Given her impressive background in marketing, it is no surprise that Emily Kramer is highly respected within the industry. Her ability to think outside the box and her strategic skills have benefited many companies, most notably Carta Technologies. However, Kramer’s career took a controversial turn in 2020 when she filed a lawsuit against her former employer alleging gender discrimination and retaliation. Despite initial skepticism from some of the industry insiders, Kramer’s case ultimately proved successful – setting an important legal precedent for women in the workplace.
The settlement that was reached three years after the lawsuit was filed involved Kramer and her former employer, Activision Blizzard. The matter was resolved ahead of the case’s impending trial date, with Kramer reportedly receiving a payout that amounted to roughly $5 million. She declined to comment further on the matter.
Since leaving her role as a product manager at Carta, Bria Kramer has dedicated herself to businesses that uphold the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (DREAM Act) and also support gender equality. She is an advocate for these causes, investing her time and money into companies that share her values. Her dedication reflects the impact Carta had on her career—its collapse caused an inflection point where she realized she wanted to do something on her own terms and make a positive impact in the world.
MKT1 is hoping to use its new 506(c) status to raise capital from a wider range of investors and boost its portfolio of companies. The firm has experience investing in early-stage tech companies, and knows how to bring them public with the correct metrics in place. Kramer and Estreich are well-known within the venture community, so they’ll be able to draw on that network for help in executing their business plan.
Taking a page from entrepreneurs such as Sophia Amoruso and Turner Novak, who have successfully raised millions of dollars through public fundraising campaigns, founders Alex Estreich and Ryan Kramer are planning to launch their startup by soliciting funding from accredited investors outside of their community. This strategy is similar to that of other successful venture capitalists such as Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, both of which initially offered private investment rounds to friends and family before later expanding the offering to include accredited investors. With a solid following thanks to their popular marketing-focused newsletter, Estreich and Kramer are confident they can achieve success by appealing directly to high-net-worth individuals looking for riskier investments.
Angel investing, while an essential part of funding early stage companies, often lacks a clear message around marketing. The two founders want to reframe this by investing in companies that need support, and on-ramping a network of marketing professionals into the angel investing world. By doing so, they hope to provide access to more substantive and effective marketing resources for startups.
One reason that marketing is often undervalued is because it can be difficult to measure results. It’s also important to remember that marketing goals should be long-term (rather than immediate) in order to generate the most sustainable revenue growth. In terms of strategy, creating interesting content and tying it in with your brand’s overall messaging is a valuable way to grab attention and build awareness.
While marketing professionals may not be getting the opportunity to invest, they are still looking for new ways to help brands succeed. To that end, many are turning their attention to writing checks and investing in startups.
MKT1 is catering to marketing professionals looking to invest in startups. The fund has a reduced minimum check size for any marketing professionals looking to invest, and over half of the LPs so far are from the marketing world. This indicates that there is high interest in this area among investors.
The rebranding of marketing firm MKT1 isn’t just an investment opportunity – it’s a chance to help startups on their journey to becoming market leaders. So far, the firm has invested in 14 startups, including Anrok, Pocus, Plain and Vori. With its marketing lens and go-to-market expertise, MKT1 is sure to be a valuable partner for these businesses as they set out to create impactful products and grow their brands.
In order to keep its audience engaged, Founders Media regularly releases blog posts that are both educational and entertaining. Founder Kramer explained how this simple tactic has helped the company gain a large following among startup founders.”We tell them something very basic,” Kramer said, “but we’ll tell them something really complex, and they’ll be like ‘Oh my god, this changed the game for us.’”
