Inspired Capital amasses $200 mln for debut fund

Inspired Capital has closed its debut fund at $200 million. The firm’s limited partners include pensions, foundations and endowments. The New York City-based early-stage venture firm invests in the “entrepreneurs of tomorrow.”

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK, NY (NOVEMBER 12, 2019) – Inspired Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm founded by Alexa von Tobel, founder of digital financial planning startup LearnVest, and Penny Pritzker, founder and chairman of PSP Partners and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, today announced the close of its $200 million debut institutional venture fund. The firm’s limited partners represent a range of institutional investor types, including pensions, foundations, and endowments. Inspired Capital, which is headquartered in New York, invests in seed and Series A stage companies where it believes it is advantaged due to its partners’ deep operational experience. The partnership believes in working with exceptional founders and investing in tech-advantaged, capital-efficient businesses.

Since its inception earlier this year, Inspired Capital has made investments in companies including Chief, the vetted network for women leaders, and Rho, the digital business bank. Inspired Capital focuses on technology-driven businesses that are creating new categories or disrupting existing ones. The team brings deep operating and investing experience in consumer technology, enterprise software, fintech, and proptech—across thriving direct-to-consumer and B2B businesses.

“Out of the gate, Inspired Capital is a modern firm that reflects the values of the entrepreneurs of tomorrow” said Alexa von Tobel, founder and managing partner of Inspired Capital. “Our team is united by a shared passion for backing the very best founders and supporting their innovative visions. As both entrepreneurs and investors ourselves, we have launched products used by millions of consumers, built and sold game-changing technology, and backed companies that are changing the world. With this deep operational experience, we are here to help entrepreneurs win.”

“The most durable businesses – regardless of market conditions – are those with strong technology at their foundation,” said Penny Pritzker. “I’m incredibly excited about the opportunity to help the next wave of entrepreneurs build a new generation of technology-driven businesses and believe that Inspired Capital’s approach, paired with the team’s unique set of capabilities as operators ourselves, sets us up for tremendous success.”

In addition to von Tobel and Pritzker’s deep experience at the helm of growing companies, Inspired Capital has assembled a strong team of former investor/operators who have worked together for over a decade to join its ranks. Lucy Deland (Partner; former co-founder and COO of Paperless Post), Mark Batsiyan (Partner and COO; former Head of Strategy at LearnVest and Partner at Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures), Ming Fang (Technology Partner; formerly of LearnVest, PulsePoint, and RBC Capital Markets), Charlotte Ross (Principal, formerly of New Enterprise Associates and Goldman Sachs) and Annie Shapiro (VP, Platform: formerly of LearnVest and Namely) have joined the Inspired Capital team in New York City.

About Inspired Capital
Inspired Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm based in New York City, investing in the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. The firm was founded by Alexa von Tobel, who previously founded LearnVest and Penny Pritzker, founder and chairman of PSP Partners who served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce from June 2013 to January 2017. With $200M under management, the firm invests in tech-advantaged, capital efficient businesses.