TikTok Stars Charli and Dixie D’Amelio Launch Their Own Venture Fund
Molly Wright is an intern for dot.LA. She previously edited the London School of Economics' student newspaper in the United Kingdom, interned for The Hollywood Reporter and was the blogging editor for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
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You can now count TikTok stars Charli and Dixie D'Amelio among California’s newest—and almost certainly youngest—venture capitalists.
The sisters—aged 17 and 20, respectively—and their parents, Marc and Heidi D’Amelio, have launched their very own venture capital fund called 444 Capital, according to TechCrunch. (The name is meant to allude to the good fortune and positive energy associated with the number 4.) The fund aims to raise $25 million in capital and will place a focus on investments in women- and minority-led startups.
The D’Amelio family is partnering on the fund with Doug Renert of Silicon Valley venture firm Tandem Capital and Jeff Beacher of West Hollywood-based Beacher Media Group. The D’Amelios, Renert and Beacher plan to pool their networks to source deals and co-invest with top VCs in areas including fintech, health care and direct-to-consumer startups, per TechCrunch.
The D’Amelios haven’t wasted time on the new venture, with some of the fund’s $25 million target already raised and allocated. 444 Capital plans to cut checks of approximately $1 million or so per investment, with plans to close about 20 deals this year, TechCrunch noted.
Even before launching their own fund, the D’Amelios have been active in the startup investing arena. Last month, the family took an equity stake in Lightricks, which creates photo- and video-editing apps like Facetune, while Charli D’Amelio has previously backed the likes of teen-targeted banking app Step.
“Our family wants to help a new generation of female and minority entrepreneurs build great companies. We hope to play a growing role in leveling the startup playing field over time,” Charli and Dixie D’Amelio said in a joint statement. The sisters ranked as TikTok’s top-earning content creators last year with a combined $27.5 million in earnings, according to Forbes.
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Molly Wright is an intern for dot.LA. She previously edited the London School of Economics' student newspaper in the United Kingdom, interned for The Hollywood Reporter and was the blogging editor for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
