Today, we celebrate an important milestone in Topknot’s journey: We’ve raised $650K from Homebrew, Uprising, Base Ventures, 27V, and Backstage Capital, along with notable angels like Phin Barnes, Nick Caldwell, Melissa Tidwell, and Laura Butler. Our newest investors join our earliest backers — Merline Saintil, Jeff Lawson, Aston Motes, Joe Greenstein and Rachel Sheinbein, to name a few — in fueling and supporting our next stage of development.
While we are incredibly proud of this raise, fundraises are just part of the journey, not a destination unto themselves. We started Topknot in February with the mission to provide women with intentional support to realize their potential. We recognized that existing supports were tailored to and accessible by the deeply accomplished, and that there was a huge opportunity — and for us, a moral imperative — to democratize access to the tools and resources known to catalyze meaningful change.
At Topknot’s inception, we established three pillars to guide our work: equity, intentionality, and growth. These pillars are foundational to all of our efforts, fundraising being no exception.
We believe the status quo will only change with an emboldened and activated collective of diverse women. Our commitment to building with and for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ women has stood firm since our inception. It was critical to us that women — and in particular Black women — were a part of the early financial fabric, and ultimately the success, of our company.
Half of our angel investments are from women by both headcount and dollars. Notably, nearly a quarter of our angel investors by headcount are Black women and they represent 31% of commitments in dollars. Of our angels, 44% are BIPOC and they represent 38% of dollars invested. We see similar diversity in our funds — all have BIPOC in senior leadership, and two of five have Black general partners.
We want to say unequivocally that none of this is an accident. We were thoughtful about from whom we took intros, how we talked about our work, and who got an extra nudge via email when the distractions of this fall sunk in. Every little bit mattered. And we are thrilled by the outcome.
The funders who’ve backed us are exceptional. As individuals and funds, they’ve experienced success and have sent the proverbial elevator back down to ensure more rise to their level. Their commitment to creating opportunities for others makes them the perfect partners.
Just like for the women on Topknot, our company’s growth is enhanced when done with the support of others who provide space for processing, skill building, and introspection. In this round of funding, we’ve gained coaches, collaborators, and cheerleaders. With their support, we’re ready to tackle the next part of our journey.
There’s lots to look forward to on the Topknot roadmap; expect exciting updates and new features shortly. To stay in touch, sign up to receive our newsletter [link].
