Gold House Launches Fund to Support API Leaders
Gold House, a nonprofit group of Asian & Pacific Islander (API) founders, creatives, and executives, announced today the launch of Gold House Ventures (GHV), a $30 million fund that will place capital in API helmed brands and companies.
According to Crunchbase, the fund has made four investments to-date, including Asian-inspired sparkling water brand Sanzo and online Asian grocer and delivery service Umamicart. GHV plans to invest across industries and life stages, a press release noted.
“Many iconic companies are founded and run by API entrepreneurs. We want to back the next generation of great API founders and shine a spotlight on their success to inspire more to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams,” said Eric Feng, GP of Gold House Ventures, in a press release.
Investors in GHV include 26 firms including CircleUp, Bain Capital, General Catalyst, Imaginary Ventures, Bling Capital, Lightspeed, Wing VC, Upfront, Trinity, and Maveron; along with C-suite executives and API founders of major corporations including YouTube, Twitch, DoorDash, Credit Karma); lifestyle influencers such as Padma Lakshmi; designer Prabal Gurung; Grammy-winning musician Anderson .Paak; and actors such as Bowen Yang, Daniel Dae Kim and Gemma Chan.
The group says it is the first fund to be led by a nonprofit general partnership with 100% of management fees and profits to be invested back into Gold House programming and its community.
Though API founders need more financial support, the release noted, there’s also a financial benefit with an untapped opportunity.
“Asians are among the least likely demographic to be promoted to management. In technology, Asians account for [about] 30% of the total workforce but are less than 14% of executive ranks and single digits in the C-Suite and boards,” the release said.
“However, an estimated 16% of the top companies founded in the last decade have at least one API founder (despite being 7% of the nation’s population) while nearly 42% of last year’s Forbes Midas list was API — underscoring an opportunity to remove the ceiling by founding companies.”
Portfolio companies will gain access to Gold House’s marketing and talent recruitment teams, which GHV says include extensive media and entertainment partnerships. The nonprofit has long supported API founders through other initiatives including its Gold Rush accelerator program and a partnership with fast casual chain Panda Express to bring in new beverage and snack brands. Gold House’s ongoing programming includes a book club featuring discussions with notable API writers and actors, a talent network and mentoring program for creatives such as filmmakers and designers, an invite-only founder network,and the annual A100 list honoring the most impactful APIs in culture and activism.
“Gold House was forged to rewrite a history that’s been handed to us. It’s time to ensure that what we believe is who we can become — not just for the API community but for all communities through equitable hiring, multicultural consumer engagement, and collective economic success,” said Bing Chen, president of Gold House and General Partner of Gold House Ventures.
