Since 2018, January Ventures has invested in 50 early-stage tech startups. The company is now announcing the oversubscribed Fund II – US$21 million – to continue investing in early-stage B2B software startups.
BOSTON, April 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Securing early funding is critical to a startup’s ultimate success, but has traditionally required founders to have a certain pedigree, network, and location. Now, with the launch of an oversubscribed Fund II, January Ventures aims to be the on-ramp for early-stage B2B tech startups, providing both funding and a transformational network to help them succeed.
January Ventures invests in startups developing technologies for the empowered individual. The female-owned venture capital firm is focused on replacing friends and family, fully capitalizing founders from the start as they turn moonlighting ideas into mainstream solutions.
“Technology is enabling people to take control of their lives like never before, especially when it comes to their work and their physical, mental and financial health,” says Jennifer Neudorfer, co-founder and managing partner of January Ventures. “We are investing in the infrastructure layer that powers this change, including the future of work, fintech and digital health.”
To find visionary founders, January Ventures takes a different approach than most venture capital firms. The company’s goal is to invest early in founders with the best ideas, not the best connections, so January doesn’t require a warm introduction. With this sourcing strategy, January Ventures has built one of the most diverse portfolios in venture capital – 90% have a female founder, 32% have a black or Latinx founder, and 42% have an immigrant founder.
“The problem with the traditional round of friends and family is that not everyone has access to it, which has caused a lot of inequity in technology,” says Maren Bannon, co-founder and managing partner of January Ventures. “We believe that the founders of the next decade will be fundamentally different: more female, more diverse and more distributed. We support founders based on their tenacity and ambition, not their pedigrees or knowledge.”
In addition to funding, January Ventures connects founders to an operator network with more than 100 technology leaders who have worked at more than 50 unicorn companies, including Uber, Twitter, Miro, Compass, Toast, Airbnb, Google, Amazon and Stripe. .
January Ventures has invested in 50 startups, including Ethena, Kapwing, PlanetFWD, Sonantic, ntropy, Wizard, Gable, Oula Health, Kinside and Electra Health. Out of this new $21M Fund II, the firm plans to invest in 35 to 40 companies.
Julia Collinsfounder and CEO of Planet FWD – a January portfolio company, said, “I am so excited about the continued growth of January Ventures. Jen and Maren are at the forefront of redefining the future of venture capital. Their commitment to creating a more just and equitable technology ecosystem will have a huge impact on this generation and those to come. It has been such an honor to be part of the amazing diverse community they have created around their business.
January Ventures has proactively built an investor base that reflects the diversity of its portfolio – 60% of its LPs identify as women. Investors in Fund II include leading institutions such as Wellington Management, Bank of America, IDEAL Investments and The Kapor Foundation.
About January Ventures
January Ventures was founded in 2018 by two operators-turned-investors who believe in an equal opportunity tech ecosystem. The company is headquartered in Boston and Londonand invests in early-stage technology startups in the United States and Europe. Their portfolio currently includes 50 companies focused on the future of work, fintech and digital health. January Ventures is a fund led by women and Latinas.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Jennifer Neudorfer
[email protected]; 917.697.8070
Maren Bannon
[email protected]+447799018106
SOURCE January Ventures
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