PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Avoli, the first, and only, athletic brand dedicated exclusively to the performance needs and aspirations of women and girl volleyball athletes, closed its initial funding round which had originally been targeted at $1.5M. The company’s initial seed round raised over $2.1M with investments coming from a range of investors including athletic footwear founders and manufacturers, volleyball industry professionals, and professional investors. The proceeds will fund working capital and growth initiatives including new strategic hires, increased brand marketing and broadening the availability of its market-leading footwear.
The angel investors who have made personal investments in Avoli come from the arenas of tech, consumer products, volleyball, and respected founders in footwear manufacturing and innovation. They include: Ho Nam (Managing Director and Co-Founder at Altos Ventures), Blythe Jack (former Managing Director at both TSG Consumer Partners and Rosewood Capital), and Pete Saperstone (Partner at Greycroft Partners).
Avoli has also partnered with leading sports retailer SCHEELS to exclusively sell Avoli footwear in select storefronts across the United States. As a part of the partnership, a variety of colorways of the Avoli VOL I and Avoli VOL II are now available at the following SCHEELS locations: Billings, MT, Boise, ID, Eden Prairie, MN, Johnstown, CO, Lincoln, NE, Omaha, NE, Overland Park, KS, and The Colony, TX (Dallas).
"In our first year as a company, we’ve seen an unprecedented demand for our footwear amongst the volleyball community, and our partnership with SCHEELS will make Avoli shoes more widely accessible to women and girl athletes around the country," said Rick Anguilla, Co-founder of Avoli. "SCHEELS’ dedication to quality and an excellent customer experience aligns perfectly with our mission at Avoli, and we look forward to working together to grow the sport of volleyball.”
With volleyball being the most popular team sport for girls in the U.S., the availability of Avoli products at select SCHEELS locations will provide convenient access to high-performance footwear that meets the unique demands of the sport.
“We are proud to partner with Avoli and look forward to bringing their top-tier volleyball footwear to select stores across the U.S.,” said SCHEELS. “We look forward to introducing the Avoli brand to our dedicated customers, and bringing products designed specifically for women and girl athletes to our shelves.”
Avoli recently signed three of the top women’s college volleyball athletes - Anna DeBeer (University of Louisville), Lauren Briseño (Baylor University) and Alia Williams (University of Dayton) - to be featured in the brand’s “Hits Different” marketing campaign. Throughout the 2024 volleyball season, Avoli will be partnering with both former and current professional and college volleyball athletes across a variety of activations, including content creation, affiliate marketing, in-person camps and events, product feedback, internships, and more. This includes Marianna Singletary (University of Texas), Delayanie Maple (Indiana University), Reilly Heinrich (George Washington University), Karly Klaer (Chicago State University), and more to be announced.
For more information about Avoli and its volleyball footwear, please visit avoli.com.
ABOUT AVOLI
Born in Portland, Oregon, Avoli (“Ah-Volley”) is the only brand dedicated solely to the needs and aspirations of women and girl volleyball athletes. Founded in 2023, Avoli creates volleyball footwear, apparel and equipment designed specifically to meet the needs of women and girl athletes on the volleyball court, while amplifying the culture of volleyball.
