BrandProject, a Toronto-based investment firm, has raised $54 million CAD ($43 million USD) in the final close of its first venture fund, BrandProject Capital Fund LP.
BrandProject was founded in 2013 by Andrew Black, the co-founder and former CEO of Virgin Mobile. The fund represents BrandProject’s second after the firm closed a $12 million round in 2013 that ran on an evergreen structure where some of the capital was continually reinvested.
BrandProject was founded in 2013 by Andrew Black, the co-founder and former CEO of Virgin Mobile.
The firm invests in next-generation consumer products, services, and technology and has invested in 22 companies, seven of which had successful exits. Some of its most successful investments to date include Freshly, which was acquired by Nestle; Hello Products, acquired by Colgate Palmolive; and Chefs Plate, which was acquired by Hello Fresh.
BrandProject is reportedly one of Canada’s most successful investment firms given its exits, which according to reporting from The Globe and Mail, generated more than 10 times BrandProject’s original invested capital.
The firm, which is based in Toronto and has offices in New York and Vancouver, did not disclose the investors in its latest fund, noting only that it included entrepreneurs and leaders in the consumer product and technology areas. The Globe reportsed the investors include eight of the entrepreneurs BrandProject has financed and Bay Street investors like Geoff Beattie, Gary Slaight and the Bitove family. Investors also include BrandProject’s founders and operating team, with the firm noting its operating team’s capital in the fund represents just under 20 percent.
With its latest fund BrandProject plans to invest in early stage companies. The firm already made six investments in 2020, including in prescription tech company Felix Health and online car retailer Clutch. It plans to add up to 12 additional companies to its portfolio over the next two to three years.
In a statement shared with BetaKit, BrandProject noted a focus on investing in diverse founders, stating this will be an important focus for the firm. It claims that more than half its current portfolio investments include at least one female founder or leader and 33 percent of its investments went to leaders with racially diverse backgrounds.