“The word future proof—defined to not become obsolete—we’re not trying to jump on fads. They’re big brands that are here to stay,” says Schultz.

This was all born from the team’s ability to adapt to success together, sharing their collaborative growth over the last decade was as much about the opportunities they did take, as those opportunities they turned down (reluctantly). After receiving Cuban’s million dollar investment, the team recalls flying around the country to headquarters like Walmart, where they were asked how quickly they could release nationwide; they wanted to grow but didn’t want to grow too quickly. Read more

Plant-based protein company KOS has closed a $2.1 million funding round led by Springdale Ventures; former Whole Foods CEO, Walter Robb; and Horizon Bank’s chair Jim Schneider to support its continued expansion across the U.S.

The new funding is also expected to fuel KOS’ product innovation, and strengthen the brand’s marketing presence, according to a company release.

Literati, a startup known for its book box subscription for young readers, is launching a line of celebrity book clubs for adults.
Susan Orlean, Stephen Curry, Malala Yousafzai, Richard Branson, and the Joseph Campbell Foundation are the first five to select books.
Each individual book club costs $24.95 a month, and will begin shipments in October.

I’ve tried a lot of vegan protein powders that can only be described as yucky. Plant-based protein sources (like pea, soy, and brown rice) just don’t perform as well as their whey counterparts for whatever reason—tending toward a gritty texture and, uh, earthy taste. Fortunately for us vegan (or vegan-ish) exercisers of the world, the market for plant-based protein powders today is huge. So, along with the duds, there are lots of delicious options that come in innovative formulas and pretty much any flavor you can think of.

Read more

Lumen Hemp Juice of Santa Monica, California has successfully launched the world’s first USDA organic cold-pressed hemp juice offering for food service.

Currently distributing on the West Coast, Lumen has crafted this novel food service ingredient using their patent-pended process to ensure the highest quality of functional hemp juice.

Cookware company Caraway said it has raised $5.3 million in seed funding from more than 100 investors.

The New York City company said it will use the funding to expand its product line and build out distribution channels.

Some of the participants in the funding round were: Republic Labs, Springdale Ventures, Wesray Social, Bridge Investments, WTI, CompanyFirst, G9 Ventures, Super Angel Syndicate (led by Ben Zises) and Five Four Ventures, alongside Andy Dunn (Bonobos), Brian Sugar (PopSugar), Henry Davis & Bryan Mahoney (Glossier & Arfa), Ali Pincus (One Kings Lane), and Nik Sharma (Sharma Brands)

This new burst of home cooks has been beneficial to Great Jones and other direct-to-consumer cookware brands like the New York–based Caraway and Los Angeles–based Our Place, all of which have had trouble keeping their products in stock. Since March, Caraway has sold out of its signature set of nontoxic pots and pans more than 10 times and seen a 300 percent increase in sales. “It’s obviously exciting, but it’s also a challenge to keep up with such demand,” says Jordan Nathan, the founder and CEO of Caraway. Nathan launched the brand in November 2019, and it’s safe to say that sales are tracking well above his initial projections for its first year. “We’re working to make sure our supply chain is safe at all levels while still meeting the demand from consumers,” he says.

Additionally, Austin, Texas-based Canteen Spirits’ recently launched canned sparkling vodka-and-soda line offers a gluten-free product with zero carbs, zero sugar, zero sodium and just 99 calories per serving, in all-natural Watermelon, Lime, Black Cherry, Grapefruit and Cucumber Mint flavors, available in 6-packs.

“In wake of COVID-19, many consumers are unable to experience premium cocktails at bars and restaurants because of stay-at-home orders in several states,” said Holly McHugh, marketing associate, Imbibe Inc., Niles, Ill. “Consumers may still be reluctant to visit bars and restaurants once stay-at-home orders are lifted due to fear of crowds and getting sick, so there’s a lot of growth potential for premium ready-to-drink cocktails that offer a similar premium drinking experience at home.

Some have contributed to an industry white paper about the funeral business and Covid-19, raised funds for personal protective equipment for funeral directors and created short video guides for health care workers to talk about end-of-life options with their patients. Eterneva, a company that turns ashes into diamond jewelry, used the group to start a series of Instagram Lives about collective grief. LifeWeb360, which creates multimedia memorial scrapbooks, teamed up with New Narrative to create resource guides for planning virtual memorials.

Eterneva, an Austin-based startup that turns cremated ashes of loved ones and pets into diamonds, has raised $3 million to continue its growth, the company said.

Founded in 2017 by Adelle Archer and Garrett Ozar, Eterneva produces diamonds by extracting carbon from cremated ashes and putting it through extreme pressure and heat.

As part of the funding, the startup is adding a larger facility which will expand its production capabilities. The expanded facility, which will be opening next year, will be able to make up to 75 diamonds a year.

Grief wellness and memorial diamond startup Eterneva raised an oversubscribed $3 million seed extension round led by Springdale Ventures.

The Austin-based company is a developer of diamond technology that converts cremated ashes of loved ones into diamonds. Customers can personalize the diamonds’ size, color, cut and inscription.

In addition to Springdale, 27 other individuals and venture firms participated in the round, including new investors Next Coast Ventures, SoGal Ventures, and Founder Collective. Eterneva previously raised $1.8 million in seed and angel rounds, both in 2019, according to Crunchbase data. With this new funding, the company has raised a total of $4.8 million since it was founded in 2016.

Austin is hurtling toward achieving the second-highest one-year total of venture capital invested in startups since PwC and CB Insights began tracking those statistics in 1995.

As of Nov. 26, more than $1.5 billion in VC had been invested in Central Texas startups. No matter how the remainder of the year shakes out, it will be the most money raised by local companies since the $2.52 billion raised in 2000, before the dot-com bubble burst.

The tech sector is so prevalent among startups, this section has become a a staple of the newspaper. If there was startup news, it was almost certainly tech news and fit nicely within the pages of the TechFlash section. But a funny thing happened on the way to 2020 — the explosion of high-growth and high-valued consumer packaged goods companies, AKA the CPG sector, started to consume as much time as the tech startups.

“The first important piece of advice I’ve received is from my Grandmother who told me, “You create your own happiness, you have to wake up every day and tell yourself that this is going to be a good day and fight to make it so.” The second best piece of advice I’ve received is from another important figure and teacher in my life, Mark Dzykowski, who said, “Every moment in life is a choice, but when you look back on your life they blend together to seem like one choice. Choose your moments wisely.” Mark made me realize that we make a million little choices every day and in each choice there is a thread that from a distance show commonalities with the others. He helped me work to learn what the similarities in my choices are and choose each one wisely. Another important quote I’ve valued along my journey is from Maya Angelou who said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” I’ve come to really appreciate and value my optimism, especially in people.”

“I believe early-stage [consumer packaged goods] companies are the next wave of explosive growth in Austin,” said Graham, co-founder and former CEO of BuildASign.com who now heads investment firm Notley Ventures. “Our team at Springdale Ventures is uniquely poised to help make that happen. I am looking forward to working with Genevieve, to continue building an even more vibrant CPG ecosystem and community.”

“We felt there was something missing in Austin for people who don’t get into SKU,” said Genevieve Gilbreath, former managing director of CPG accelerator SKU. Gilbreath left the SKU in late 2018 and is now board president of Naturally Austin.