• About
  • Article PDF
  • White Papers
  • Listening Tours​
  • Contact
  • Support Us
  • Advertising & Sponsorships
Sunday, February 5, 2023
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
Times Of Entrepreneurship
Growth and Equity for a Changing World
Times Of Entrepreneurship
No Result
View All Result

VC Spotlight: Two Women are Launching a $10M Fund for Sustainable Apparel. They’ve Signed on Eileen Fisher.

Alante Capital Invests Across Verticals Including DeepTech and Enterprise Software

by Elizabeth Macbride
October 25, 2021
in Finance
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
woman looking thoughtful
Karla Mora, Alante founder and managing partner

Name: Alante Capital

Location: Santa Barbara, Calif

Web site: https://www.alantecapital.com/

Size: Raising its first $10M fund

What it is: Alante invests in the technologies and tools to enable a sustainable future for apparel. It invests when its models predict market-rate returns, which come from technologies that replace incumbents. The firm is closing a $10 million fund by next week, which it says is likely to be slightly oversubscribed. Investors include Eileen Fisher, founder of the eponymous brand. Fisher, who recently announced she is stepping down as CEO, has become an advocate and supporter of other companies in the sustainable fashion space. Lisa Bougie, former CMO of StitchFix, and Arizona Muse, supermodel and activist.

Alante will launch a larger fund early in 2023, the partners said.

Investment minimums: $100,000 for individuals, down from $250,000; and $500,000 for institutions

Leadership: Founder Karla Mora, who is also a managing partner, worked in international development – specifically supply chains — in Afghanistan, and in impact investing. Managing Partner Leslie Harwell is a veteran of development finance and investment banking.

blonde woman standing
Leslie Harwell, managing partner

Investment style/track record: It’s investing before the A rounds, with amounts ranging from $150,000 up to $2.5 million. The partners spent years researching the market before opening a fund, expertise they say gives them leverage to be able to co-invest in important deals. Alante has seven companies in the portfolio so far. Examples include Mango Materials, which makes a biopolymer made from waste methane gas, and Flyp, a platform for online clothing consignment. It will likely make about six more investments, the partners said.

Like many small venture funds, Alante is forming alliances with large companies that can help its portfolio of startups as potential businesses partners, clients or investors. Part of its value proposition for entrepreneurs is that it can connect them with those big corporations, like Levi’s.

Quote: There are startups addressing these problems. One of the main reasons capital wasn’t getting to those startups – there weren’t VC funds out there who understood the industry.

We didn’t just start a VC fund to be operators,” “We’ve committed our time and energy, without salary for many of the early years. We want to help prove that it’s possible.”

This story was clarified to reflect the breadth of Alante’s investment style.



This story and others on Times of E are made possible by a sponsorship from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private, nonpartisan foundation that provides access to opportunities that help people achieve financial stability, upward mobility, and economic prosperity – regardless of race, gender, or geography. The Kansas City, Mo.-based foundation uses its grantmaking, research, programs, and initiatives to support the start and growth of new businesses, a more prepared workforce, and stronger communities. For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect with www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn.

Tags: AlanteKarla MoraLeslie Harwell
Elizabeth Macbride

Elizabeth Macbride

A business journalist for 20 years, am the founder of Times of Entrepreneurship and the co-author of The New Builders.

Related Posts

Venture Spotlight: Realist Ventures In Connecticut Focuses on Biotech, Healthcare

Venture Spotlight: Realist Ventures In Connecticut Focuses on Biotech, Healthcare

by Ellen Chang
January 26, 2023
0

Marie Rocha is the founder and general partner of Realist Ventures. Photo: Tiffany Hagler-Geard After spending over 20 years working...

A Great Financial Backbone For A Social Enterprise

A Great Financial Backbone For A Social Enterprise

by Elizabeth MacBride
January 19, 2023
0

Evergreen Lodge near Yosemite National Park, California. Photo: courtesy of Evergreen Lodge Finding investors for a social enterprise that combines...

Venture Spotlight: Boomerang Ventures in Indiana Focuses on MedTech and Health

Venture Spotlight: Boomerang Ventures in Indiana Focuses on MedTech and Health

by Elizabeth MacBride
December 15, 2022
0

Oscar Moralez, founder and managing partner of Boomerang Ventures. Unexpected fact: Warsaw, Indiana, population 16,000, is the orthopedic capital of...

A Venture Capitalist Asks, Do We Add Value To Startups?

A Venture Capitalist Asks, Do We Add Value To Startups?

by Seth Levine
December 2, 2022
0

Editor’s Note: This post appeared originally on Seth Levine’s blog, VC Adventure in August 2022. Seth is a venture capitalist and co-founder of Foundry Group...

Venture Spotlight: $3.2B Advantage Capital Looks To Invest Even Deeper, Especially In Black Communities

Venture Spotlight: $3.2B Advantage Capital Looks To Invest Even Deeper, Especially In Black Communities

by Elizabeth MacBride
November 9, 2022
0

With $3.2 billion in assets under management, Advantage Capital is considered one of the most important impact investors in the...

Black woman standing confidently in an apron

Why Today’s Small Businesses Can’t Get Bank Loans

by Elizabeth Macbride
September 21, 2022
0

Last spring, Egypt Noble was saving $20,000 to open a restaurant. Fifty-three years ago, Booker T. Wilkins, a barber in...

Subscribe to Times of E’s Free Weekly Newsletter

Learn about the emerging ecosystem of diverse founders

Popular

  • Weekly newsletter: Top 20 Entrepreneurship Competitions, DoorDash IPO And Elon Musk’s Move To Texas

    Top 20 U.S. University Entrepreneurship Competitions

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Modern Mexican Food Brands Give Old El Paso The Boot

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Venture Capital Returns Are More Skewed Than People Realize

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Venture Spotlight: Realist Ventures In Connecticut Focuses on Biotech, Healthcare

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trailblazer: An Audacious Denver Entrepreneur Recruited An Xbox Creator To Develop Her Gaming Vision

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Recent

Weekly Newsletter: Nepo Babes, Inevitable War? Dandelion Economy & Rising Mexican Food Brands

February 5, 2023
Editor’s Note: Is TikTok A Threat From China?

Editor’s Note: Nepo Babes, Inevitable War?

February 5, 2023
Homepage Header

Opportunities for Entrepreneurial Leaders: Miami, Pittsburgh, Virtual

January 27, 2023

Recommended

  • Health
  • Climate
  • Deep Tech
  • Finance
  • Education
  • Women Entrepreneurs
  • Mentorship
From NW Arkansas To Ann Arbor, How Smaller Tech Ecosystems Are Faring Differently In The Pandemic

From NW Arkansas To Ann Arbor, How Smaller Tech Ecosystems Are Faring Differently In The Pandemic

2 years ago
Man in a blue button down smiling at the camera

Fadi Ghandour On Cash, Culture And How To Build A Real Company

2 years ago
  • About
  • Partner
  • Bespoke Research
  • Listening Tours​
  • Contact
  • Support Us
  • Privacy Policy

(703-966-7357)

© 2020 Mondial Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 
Facebook Twitter Linkedin
No Result
View All Result
  • Research
  • Finance
  • Women Entrepreneurs
  • New Builders
  • Ecosystem
  • Events
  • Newsletter
  • Editor’s Note

© 2022 Mondial Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Support Times of E

Times of E covers the emerging ecosystem of diverse founders.

With your support of our journalism, you will receive our weekly newsletter and one of these resources for free: 

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?