearco” says Michelle Finizio, Co-founder, FounderMade & Managing Partner, Clearco Founders Fund.
