Revry Closes Seed Round with Powerhouse Partners
Revry, the world’s first global LGBTQ+ TV and streaming network, announced the close of its seed round investment with participation from esteemed partners Elevate Capital, Pride Fund, Gaingels, Tie Angels and Debut Capital.
“They are primed to be the most valuable and influential LGBTQ+ media company in the world.” -Arlan Hamilton, CEO of Backstage Capital
Densil R. Porteus, the CEO of Pride Fund 1, said “We’re excited to be a part of the seed round for Revry. We have been immeasurably impressed by what the Co-Founders and their team have created and accomplished thus far, and look forward to supporting their vision of bringing a diverse range of queer content to a streaming platform. This is a truly rewarding venture as it ensures queer stories are centered through a diverse representation of our community.”
Revolutionizing how the 12th largest global economy (the global LGBTQ Community) accesses representation through entertainment, Revry is now available in over 250+ million households and devices (powered by Brightcove) in over 130 countries. In 3rd party partnerships with Samsung, Comcast, Roku, Cox, Xumo and Stirr to name a few, the company was only founded in 2015 by four co-equal Co-Founders (75% People of Color, 50% Black Women, 75% LGBTQ, 25% Veteran, 25% Immigrant). A tri-brid model of SVOD, AVOD and multiple Live Linear FAST Channels (Free Ad Supported Television), Revry was the first LGBTQ+ App available on Apple TV and is now tripling its growth yearly.
“The LGBTQ+ community has been suffering greatly during the pandemic,” says Revry CEO, Damian Pelliccione. “International Prides and LGBTQ film festivals will continue to be closed down in 2021 and many youth are locked down in environments where they are not safe to be who they are. We’re privileged our business has skyrocketed during this time, and honored to have investors who help us provide this lifeline of queer entertainment for our global community.”
Revry’s queer content of global films, series, news, originals and the largest independent queer music video library has become a beacon of hope for people who've never seen themselves represented. Impact-wise, Revry created its Free TV model to de-risk viewership danger for those living in areas in the world where being LGBTQ or traceable to LGBTQ content is mortally dangerous and targeted.
One of Revry’s first investors, Backstage Capital’s CEO Arlan Hamilton isn’t shy about Revry’s value. “As a queer black woman, I recognized the profound power of Revry’s mission and their incredible diverse team,” shares Hamilton. “They have celebrated many firsts, including being first to market in their field. As an innovator at the intersection of tech, entertainment and social impact, their scalability is simply boundless and they are primed to be the most valuable and influential LGBTQ+ media company in the world. I’m thrilled to be one of their first investors and I congratulate them on this wonderful milestone.”
Revry was chosen amongst 400 companies for the inaugural Goldman Sachs Black and LatinX Entrepreneur Cohort. “Through their participation in Goldman Sachs’ Launch With GS Entrepreneur Cohort, I had the opportunity to witness the Revry founders at work, and I continue to be impressed by Damian, Alia, Chris and LaShawn’s leadership,” says Susie Scher, co-head of the Global Financing Group and managing director advisor to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Network at Goldman Sachs. “Each of the four co-founders are forces in their own right, but together they are phenomenal. We are excited to see Revry’s continued momentum.”
Priding itself as a diverse community of queer, allied, and multi-cultural filmmakers, artists, musicians, creators and visionaries who are committed to amplifying the voices of our community, Revry makes a point of showcasing the stories of traditionally underrepresented groups in both the content on their platform and through their diverse team.
“Elevate Capital is very intentional about investing in underserved minority communities specific to Women, People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQ, and Veterans. Revry is remarkable in not only serving all these communities, but even represents all these factions in its core founding team,” shares Nitin Rai, Elevate Capital’s Founder and Managing Partner. “Revry has proven itself to be an extraordinary disruptor. In our extensive research and diligence, we couldn’t find anyone else doing this kind of content in the marketplace. With such a powerful impact driven mission and their impressive global footprint already established, we understood Revry’s value immediately. We are proud to be an investor in Revry and support its mission.”
