We all know that the fundraising statistics for female entrepreneurs are dire. According to a 2018 study conducted by the Case Foundation, while women own 40% of US businesses, they generate 4.3% of business revenues and they receive just 2.2% of tech venture funding. And for women of color? That figure is a paltry 0.0006% of tech venture funding. Yes, you read that correctly.
Denise Woodard, the daughter of African American and Korean parents, has defied that statistic. And she has now defied it twice. Woodard, a former executive at Coca Cola
KO
Denise Woodard, the former Coca Cola executive who founded Partake Foods, is backed by JAY-Z’s VC … [+]
Partake Foods
To get started, Woodard bootstrapped via a Kickstarter campaign, and then raised capital from friends and family to support distribution into Whole Foods and Wegmans. “I was cobbling together $5,000 and $10,000 checks to keep the lights on, from anyone who would listen,” she said. “The dribs and drabs were not enough, so I sold my engagement ring. But we were seeing traction, which led us to raise our first institutional round.”
Last summer Woodard raised a $1MN seed round led by JAY-Z’s Marcy Venture Partners. And she has more than doubled that amount in a seed extension that was announced today, with new investment by Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter H.E.R. and follow-on funding from Marcy Venture Partners. Woodard says, “As a first time entrepreneur, you don’t know if it is a gender thing or what, but I had 86 no’s before I got to a yes. I got the ‘we don’t do traditional CPG,’ ‘the space is too crowded,’ all of the things. And I was getting so worn down.”
She was introduced to Marcy Venture Partners in 2019 and said it was an instant click. “The three partners – Jay Brown, JAY-Z, and Larry Marcus are all fathers, all have extensive experience building consumer brands, and are investing in companies that are making the world a better place. Partnering with them has been an amazing experience,” she said. And perhaps the greatest compliment, her former boss Chuck Muth, who is now the Chief Growth Officer at Beyond Meat, invested in the company. He says, “Denise’s focus and willingness to grind out all the details of the business, and passion for providing a healthier snack food option, is why I backed her.”
Partake Foods’ signature line of cookies.
Partake Foods
It is not lost on Woodard that she closed her second round of seed funding in the midst of a global pandemic, and during a groundswell of support for the Black Lives Matter movement. She shared, “It has been bittersweet. Our e-commerce has been through the roof in May and June. We have seen all of this business success. When I look at myself and the news of announcing that a woman of color has raised venture money, I feel hopeful and proud. I think of my daughter, and I hope that this inspires her and other brown girls to follow their dreams and lead.”
She is committed to the movement, and says, “As we hire, I will continue to seek out diversity in gender, ethnicities, experience, and socioeconomics to build a truly diverse team. I mentor other black founders weekly. I feel a huge sense of responsibility.”
Woodard shares some advice that she hopes reaches her fellow female entrepreneurs of color. “I tell people that it is okay to start small,” she says. “You don’t need a big splashy launch to start. I started out of a storage unit, driving my samples to natural foods stores in Brooklyn. If you know your vision, just get started.”
She continues, “As women and women of color, it is important to know your business inside and out. There is even more pressure to know the numbers, the data, and to understand the why. When I started early on, I would get brushed off by investors as ‘how cute, another mompreneur.’ Numbers don’t wear a color, or a gender, so I would lead with the numbers.”
Woodard encourages entrepreneurs to think scrappily, particularly in this environment. For example, to meet her Whole Foods buyer she cold emailed all of the grocery category managers that she could find on LinkedIn. And she initiated the Target
TGT
Creativity has reigned throughout her growth. Partake’s largest retail rollout occurred during shelter-in-place, and Woodard pivoted to a digital marketing strategy by launching a Spot Our Business campaign on her Instagram account. The goal is to amplify other women and minority owned brands at Target.
Partake Foods’ Spot Us At Target campaign, supporting other female and women of color founders whose … [+]
Partake Foods
As for what’s next, Woodard aspires to the multi-aisle success of the organic food brand Annie’s. With nation-wide distribution in Target stores, she is optimistic. She has new SKUs and seasonal items in the works. “I am so thankful that we were able to raise the money to be heads down. We are going to keep making a great product, inspiring our customers, and building a company culture that we are proud of.”
