Who are the most innovative consumer brands of 2019?
Announcing the call for nominations for the seventh annual CircleUp25
Who are the most innovative consumer brands of 2019?
Announcing the call for nominations for the seventh annual CircleUp25
Welcome Cali’flour Foods –– the better-for-you and grain-free pizza
There’s a lot of confusion today about what “better-for-you” means. Is it low carb? High protein? Low calorie? Low sugar? Grain-free? And, the question of “does it taste good?” is often an afterthought. It’s not easy to come across a product that has a quantifiably better nutrition profile and is known for its taste. When ...
Backtests in the Private Markets – A New Approach
“Backtest” and “private markets” are not often used in the same sentence. CircleUp is changing that by building the first ever systematic VC fund in the private markets and utilizing backtests to validate the approach. In short, this means that we rigorously test the investment strategy using historical data in a way that has never ...
Fueling growth – Why today’s consumer brand should consider credit
For entrepreneurs focused on the direct-to-consumer (D2C) channel, there has never been a better time to accelerate sales growth by using credit wisely. But with a number of new entrants popping up that offer all types of creative financing solutions, it’s worth hitting pause to demystify credit financing and call out some of the common ...
Welcome The Good Crisp Company––the guilt-free stacked chips
Originally hailing from Australia, The Good Crisp Companyhas reimagined the classic canister stacked chip and is now winning over the American consumer with their guilt-free and great tasting potato chips. Earlier this year, we announced our investment in the company and today we wanted to share why we were most excited by the opportunity. An ...
Webinar Recap: Why Flexible Working Capital Could Be The Right Solution For Your Brand
CircleUp Credit Advisors (CCA) has financed a portfolio of over 100 emerging CPG brands and extended $150M+ in credit since launching in mid-2017. We lend to all types of consumer brands using innovative credit products, second-to-none consumer industry expertise, and friendly terms to make the process easy. Earlier this week, we hosted a webinar on ...
The CircleUp Vision: The Road to Transforming Private Investing
CircleUp is transforming private investing with data and technology, an idea that has been called crazy. Einstein said that “If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.” We have conviction that data will create a more transparent and efficient private investing market, and thus help more entrepreneurs thrive. ...
The Helio Platform + Gartner’s Data Sophistication Journey
CircleUp’s primary asset is Helio, a collection of data and algorithms, on top of which there are business applications. Today those applications are equity and credit funds that invest directly into early-stage CPG brands. Helio finds, classifies, and evaluates CPG companies on a set of dimensions calibrated for success outcomes. Through years of facilitating investments, ...
Fast Company Names CircleUp One of the Most Innovative Companies of 2019
Fast Company recently announced the 2019 Most Innovative Companies list, and we are excited to share that CircleUp was named #3 Most Innovative Data Science Company. CircleUp is included alongside the likes of Lineage Logistics, Orbital Insights, and Hopper, who are all taking a data-driven approach to solve unique global problems. It’s an honor to ...
Joining CircleUp: Building a New Game of Chess to Change Investing
Warren Buffett says in his 1989 annual report that “Having a dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down.” Taking Buffett’s words to heart, I wanted to reflect on past experiences and distill my choices for joining CircleUp into three points:. An innovative business model with a strong ...