Sweater Raises an Oversubscribed Pre-Seed Round of $2.3 Million to Bring Venture Investing to Everyone
Waitlist Sign Up Now Available for Fintech Mobile Platform Giving Accredited and Non-Accredited "Retail" Investors Access to a Venture Capital Fund
BOULDER, Colo., July 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sweater has announced today that it has closed on an oversubscribed pre-seed financing round after surpassing its goal by 50%. The 2.3M round, with participation from Motivate VC, MRTNZ Ventures, Bison Ventures, Spacestation Investments, and a group of super angels will be used to further develop the Sweater venture investing platform and accelerate their go-to-market strategy.
Sweater's mission is to empower wealth generation for everyone through venture fund investing. You can sign up for the waitlist at www.sweaterventures.com and learn more here.
"It's about leveling the playing field for people who want to be personally invested in the products that shape their everyday lives," said Sweater's CEO Jesse Randall. "Our product will demystify the venture capital process through exclusive educational programming and will give front row seats as Sweater creates a portfolio of venture-backed companies."
Sweater was founded by Jesse Randall, Chad Lewkowski, and Matthew Klein. After Jesse found himself locked out of venture investing by exclusive accreditation requirements, it became his mission to open venture investing for everyone. After meeting Lewkowski and Klein through the Boulder, Colorado, technology ecosystem, Randall sought them out to team up and develop Sweater. Sweater co-founders Jesse, Chad, and Matthew have turned frustration into opportunity. Rather than seeking entry to a flawed system, they created Sweater: a fintech platform that opens venture fund investing opportunities to everyone, not just millionaires and billionaires.
Randall brings over 14 years of experience advising hundreds of technology companies in marketing, venture finance, and go-to-market strategy prior to his role as CEO of Sweater. Lewkowski, Sweater's President, is a former VP at Citigroup and a co-founder of the fintech company Neat Capital. Klein is the executive chairman and former CEO of Backbone PLM, a venture- backed company based in Boulder. Other members of the Sweater team include former employees from companies like SoFi, Dow Jones, and Lucid Software.
In late November 2020, Sweater received a green light from the Securities and Exchange Commission to pursue their proposed fund structure. The team worked closely with former SEC senior counsel Ashley Ebersole of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner to meet appropriate regulatory requirements.
"Identifying the right legal path forward was an enormous hurdle that took several years to clear with the SEC. But we're glad we stuck with it because we have created something truly special that gives the same investing opportunity into venture funds to anyone, not just the affluent and well connected," said Randall.
The waitlist to access Sweater will open in early July 2021 with an expected public market launch in early 2022.
About Sweater
Sweater's mobile-first experience allows users direct access to the world's most exclusive asset class—Venture Capital. Sweater's mission is to empower everyone to become investors in the next generation of venture-backed startups.
Maria Gonima
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