We are elated to announce the launch of Stage 1 Fund kicking off the first four investments with HATCH, Herbivore, Lemon Perfect, and Spudsy.
Stage 1 Fund – Consistent with the Stage 1 Financial mission of helping emerging consumer brands grow quickly and successfully through best-in-class finance and accounting services, this investment opportunity is an amazing start toward budding long-term-relationships of growth and development.
“We are extremely excited to launch our new investment vehicle, Stage 1 Fund. For over half a decade, we have been working with our amazing partners and their founders to grow these brands through accounting and finance. Now, with the launch of the Fund, as investors, we can deploy capital to further fuel their growth and drive success.”
– Katy Triefenbach, CEO Stage 1 Financial
HATCH was founded in 2011 by Ariane Goldman. Born out of a desire for something chic and elevated, Ariane created HATCH to fill a void in the maternity clothing market. With this in mind, she created an original line of chic and timeless clothing meant to be worn for every stage of a woman’s pregnancy. Regularly worn by Princess Kate and Duchess Meghan, HATCH has been featured in dozens of magazines including Vogue, The New York Times, Forbes. And took home Glossy’s 2019 Best Breakthrough Startup in Beauty x Wellness. In April of 2019, HATCH raised $5M in Series A funding, led by Silas Capital and with participation from Stage 1 Fund and M3 Ventures.
HERBIVORE was founded by Julia Wills and Alexander Kummerow in 2011 in their Seattle kitchen. Five years after launching on Etsy, the natural skin-care and body-care trendsetter has landed space on both Sephora’s and Nordstrom’s shelves. The retail push put HERBIVORE on track to be one of the fasting growing clean beauty brands in the world, leading them to be named the 2018 Forbes CircleUp25 winner. In August of 2019, Herbivore raised $15M in Series A funding lead by Silas Capital and Stage 1 Fund.
Lemon Perfect was founded by Yanni Hufnagel in 2017. Backed by an extraordinary team of investors and operators, Lemon Perfect is a disruptive brand at the intersection of great taste and good-for-you. Headquartered in Hermosa Beach, CA, Lemon Perfect is accelerating distribution growth in key regions of Southern California, Rockies, and New York Metro area, with retailers including Whole Foods, Bristol Farms & Lazy Acres Market. In March of 2019, Lemon Perfect closed their Seed round in which Stage 1 Fund participated.
Spudsy’s founder Ashley Boeckle co-founded her first venture, Buff Bake, in 2014, producing premium quality, high protein nut butters, and protein cookies. And now she’s doing it again with Spudsy! Spudsy is a gluten-free, non-GMO sweet potato puff snacking line. The products are currently sold in three flavors — Vegan Cheesy Cheddar, Cinnamon Churro, and Bangin’ Bar-B-Q. Spudsy partners with suppliers who help them utilize “imperfect” sweet potatoes and turn them into delicious, yummy snacks. In June of 2019, Spudsy closed their Seed round in which Stage 1 Fund participated.