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PowerPlant Partners Closes Third Fund at $330M
Kristin Snyder
Kristin Snyder is dot.LA's 2022/23 Editorial Fellow. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
PowerPlant Partners, a Los Angeles and San Francisco-based investment management firm, closed a $330 million fund.
With the final closing of PowerPlant Ventures III L.P. (PPV Fund III), the firm plans to expand its current focus on plant-based consumer food and beverage brands to incorporate consumer technology alongside service and enablement companies. Dan Gluck, PowerPlant co-managing partner, told dot.LA the firm still intends to back companies that center around human and planetary wellness.
“What we've announced is that as we grow as a firm, plant-based will always 100% be part of our DNA and be part of what we do,” Gluck said. “However, as we grow as a firm, we're seeing a lot more opportunities to broaden our scope of investments to focus on all businesses, consumer-facing as well as even backward in the supply chain, that are sustainable businesses that are furthering people and planetary health.”
As active investors, PPV Fund III plans to invest between $15 million and $40 million in each company. So far, it has invested in four. PowerPlant invested $40 million in a Series C round for Miyoko’s Creamery, which focuses on plant-based cheeses and butter. The other companies focus on beverages—Gluck said Santa Monica-based canned water company Liquid Death appeals to people who want the appearance of drinking an energy drink without the added sugar.
With their “death to plastic” and trendy aluminum cans which have made waves across social media platforms, Gluck said Liquid Death follows PowerPlant’s intent to better the planet. Additionally, he said Calgary-based Partake Brewing is rising in the non-alcoholic beer field as younger generations shift to healthier habits.
For its final investment, PowerPlant hand-crafted SYSTM Foods by acquiring and combining coffee company Chameleon Cold-Brew and beverage brand REBBL. PowerPlant was able to buy both companies at a discount, giving them the chance to create meaningful value, he said.
“There's a lot of companies out there,” he said. “We believe that there's a lot of synergies to be had by combining several brands. And, furthermore, part of that thesis was that there was going to be a period of market volatility where there was going to be a shakeout in the environment in the market where we would be able to acquire brands that are cheap.”
PowerPlant’s portfolio includes El Segundo-based Beyond Meat, a plant-based meat substitute producer, and Los Angeles-based Thrive Market, an organic food e-commerce retailer.
As PowerPlant plans to move into the consumer wellness space, the firm is moving away from investing in early-stage consumer businesses to funding growth-stage companies. All four PPV Fund III companies are growing quickly, he said, and the partners’ experience in scaling and exiting businesses can provide expertise for growing companies.
“What we know is that early stage consumer investing—it's tough, frankly, and we think there's just simply not enough moats for traditional consumer brands other than the brand itself,” he said. “We have really decided that the opportunity set from a financial perspective makes the most sense to be a bit more focused on growth.”
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Kristin Snyder
Kristin Snyder is dot.LA's 2022/23 Editorial Fellow. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
https://twitter.com/ksnyder_db
With New Funding, Auticon Looks to Grow Job Opportunities for Autistic Adults
09:44 AM | February 16, 2022
Image courtesy of Auticon
Technology consulting firm Auticon just received a boost to its mission of helping companies hire more autistic employees.
Auticon (which styles its name “auticon”) announced Wednesday that it has received over $4 million in funding from the Autism Impact Fund, a Florida-based venture capital firm that invests in companies that look to move the needle for people with autism.
Auticon certainly appears to meet the fund’s criteria. Since launching in 2011, the Germany-based tech consulting firm—which has its U.S. headquarters in Woodland Hills—has made it a priority to give employment opportunities to adults on the spectrum. Today, 250 of Auticon’s 350 employees are autistic.
“We believe that the principles of business are needed in order to help solve some of society's challenges,” Auticon U.S. CEO David Aspinall told dot.LA. “The challenge that we focused on is that of employment in the autistic community.”
Research suggests that between 50% to 75% of the 5.6 million autistic adults in the U.S. are either unemployed or underemployed, while nearly half of 25-year-olds with autism have never held a paying job. Oftentimes, those on the spectrum who are applying for a job can be hindered during the interview process due to a lack of eye contact or discomfort in social situations.
The new funding from the Autism Impact Fund will help propel Auticon’s hiring efforts in the Los Angeles region.Image courtesy of Auticon
Auticon’s hiring process takes that bias into account, stripping away the traditional interview process and instead placing more focus on an individual’s technical skills. In addition, Auticon applicants participate in a series of chats with the company's head of recruitment, Louise Stone, and its chief technology officer, Mark Fister, both of whom are on the spectrum.
