OAKLAND, CA – ICA is pleased to announce three new additions to our growing investment portfolio: Electrospit, madeBOS, and Pietisserie. These three companies, helmed by Bay Area entrepreneurs, bring the ICA portfolio to 25 companies and represent a spectrum of bold bets made to accelerate great businesses and close the gender and racial wealth gaps.
ICA is investing a total of $795K in the three companies, which together are raising over $2M in capital. Electrospit, madeBOS, and Pietisserie were selected for their compelling business models, dedication to hiring locally, and commitment to growing social impact as they scale. Keep reading to meet these visionary entrepreneurs.
ElectroSpit
Black-owned Music Tech
Led by musician, entrepreneur, and inventor Bosko Kante, and business strategist Maya Kante, ElectroSpit is bringing a decades-old music instrument—the talkbox—into the 21st century. Made famous in popular songs like Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer” and 2Pac’s “California Love”, the original talkbox has an iconic sound but is cumbersome and difficult to play.
ElectroSpit’s new tech-enabled products are lightweight, portable, and easy to use. What’s more, they are completely tubeless and come with a companion app. ElectroSpit assembles its products in the Bay Area, and with ICA’s investment, looks to expand its team, scale operations, and get ready to launch two new products to complement its flagship ESX-1 talkbox.
ElectroSpit’s alignment with ICA’s mission runs deep–the West Oakland-based company has a majority person-of-color staff, hires locally, and plans to introduce wealth-building opportunities like profit-sharing and expanded benefits as it grows.
The Deal
ICA’s investment: $300,000
Total Round: $1M
ElectroSpit is crowdfunding, invest now.
madeBOS
AI-driven Talent Mobility Assistant
Founded by HR expert Martha Hernandez, madeBOS (made by own self) provides HR services for small to medium enterprises (SMEs), including AI-driven career pathing services for employees. On a mission to empower all employers to create workplaces that help their employees thrive, madeBOS fills a critical void in the SME marketplace. While a majority of workers in the US are employed by SMEs, a large portion of these companies do not have HR expertise or the budget to hire dedicated HR staff, resulting in high turnover and risk of non-compliance.
madeBOS’s customizable services support SMEs in the short and long-term. The company uses a suite of proprietary tools including AI and machine learning to provide deep HR expertise, enabling companies to streamline their compensation plans, organizational design, employee guidebooks, recruitment, and performance management.
The Deal
ICA’s investment: $200,000
Total Round: $500,000
madeBOS is available for co-investment. Learn more.
Pietisserie
A New American Pie
Founded in 2010 by Jaynelle St. Jean, Pietisserie is a nationally recognized brand focused on one thing: making the most luxurious, decadent, modern, tasty, and beautiful premium pies possible. Over the last few years, the company has refined its supply chain and is positioned to scale. With increased demand through multiple revenue channels (direct-to-consumer, wholesale, and retail), Pietisserie is ready to take on its next phase of growth.
The Deal
ICA’s investment: $295,000
Total Round: $795,000
Pietisserie is available for co-investment. Learn more.
For ICA, each of these deals represents an impactful addition to our expanding Growth Fund. The Growth Fund provides access to growth equity investments of $100,000 to $1,000,000 with a focus on serving entrepreneurs of color and women. Our investment strategy intentionally focuses on racial and gender equity, and supports companies committed to our shared mission of wealth creation and distribution to a diverse workforce.
