January Ventures Closes $21M Fund for Early-Stage B2B Startups

January Ventures wants to be an on-ramp for early B2B tech startups, a press release says, looking to provide funding along with a network for those companies.

The release notes how crucial early funding is to the success of a startup.

Usually, that means founders need to have a certain pedigree, network and location.

January Ventures reportedly invests in startups working on tech “for the empowered individual,” including “fully capitalizing founders from the start as they turn moonshot ideas into mainstream solutions.”

The release says January Ventures is looking into a different approach, investing early with “the best ideas” rather than the best connections.

The portfolio the company has built is diverse, it says, with 90% having a female founder, 32% with a Black or Latinx founder and 42% with an immigrant founder.

“Technology is enabling people to take control of their lives like never before, particularly as it relates to their work and their physical, mental and financial health,” says Jennifer Neundorfer, co-founder and managing partner of January Ventures. “We’re investing in the infrastructure layer powering this shift, including the future of work, FinTech, and digital health.”

In similar news, PYMNTS wrote that Las Olas Venture Capital, which is focused on companies based in emerging tech markets such as the southeastern U.S., has raised $50 million recently for its newest fund to help its strategy of investing in B2B software.

Read more: Las Olas Venture Capital Raises Funds to Help B2B Investment

The fund will reportedly seek to lead rounds between $3 million and $5 million. There will also be up to $2.5 million in initial checks and plans to reserve additional capital for follow-on investments.

LOVC also expects to invest in 15 to 20 companies out of the fund. Three of its first investments already had closures at the time of the PYMNTS report.

“We are grateful for the market reception to our thesis here at LOVC,” Founding Partner Mark Volchek said in the release. “Our strategy has begun to prove itself out with the strong performance of our Fund I portfolio, and we are glad that our approach has resonated with our returning limited partners and new investors for this fund.”