Clearco and Caravan Announce US $50M Fund To Grow Celebrity-Backed Companies

NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES and TORONTO, June 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CLEARCO (formerly Clearbanc), the world's largest e-commerce investor, revolutionizing the way founders grow their businesses, today announced an exclusive partnership with Caravan (formerly Creative Labs), a joint venture with leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Central to the partnership is the formation of a first-of-its-kind US $50M fund, which will provide non-dilutive capital to entrepreneurial businesses that harness the power of celebrities and their audiences to accelerate growth.

The Caravan-Clearco deal aligns industry-leaders from the worlds of entertainment and growth capital, working to develop an ecosystem that connects the brand and business-building efforts of entrepreneurial celebrities with world-class founders. The fund will enable strategic partnerships between celebrities/talent and founders looking to build transformational companies, accelerate the awareness and growth of these brands and businesses, and provide access to capital.

The first Caravan-backed business to receive funding is fit52, a community-powered fitness and wellness platform launched in partnership with award-winning artist and entrepreneur Carrie Underwood in early 2020. The funds will be used to accelerate the popular workout app's continued growth.

"This deal is groundbreaking for Caravan for several reasons. It allows us to bring companies to market at a rapid pace without the dilution challenges of traditional venture capital," said Leonard Brody, Co-Founder and Executive Chair of Caravan. "This partnership takes advantage of the data possessed by both parties to identify the best opportunities to double down on unique celebrity-driven businesses that are positioned for rapid growth."

In addition to providing resources to Caravan portfolio companies, the partnership will identify opportunities to connect existing Clearco founders with celebrities to further accelerate the growth of their companies and brands.

"We are always looking for new and unique ways to give founders not only the capital they need to scale, but the products and services they may not have been able to access without support," commented Andrew D'Souza, Co-Founder and CEO of Clearco. "CAA's roster of talent will allow us to match our founders with celebrities who can become partners and help accelerate the growth of their brands, without founders sacrificing ownership or equity."

ABOUT CARAVAN

The Caravan team are makers of bespoke consumer brands and companies, backed by data and co-founded with people of influence. Founded in Vancouver, BC Canada and Los Angeles, CA, Caravan identifies white spaces in popular culture and entertainment trends to ideate, co-found, and develop transformative direct-to-consumer products, technology and companies for highly engaged pop culture audiences in partnership with Creative Artists Agency (CAA). For more information, please visit: http://hellocaravan.com

ABOUT CREATIVE ARTISTS AGENCY (CAA)

Creative Artists Agency (CAA) is the leading entertainment and sports agency, with global expertise in filmed and live entertainment, digital media, publishing, sponsorship sales and endorsements, media finance, consumer investing, fashion, trademark licensing, and philanthropy. Distinguished by its culture of collaboration and exceptional client service, CAA's diverse workforce identifies, innovates, and amplifies opportunities for the people and organizations that shape culture and inspire the world. The trailblazer of the agency business, CAA was the first to build a sports business, create an investment bank, launch a venture fund, found technology start-up companies, establish a philanthropic arm, build a business in China, and form a brand marketing services division, among other innovations. Named Most Valuable Sports Agency by Forbes for seven consecutive years, CAA represents more than 2,000 of the world's top athletes in football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, Olympics and action sports, in addition to coaches, on-air broadcasters, and sports personalities and works in the areas of broadcast rights, corporate marketing initiatives, social impact, and sports properties for sales and sponsorship opportunities. Founded in 1975, CAA is headquartered in Los Angeles, and has offices in New York, Nashville, Memphis, Chicago, Miami, London, Munich, Geneva, Stockholm, Shanghai, and Beijing, among other locations globally. For more information, please visit: www.caa.com

ABOUT CLEARCO

Co-founded as Clearbanc in 2015, Clearco offers the most founder-friendly capital solutions for e-commerce, mobile apps, and SaaS founders as well as a full suite of products and access to a powerful global network, insights and data, and recommendations. Clearco has financed over 5000 companies to date, including Leesa Sleep, fashion-rental service Le Tote, home goods company Public Goods, shirtmaker UNTUCKit, online speech therapy practice Expressable, and digital real estate marketplace SetSchedule. For more information visit clear.co and @getClearco.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Clearco