CULVER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Encantos, the award-winning B-Corp creating direct-to-consumer family entertainment education brands, today announced that it has closed an oversubscribed $2 million seed round led by Kapor Capital with participation from Boston Meridian Partners, Chingona Ventures, the Goldhirsh Foundation, Human Ventures, and MathCapital. Several existing and new angel investors, including Tom Chavez (CEO of super{set} Startup Studio), Rich Greenfield (Partner at LightShed Partners), Lydia Jett (Partner at Softbank), Michael Kassan (CEO of Medialink), and Antonio Lucio (CMO of Facebook), also participated in the round.
Encantos will primarily use the funds for subscription services that deliver engaging educational digital experiences and physical hands-on craft activities for pre-school and primary school age children.
Founded in 2015 and led by Co-Founders Steven Wolfe Pereira (Chief Executive Officer) and Susie Jaramillo (President and Chief Creative Officer), Encantos’ offerings are designed for parents who are focused on teaching their kids 21st century learning, literacy and life skills but don’t have the time or resources to curate the lessons, develop the experiences and provide the necessary materials. 21st century skills include learning skills (i.e., creativity, communication, collaboration, culture, and critical thinking), literacy skills (i.e., civics, environmental, financial, health and wellness, and STEAM) and life skills (i.e., adaptability, entrepreneurship, leadership, responsibility, and social-emotional).
Encantos was recently selected as one of the Elite 200 companies that will compete in the GSV Cup and present at the 2020 ASU GSV Summit. With its learner-centered approach to education that engages children through character-led, story-based play experiences, Encantos develops its products and services with an accomplished in-house curriculum and learning design team along with an advisory council of education experts. The company is best known for the Emmy-nominated and Kidscreen award-winning bilingual preschool brand Canticos (canticosworld.com). In October 2019, Encantos introduced its newest brand Tiny Travelers (tinytravelers.com), which focuses on geography, language, and culture. A female-owned public benefit corporation, each Encantos brand supports a family-oriented social cause to give back to the community.
“Encantos’ oversubscribed round is a testament to its experienced team, its purpose-driven brands, and its powerful vision,” said Samara Mejia Hernandez, Founding Partner at Chingona Ventures. “As a venture firm committed to investing in diverse founders, Encantos understands that over 50 percent of today’s kids are multicultural and their brands are tapping into a huge opportunity within the family entertainment and education industries that is often overlooked. We’re excited to see more and more families turn to Encantos for their best-in-class products and services that are learner-centered, wonderfully diverse and are inspiring the next generation of leaders.”
“As consumers shift from linear TV to Internet TV, the streaming wars are intensifying and expanding globally,” said Rich Greenfield, Partner at LightShed Partners. “Kids and family content is amongst the most valuable content to drive household engagement increasing happiness and reducing churn. Encantos is perfectly positioned to be a leader in family entertainment that delivers on education, diversity, play and purpose.”
“We are incredibly proud to be early and continuing investors in Encantos,” said Dr. Freada Kapor Klein, Partner at Kapor Capital. “They are creating iconic family brands with their unique approach of entertainment-driven education focused on 21st century skills. They exemplify founders whose lived experience identifies an unmet need in the market, and they have created a high growth, gap-closing business to solve it.”
Headquartered in Culver City, California, Encantos is a female-owned public benefit corporation that puts diversity, equality, and inclusion at the heart of everything it creates. The company previously raised $800,000 in pre-seed funding from Kapor Capital, MaC Venture Capital, and Lightspeed Venture Partners Scout Fund and strategic angels. “With the support of our world-class investors, we believe we are well-positioned to scale Encantos and are very excited about bringing our products and services to more kids helping them reach their potential,” said Steven Wolfe Pereira, CEO and Co-Founder of Encantos.
To learn more, visit encantosbrands.com
ABOUT ENCANTOS
Encantos is on a mission to inspire 21st century kids to reach their potential through 21st century skills. Using the power of entertainment & technology to reimagine education for the direct-to-consumer age, Encantos builds purpose-driven family brands focused on kids 14 & under including Canticos, Skeletitos and Tiny Travelers. It’s learner-centered approach and stage-based digital and physical offerings include apps, books, consumer products, subscription services and videos, and have received accolades and awards from Common Sense Media, Kidscreen, Kirkus Reviews, Parents Magazine and School Library Journal. For more information, visit encantosbrands.com and follow @encantosbrands on instagram and twitter.
