Sortis Holdings Inc., a Portland, OR-based alternative investment fund manager, launched Sortis Growth Venture Fund. The $10 million fund is a hybrid venture capital and consumer-focused private equity fund dedicated to accelerating the speed at which rising consumer brands can reach their full potential.
Open to accredited investors, Sortis Growth Venture Fund has a target return of 20 percent on invested capital.
“Sortis has developed a unique platform that aggregates highly experienced operators, advisors and investors with a world-class e-commerce agency providing promising consumer brands with critical support and structure as they focus on achieving the next level,” said Butch Bannon, fund manager and principal. “With access to our network, resources, means, and expertise, Sortis Growth Venture Fund portfolio companies can tap into their growth potential more efficiently and effectively.”
Unlike many private equity firms that bypass companies with less than $5 million in EBITDA, Sortis identifies investment opportunities within this niche. Prospective portfolio companies are based in North America and have a domestic or global reach that can leverage the fund’s category expertise and e-commerce capabilities.
“During the salad days, every scalable business has a moment most ripe for acceleration. You hate to miss it and you can’t always predict it, but you can harness it,” said Adam Shearer, founder of the Pacific Northwest’s Shopify Plus D2C studio, WLCR.io. “The ecosystem we’re creating with Sortis allows us to intervene at the most opportune time by creating a confluence of the merchant, the money and the moment.”
The Sortis Growth Venture Fund considers branded consumer and retail companies in various categories — including apparel and accessories, health and wellness, pet, beauty and personal care, food and beverage, and footwear. One criterion is strong founders and management teams.
“We are very excited to work with Butch and WLCR.io on this new fund,” said Paul Brenneke, Sortis founder. “This opportunity has allowed us to bring additional expertise to the Sortis family of funds.”
Photo courtesy Sortis Holdings Inc.
