Sweater, a Fintech firm building the “first” fully-managed venture capital fund that is open to “everyday investors,” recently finalized a $12 million seed round.
Sweater’s investment round has been co-led by Motivate VC and Akuna Capital, with participation from Jeffrey Cruttenden (Co-founder of Acorns), Eli Broverman (Co-founder of Betterment), Litquidity Ventures, MRTNZ Ventures, Bison Venture Partners, Spacestation, First Chair Ventures, Zilliqa Capital, Monsen Ventures, Nick Perez, Jeb Bush Jr., Ryan Holtzman, Aaron Wolko, as well as YouTube creators Peter Hollens (2.6M subscribers), Andrei Jikh (1.9 M subscribers), Nate O’Brian (1.2M subscribers), and Jake Tran (924K subscribers), among other angels.
Sweater’s mission is to “accelerate generational wealth creation through venture investing.” It aims to “level the playing field and give everyday investors a seat at the VC table.” By democratizing VC, Sweater’s vision is “to sew a ‘tight-knit’ community that brings investors, founders, and the companies they’re building closer together.”
David Weiland, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Motivate Ventures, stated:
“Motivate believes that democratizing access to venture capital is inevitable. We were extremely impressed with Sweater’s thoughtful approach and grand vision to that end and are excited for the journey ahead.”
Sweater is now “targeting a $10 trillion industry of retail investors that is already starting to take advantage of alternative investing opportunities in real estate, art, collectibles, and hedge funds.” They believe venture investing “is next, and so do the 50,000+ people on their waitlist.”
Sweater’s CEO Jesse Randall remarked:
“The retail investor revolution is unfolding before our eyes, as investors continue to take further control over their investing futures, and fintech companies like Sweater are opening access to previously exclusive asset classes.”
As a professionally managed fund, Sweater’s team carries out due diligence and invests on behalf of retail investors, who Sweater will “refer to as ‘Members.'”
They then share investment breakdowns and company stories “through the app (launching soon), so Members can easily see how their money is being put to work in the next generation of world-changing startups.”
Randall added
“Our goal is to give our members courtside seats to the world of venture. That is why we will offer a fully-managed fund that allows any investor—accredited or not—to invest in the venture capital asset class.”
Internationally, venture capital has dominated the private market for the past three years, with more than $620 billion “poured into startups in 2021 alone,” according to Pitchbook’s analysis. Retail investors demand access “to once-coveted asset classes, and venture investing is next to be disrupted.”
Randall continued:
“We’re building for the future and the next 20 years of venture capital,” said. “Our mission is to foster the next generation of venture-backed startups by providing everyday investors ample access and opportunity to invest in companies changing the world.”
As Sweater approaches its public launch, the firm intends to “use the new capital to scale across the entire organization.”
Sweater is focused on “building out a world-class investment team, along with expanding its growth marketing, Member experience, and product and engineering efforts.”
Fong Wa Chung, Head of Venture at Akuna Capital commented:
“Akuna is proud to support the Sweater team as they lead the way in unlocking doors for everyday investors through its world-class venture investing platform, designed from the ground up to meet people’s desire for access, opportunity, and collective impact.”
To find out more and to be among the first to know when the app is available, you can “join their tight-knit community at Sweaterventures.com.”
Sweater was founded by Jesse Randall, Chad Lewkowski, and Matthew Klein. Randall had initially “set out to start his own venture fund, after over a decade working as an entrepreneur and an analyst at an accelerator and VC fund.”
When he found himself locked out of venture investing by antiquated accreditation requirements, “he made it his mission to open venture investing to everyone.”
Sweater is a mobile-first fintech that “gives investors direct access to the world’s most exclusive asset class—Venture Capital.”
Sweater’s mission is to “empower everyone to become investors in the next generation of venture-backed startups and engage directly with businesses they believe in.”
Through educational content and more holistic support for founders, they are “weaving a new kind of venture community that brings investors and founders closer together to knit a better future.”