A-Frame Raises Funding for Celebrity Brand Incubator

A-Frame, a Los Angeles company developing personal care brands with celebrity endorsements, has secured $2 million in a recent funding round, spearheaded by Initialized Capital.

Moise Emquies, a seasoned entrepreneur whose former apparel companies, Ella Moss and Splendid, were purchased by VFC in 2009, also participated in this investment round.

A-Frame had previously obtained seed funding with support from Columbia Care, a cannabis company operating across multiple states. The company’s initial offering is Keeper, a hand soap product. Plans are in place to introduce further brands focused on sun and skincare, children and baby care, and bath and body products, according to the company.

“We collaborate with investment teams at talent agencies,” explained Ari Bloom, founder and CEO of the company. “We begin by identifying and interviewing various talents, communicating with their agents and managers. We then establish a separate entity for each brand. We don’t directly compete with the agencies themselves.”

Bloom stated that the company has already partnered with CAA, UTA, and WME for all brands currently in development, with two new brands slated to launch within the coming weeks.

As part of this funding round, Hill Harper, an actor, activist, and author, has joined A-Frame as a co-founder and will serve as the company’s chief strategy officer. Emquies will also be joining the team as chief brand officer.

“Hill is my co-founder, and we’ve collaborated for several years. He operates at the holding company level with me, helping to identify potential opportunities,” Bloom said. “He effectively connects business objectives with talent representation, participating in discussions with agencies, managers, and the talent themselves. He’s a highly respected individual within the agency and talent community.”

Alda Leu Dennis, General Partner at Initialized, led the investment for Initialized and will join the company’s board of directors, alongside Emquies. Other board members include Nicholas Vita, CEO of Columbia Care, and John D. Howard, CEO of Irving Place Capital.

“Our focus was on identifying areas within personal care that are ripe for innovation, particularly concerning sustainability,” Bloom explained. “Once we select a category, we carefully assess the demographic opportunities. Even in areas that have seen some evolution, there’s still room for improvement… our focus is entirely on non-ingestible personal care items. When building a celebrity-driven brand, we prioritize products with strong franchise potential.”

The Keeper product utilizes a subscription-based system for soap concentrates and hand cleansing sprays.

Bloom’s previous venture was Avametric, an AR imaging company funded by Khosla Ventures and Y Combinator, which was acquired by Gerber Technology in 2018. He is also a founder of Wise Sons Delicatessen in San Francisco.

“We initially invested in Avametric in 2013 at Initialized, and he has a strong track record even before that. From an investment standpoint, I believe his expertise in brand building is exceptionally strong,” Dennis noted.

Investors are confident that the combination of Bloom’s market preference software, A-Frame’s celebrity network, and the company’s brand incubator structure provides a solid foundation for a thriving direct-to-consumer business.

However, venture capital firms have explored similar strategies previously. The Honest Co. represented an early effort to establish a sustainable brand centered around eco-friendly personal care products. Bloom indicated that Honest provided valuable insights for his startup, including understanding the point at which a company’s growth plateaus and creates opportunities for larger companies to expand the business.

“Our aim is to build a brand with a three-to-seven year growth trajectory, reaching a national scale that would attract a global player for international expansion,” Bloom stated.