Just like traditional angels tend to invest alongside their friends and former colleagues, so do creators.
We’ve written about some of the most prominent creators who have pivoted to VC through angel investing. TikTok stars like Josh Richards and the D’Amelio Family have even started their own venture capital firms, Animal Capital and 444 Capital, respectively.
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But now, we’re rounding up some of the startups that have attracted investments from creators—oftentimes some of the most popular ones on TikTok.
Let’s take a look.
Social collaboration marketplace Pearpop has a star-studded cap table, with investors in the company including mainstream entertainers like Amy Schumer, The Chainsmokers and Kevin Hart. But it’s also backed by several high-profile TikTok creators. Both Josh Richards and Griffin Johnson are investors in the company, and according to Crunchbase, they are angel investors. The pair, along with TikToker Noah Beck, are also co-founders of the VC firm Animal Capital, although the firm isn’t listed as an investor in the company.
Dallas-based Poppi, which manufactures prebiotic soda, has raised more than $26 million in funding. It’s backed by celebrities and notable athletes like Halsey and Russell Westbrook. It’s also got a slew of creators backing it, including Josh Richards, Griffin Johnson, Noah Beck and Bryce Hall. Richards, Johnson and Beck tend to invest alongside each other, which makes sense given they’re co-founders of Animal Capital. Hall has also invested in other startups on his own, including Lendtable and Atmos.
Lolli, a rewards app that lets users earn Bitcoin while shopping online, has raised more than $20 million in funding since it was founded in 2018. Several large venture capital firms have invested in the company, including Bain Capital Ventures and Forerunner Ventures. Among its creator-backers, though, are Josh Richards and Logan Paul. The company most recently raised a $10 million Series A led by Acrew Capital in July 2021.
Israel-based company Lightricks has a whole family of creators behind it. More specifically, it has the entire D’Amelio Family behind it. Marc, Heidi, Dixie and Charli D’Amelio, who are sometimes referred to as the “First Family of TikTok” all invested in the company. Lightricks lets users make and share visual content on their phones. The D’Amelios invested alongside heavyweights like Goldman Sachs and Insight Partners, according to Crunchbase.
If you haven’t picked up on it already, creators tend to invest in companies that also attract mainstream celebrities. And they also tend to invest alongside each other. Josh Richards and Charli D’Amelio are the most high-profile TikTokers that invested in Step, which builds mobile banking tools for teens. Other investors in the company include firms like General Catalyst and Coatue, along with celebrities like Will Smith, Jared Leto and The Chainsmokers.
Illustration: Dom Guzman
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