DTC’s Daily Digest brings you the latest news on the world’s fastest growing direct-to-consumer brands. In today’s edition: The Craftory invests in Ruby Love; Raena helping APAC influencers launch e-commerce brands; and Hippo latest fintech unicorn. 

The Craftory invests in Ruby Love

The Craftory, a capital investor who purely back companies supporting good causes, have taken a stake in Ruby Love, makers of period-proof underwear. 

The Craftory’s investment in Ruby Love totals USD$15m (£12m), with an initial Series A funding of USD$8m (£6.4m). The Company will use the capital to help fund expansion, product development and brand-related campaigns. The Craftory is the sole investor in this round and will acquire a meaningful stake in the business. 

Data shows us that female founders are often not getting the backing they deserve, representing only 2.2% of last year’s USD$85bn (£68bn) of venture funding in the US. Women of colour received less than 1% of this total. 

According to ProjectDiane, only 34 black women were able to raise more than USD$1m (£800k) in funding for their startups in 2017. The average female founder, in general, was able to raise USD$5m (£4m), compared to male founders, who raised an average of USD$12m (£9.6m) per round.

Crystal Etienne, founder, Ruby Love, commented:  “I am excited to continue the growth of the company with the help of the team at The Craftory. Their philosophy is aligned with my vision; to deliver confidence to women, whatever time of the month.”

Raena helping APAC influencers launch e-commerce brands

Raena, an Indonesian startup that helps social media influencers launch their own e-commerce brands, announced today that it has raised USD$1.8m (£1.44m) in seed funding. 

Raena partners with influencers, providing them with the resources to create products under their own branding, similar to how Revolve Group operates in the US. The company launched two months ago and is currently focused on Southeast Asia, where it has partnered with seven influencers so far, who have a total following of 12 million.

The company’s founder & CEO, Sreejita Deb says that the company started by selling Japanese and Korean beauty brands to Indonesian customers. Deb says the company decided to start working with influencers after the products sold well, despite their premium prices and having little brand recognition in Indonesia.

She adds that Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand have some of the highest rates of social media penetration in the world, especially on Instagram, but influencers still have few ways to make money no matter how large their follower base.

Hippo latest fintech unicorn

Hippo, a company that works in the online home insurance space, raised a USD$100m (£80m) round this morning, valuing it at USD$1bn (£800m). 

In a press release, Hippo said it plans to use the new capital to expand its geographic footprint, “deepen” its direct-to-consumer product portfolio and partner with more companies. Current partners include lender Better.com, homebuilder Lennar and homeowner insurers, among others.

The company also said it saw a “record twelve months,” with premiums growing more than ten times. Hippo has attracted material investment since its founding in 2015. Indeed, the company raised a USD$14m (£11.2) Series A in 2016. 

The company added on an early 2018 Series B worth USD$25m (£20m). Most recently before today’s investment, Hippo snagged USD$70m (£56m) in a Series C. And now with this round, the firm has just under USD$210m (£168m) in private capital to-date.