“We want to make our offices a place where somebody might want to [work],” Aspinall said.
Auticon supplies business analytics, software development and cybersecurity services to clients including Disney, Warner Bros., IBM, Salesforce and Merck. Previous investors in Auticon—which declined to disclose its revenue figures, but said it ended its 2021 fiscal year EBITDA-positive—include Virgin Group magnate Richard Branson, the Porsche family, Ferd AS and Ananda Impact Ventures.
The new funding from the Autism Impact Fund will help propel Auticon’s hiring efforts in the Los Angeles region and back its development of training programs to teach organizations how to hire and accommodate autistic talent.
"We had our highest-growth year last year,” according to Aspinall. “The investment from the Autism Impact Fund is only just going to accelerate and amplify that."
Image courtesy of Auticon
Launched just last year, the Autism Impact Fund has already invested in companies such as Los Angeles-based digital health startup SpectrumAI and San Francisco-based AI company Suggestic.
“People with autism don’t need more charity—they need real opportunities,” said Autism Impact Fund co-founder Christopher Male, whose own son was diagnosed with autism at age three. Male, a private equity industry veteran, said that before his son’s diagnosis, he knew very little about autism. But after pouring himself into research, he learned about the myriad obstacles that autistic people face around diagnosis, therapies and cultural acceptance.
“I saw something was wrong,” Male told dot.LA. “It took six months to get into a pediatric developmentalist.”
Alarmed by the lack of information and services, Male teamed with his co-founder Brian O’Callaghan to launch the Autism Impact Fund. He said the investment fund looks to deploy “the venture model to help drive innovation and disrupt the status quo for living, diagnosing and servicing autism.”
Male sees Auticon as an ideal example of a company that creates opportunities and makes an impact for a community that has been marginalized for too long.
“They're a global leader in this,” he said. “They've clearly demonstrated that they are filling a need, and can operate in scale and grow.”
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Decerry Donato
Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.
Watch: Our Startup Pitch Showcase Featuring Ecommerce Companies
08:25 AM | May 21, 2020
This week's virtual pitch showcase featured three emerging ecommerce startups founded in Southern California: Mi Terro, ettitude and Aptitud. FabFitFun Co-CEO and Co-Founder Michael Broukhim joined angel investor Spencer Rascoff for the discussion. dot.LA's Chief Host and Correspondent Kelly O'Grady emceed the event.
Watch below and subscribe to our newsletter and Youtube channel to get notified about our next event.
Copy of dot.LA Virtual Pitch Showcase: eCommercewww.youtube.com
Mi Terrois the world's only biotechnology company that rescues food waste and re-engineers it into sustainable fibers that can be used for fashion, medical, and packaging industries. Through their patent-pending technology, they have created the world's first sustainable apparel line made from excess milk. They are also creating food packaging film made from whey. They are replacing petroleum-based materials with protein-based materials made from food waste. Mi Terro is redefining the circular economy in which everything begins with food waste and ends as recyclable or biodegradable.
ettitude is a female-founded LA-based sustainable lifestyle brand offering home essentials that are soft on your skin and gentle on our planet. Using their proprietary CleanBamboo™ fabrics, ettitude's bedding,sleepwear, and bath range are as soft as silk, as breathable as linen, and at the price of cotton.
Aptitud(meaning "fitness" in Spanish) was created to enhance the home workout experience. Aptitud was founded by Arielle, Audra, and Riley during the COVID-19 pandemic. As workout junkies, we shared a passion for working out together and living a fit lifestyle. Transitioning from gyms and bootcamps to working out at our homes, we experienced the challenge of finding fashion-forward, elite fitness accessories. We have curated and hand-picked the most exclusive, high-quality fitness products to enhance your home workout lifestyle. Aptitud is more than just a fitness retail company, it is a community of women from all walks of life striving for health and wellness. IG & TikTok: aptitud.co
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Annie Burford
Annie Burford is dot.LA's director of events. She's an event marketing pro with over ten years of experience producing innovative corporate events, activations and summits for tech startups to Fortune 500 companies. Annie has produced over 200 programs in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City working most recently for a China-based investment bank heading the CEC Capital Tech & Media Summit, formally the Siemer Summit.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/annieburford
annie@dot.la
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