I always say that Portland built its tech startup community on “engineers building tools for other engineers.” That began as far back as Tektronix and continues today with companies like Puppet and Sila. That being said, it’s always nice to see consumer facing tech startups beginning to find success here, as well. Like Shop Latinx, which just secured $1 million in funding.
Shop Latinx is a community of brilliant creators and entrepreneurs with rich stories and deeply intentional practices. Each brand on the site was born from a labor of love, and we value our partnership with these makers above everything else. We’ve curated SLX to highlight the multiplicity of Latinidad and showcase distinctive products that have been made with purpose, love and so much soul. Our hope is for the Latinx community to feel seen and celebrated with an intentional shopping space that was created by our people, for our people.
The company, which counts Techstars and Backstage Capital among its early investors, began as an Instagram account. That account currently boasts nearly 72,000 followers. It has since grown into an ecommerce site featuring the works of Latinx creators.
Founder Brittany Chavez relocated to Portland earlier this year.
“I feel so blessed and thrilled to have successfully raised VC funding,” Chavez, of Guatemalan and Nicaraguan descent, told WWD in an exclusive statement. “It’s been a journey getting to this point, especially as a Latina solo founder, but I am proud of the work my team and I have put into the growth of Shop Latinx. Team Shop Latinx is committed to providing our community a shopping experience like never before that truly lives at the intersection of culture and commerce.”
For more information or to shop, visit Shop Latinx.
(Hat tip Juan Barraza)
[Full disclosure: I am a mentor for Backstage Capital and I invested in Backstage via crowdfunding.]
