Encantos Raises $2 Million In Seed Funding To Expand Multicultural Media And Products
Encantos, an entertainment company focused on bilingual education, has raised $2 million to expand MARY ALTAFFER / ASSOCIATED PRESS
__
Encantos, the direct-to-consumer education and entertainment company, has raised $2 million in seed funding to help build and expand the brand’s line of products and services for younger multicultural generations.
Founded in 2015, Encantos designs products, entertainment and educational materials that aim to fit the evolution of jobs and demographics in the U.S. The first product, Canticos, was a bilingual nursery rhyme in the form of digital videos, books and apps. A second, Tiny Travelers, is a newer family-focused travel brand that Encantos CEO Steven Wolfe Pereira described in an interview with Forbes as “one part Lonely Planet, one part Trip Advisor and one part Carmen Sandiego.”
The funding, led by Kapor Capital, also comes from a number of notable individuals including Facebook CMO Antonio Lucio, Medialink CEO Michael Kassan, LightShed Partners cofounder Rich Greenfield, SoftBank Partner Lydia Jett and Super{set} Startup Studio Tom Chavez. MathCapital—founded by ad-tech entrepreneurs Eric Franchi and Joe Zawadzki—as well as Boston Meridian Partners, Chingona Ventures and Human Ventures also participated in the seed funding round.
Years after cofounding Encantos with Nuria Santamaria Wolfe, Susie Jaramillo and Carlos Hoyos, Wolfe Pereira has now been in the CEO role since in March 2019 after working as CMO at a number of companies, including Quantcast, Neustar and Datalogix. He said the company had planned to have a seed round of between $1 million and $1.5 million, but that the larger round was “a little bit unexpected, but it certainly helps.” The funding—which closed just a year after it raised $800,000 in a pre-seed round—will be used to expand subscription services for digital entertainment and educational programming and other hands-on activities for preschool and primary school students.
“We’re building D-to-C family brands,” Wolfe Pereira said. “We wanted to find folks that not only believe in what we’re doing but also who understand our purpose.”
While many DTC brands tend to stay focused on one or a few key products before branching out, Wolfe Pereira said the company wants to be “wherever the parents and kids want to be.” Encantos starts each brand with books, but will soon include a subscription-based app and DTC products and services for both Hispanic and non-Hispanic kids. Its DTC website is full of products that go beyond books and into backpacks, fleece blankets, wall decals, bedding and apparel. Encantos also has a content distribution partnership with Nickelodeon, which has helped grow visibility within a mainstream market.
“As consumers shift from linear TV to internet TV, the streaming wars are intensifying and expanding globally,” Greenfield said in a statement. “Kids and family content is among the most valuable content to drive household engagement, increasing happiness and reducing churn. Encantos is perfectly positioned to be a leader in family entertainment that delivers on education, diversity, play and purpose.”
Already, Encantos has gained the attention of brands and media companies alike at a time when marketers are seeking to better engage directly with multicultural families. Last year, the U.S. Census found that kids under the age of 15 in the U.S. was less than 50% non-Hispanic white for the first time ever.
“We really feel that we’re creating the Latino Sesame Street,” Wolfe Pereira said.
Original Post: Forbes, Marty Swant, 1/27/2020