Ignite20 Ventures seeks 20 CPG startups for inaugural fund

Pre-seed and seed CPG companies have a new financial opportunity courtesy of Ignite20 Ventures, a fund and accelerator program designed to educate and support early-stage food and beverage brands. Ignite20 Ventures launched an open call for its first fund, which will award 20 innovative CPG startups in food, beverage, health, beauty and pet care with $50,000 each in capital and admission into an accelerator program, Gabriela Morales, CEO and co-founder of Ignite20 Ventures, shared during the Natural Products Expo West. Funds from Santatera Capital – an investor in Wildwonder , Tia Lupita, Mezcla, Hiyo, Little Sesame and other emerging CPG brands – and Redwood Ventures created Ignite20 Ventures to support emerging brands earlier in their business cycle. Currently, <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fjessuppr-dot-yamm-track.appspot.com%2F2fHLX3x535OuWatlebKBSVuvwoK7MeUPnW5xuTifvZ_2Kih8_lQF6Q8TlEVScFoUE8-N_KLHW1crP0_rfOUmJ0Ud_tnQO6qeGTnW0YHWyM_4NglIkyd99mE0n6_I_jW1tuk-3q_UugPa9PScG_hh12yzn9mosFcB88g1HL3MJfV1WV_WSV-FRY8EXbYoI-UTRf3Q&data=05%7C02%7Cryan.daily%40wrbm.com%7C827f3d87c3f44d1fd6f308dd55e7be1d%7C8d5287f1f765422c89618fa7884626d9%7C0%7C0%7C638761176012547979%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=3zLNr3malu25jqmrdOhxKn32s%2BHUqmKsNqVU2SlIFpI%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fjessuppr-dot-yamm-track.appspot.com%2F2fHLX3x535OuWatlebKBSVuvwoK7MeUPnW5xuTifvZ_2Kih8_lQF6Q8TlEVScFoUE8-N_KLHW1crP0_rfOUmJ0Ud_tnQO6qeGTnW0YHWyM_4NglIkyd99mE0n6_I_jW1tuk-3q_UugPa9PScG_hh12yzn9mosFcB88g1HL3MJfV1WV_WSV-FRY8EXbYoI-UTRf3Q&data=05%7C02%7Cryan.daily%40wrbm.com%7C827f3d87c3f44d1fd6f308dd55e7be1d%7C8d5287f1f765422c89618fa7884626d9%7C0%7C0%7C638761176012547979%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=3zLNr3malu25jqmrdOhxKn32s%2BHUqmKsNqVU2SlIFpI%3D&reserved=0">Ignite20 is accepting applications until May 4 at 11:59 PM ET for its first class of brands. The team will select companies later in May, and the accelerator programming will start in June. “We are very focused on the founder, and this is why we are building an accelerator,” Morales said. “We are building a 100-day accelerator to help them with connections. For example, we have a module called founder one-on-one, where we help the founder to develop leadership skills, how to fundraise, and how to negotiate with buyers.” A founder’s pitch presentation (i.e., pitch deck) is often what piques a venture capitalist’s interest in a company. However, few early-stage companies envision an exit strategy, which might change due to recent acquisition activity, Morales pointed out. “Everyone in their pitch deck is telling you how much money they need,” Morales said. “We do not really see a slide on ‘this could be my exit strategy,’ but that is also something that could change.” While many founders have a growth-at-all-cost mentality, they might consider exiting around the $10-20 million mark and then using that capital and support to build another company faster and better, she noted. “Having the network that you have already built with your first company, that is priceless,” Morales said.