Venture Backers Invest $23.5 Million in BeachMint

98

BeachMint, a Santa Monica operator of celebrity-endorsed e-commerce sites, said late Friday that it raised $23.5 million in a new funding round.

The round was led by Scale Venture Partners, a San Francisco Bay Area tech investor, and Lightbank, a Chicago venture firm backed by Groupon co-founders Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell. Prior BeachMint investors New Enterprise Associates, Trinity Ventures, and Anthem Ventures also participated in the round. As part of the deal, Sharon Wienbar of Scale Venture Partners will join the company’s board, and a representative from Lightbank will gain an observer seat.

The company’s first site, JewelMint, launched in October and features actress Kate Bosworth and celebrity stylist Cher Coulter, who co-design a line of jewelry sold product-of-the-month style. A second site called StyleMint, which is set to launch in a few weeks, will feature apparel designed by former child actresses Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. At least two more sites are expected to launch this year, the company said.

“BeachMint is redefining online shopping by taking advantage of these trends to deliver great consumer value,” Wienbar said in a statement. “We are excited by the amazing traction BeachMint has achieved in a short time with JewelMint.”

The new round brings the total invested to date to $38.5 million. BeachMint was founded by a former MySpace co-founder, Josh Berman, and former tech incubator executive Diego Berdakin. The company last received funding in December in a $10 million round.