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Key people at Essence Ventures.
Essence Ventures is a New York City-based media, technology, and commerce company focused on content and lifestyle platforms for Black women and communities. The organization reaches an audience of over 16 million people across its print, digital, video, and social platforms, anchored by a flagship publication that historically achieved a circulation of 1.6 million. Its live events division operates the annual Essence Festival, which has previously attracted up to 450,000 attendees. The corporate portfolio of brands includes the core Essence magazine, Afropunk, BeautyCon, and Essence Studios, having returned to independent Black ownership following its acquisition from Time Inc. The underlying business, Essence Communications, was originally founded in 1968 by Edward Lewis, Clarence O. Smith, Cecil Hollingsworth, and Jonathan Blount, before SheaMoisture founder Richelieu Dennis established Essence Ventures to acquire the brand in January 2018.
Key people at Essence Ventures.
Essence Ventures has 2 tracked investments across 2 companies. The latest tracked deal is $6.0M Seed in Prospective in July 2023.
| Date | Company | Round | Lead Investor(s) | Co-Investor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 2023 | Prospective | $6.0M Seed | Noah Carr | Giant Machines, Irregular Expressions, REFASHIOND Ventures, Silicon Badia |
| Jul 1, 2023 | Abbey Labs | $5.0M Seed | Point72 Ventures | Jenny Fielding, Scott Hartley, FirstHand Alliance, Greylock, Haystack, Jetstream, Oren Yunger, Streamlined Ventures, Tealium, Akshay Bhargava, Avid Larizadeh, BEN Porterfield, Jason Tolkin, JON Runyan, Louis Beryl, Mike Kourey, Vibhu Mittal, Chip Huyen, Emilio E., Harold Giménez, JON Oberheide, Kamal Shah, Margaret Francis, Pete Soderling, Ryan Carlson, Savin Goyal |
