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Joe Montana and Ashton Kutcher among the best investors in famous startups – Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News
Of Fintechnews Switzerland
June 11, 2024
Celebrity investors are becoming an influential force in the venture capital (VC) landscape, offering significant visibility, credibility and strategic support to the startups in which they invest. But some stand out from the pack, demonstrating an ability to identify future unicorns or strong mergers and acquisition (M&A) targets.
CB Insights market intelligence platform He released its “Celebrity VC Index,” which ranks the top 20 celebrity investors based on the strength of their portfolios. The index takes into account recent funding and exit activity, unicorn metrics, as well as Mosaic Scores of portfolio companies, to identify the most successful celebrity VCs.
The Mosaic Score is a proprietary algorithm developed by CB Insights that evaluates the health and growth potential of private companies. It combines various metrics and data points into a single score to evaluate a company’s viability and future prospects.
Mindy Kaling, an actress and producer, leads the pack in terms of Mosaic Score of portfolio companies, with an average of 883 out of 1,000. Since 2020, Kaling has invested in just seven startups and backed one company that became a unicorn. Maven, a virtual clinic specializing in women’s and family health, reached up a $1 billion valuation in 2021 after raising a $110 million Series D funding round. Kaling is ranked sixth on the Celebrity VC Index.
Investment trends
Data from CB Insights shows that celebrity investors tend to invest in consumer-facing brands and media-adjacent businesses that align with their personal brand, expertise and influence. These industries offer high visibility and market engagement, allowing celebrities to leverage their fame to drive business success.
Kutcher, for example, invested in Warby Parker, a direct-to-consumer eyewear startup that went public in 2021. Kaling, Jay-Z and Serena Williams (#17) they argued Impossible Foods, a company that develops plant-based substitutes for meat products.
The CB Insights report also finds that top-performing celebrity investors have turned investing into a consistent business practice. This is evidenced by the fact that the top five celebrities in the ranking have created their own venture capital funds as well as supplementing their individual investment business. In addition to Montana’s Liquid 2 Ventures and Kutcher’s Sound Ventures, these funds include the Chainsmokers’ Mantis, Jay-Z’s Marcy Venture Partners and Kevin Durant’s Thirty Five Ventures (#5).
Other celebrities featured in CB Insights’ Celebrity VC Index include professional athletes Michael Jordan (No. 12), Chris Paul (No. 13) and LeBron James (No. 19); actors Robert Downey Jr. (#7), Will Smith (#8) and Leonardo DiCaprio (#18); rappers Snoop Dogg (#11) and Drake (#16); social media personalities Josh Richards (No. 10) and Jake Paul (No. 20); comedian Kevin Hart (#14); TV host and producer Oprah Winfrey (No. 9); and DJ Steve Aoki (#15).
Top Celebrity VCs, Source: CB Insights, May 2024
Notable celebrity investors in fintech
Separate research by Fintech Global Shows that many of these celebrities are also active in fintech. Notably, Durant, Chainsmokers, Hart and Smith were among the 10 most active celebrity fintech investors between 2019 and 2023, the report said.
Durant’s major investments in the period include Goalsetter, a mobile banking app that enables peer-to-peer transactions; Jeeves, which provides open global corporate accounts; and Titan, an investment firm also backed by Smith.
The Chainsmokers invested in Step, also a banking app for teens supported by Smith; Pluang, an Indonesian fractional investing app; AND Card X1, a challenger credit card. Hart backed Fonoa, a tax automation platform, and Mercury, a business banking startup, while Smith invested In front ofa strategic investment platform, and Public.com, a social investment platform.
Top 10 most active fintech investors in 2019-2023, Source: Fintech Global Research, March 2024
Featured image credit: Edited by freepik
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