In the partnership of the year, we will soon be carrying a majority of The Helm Shop’s female-founded brands. It may seem like a lot, but we promise it’s more exciting than anything. Below you’ll be able to read about the fine details of what this means for you and us, who exactly the Helm is, and why we thought of this idea to begin with. Basically we’re spilling the tea, getting that bread, and raiding the pantry because we’re making women the forefront of a social movement and it all starts with innovative and gorgeous brands like you’ve never seen before.
Wait, what’s happening?
Basically a match made in heaven has landed on all of our doorsteps. Two powerhouse ecommerce sites have merged (The Helm Shop x The Verticale), meaning that we will now be carrying and supporting a large majority of the female-entrepreneurs that the Helm Shop originally housed. Don’t worry, we’re still the same old us, but we’re just leaning into a more feminine future.
We’ll keep all our Verticale Values, and keep expanding on each of them, but our Women-Owned value is getting an upgrade and expanding rapidly.
To really drive it home, Lindsey Taylor Wood and Julie Weber of The Helm will join The Verticale as strategic advisers to further support and bring visibility to women-owned brands. So, let’s start with who the Helm is, in case you’re confused.
What is The Helm?
The Helm is a New York City-based early-stage venture firm committed to supporting and investing in female entrepreneurs. Founded by Lindsey Taylor Wood, The Helm makes it easy to invest in women and to create an impactful systemic change in the role women play within the financial sphere.
Why women? Besides the obvious, women face oppressive and unjust circumstances throughout their life from the massive pay gap and the lack of support they receive to the different standards they’re held to in regards to how they take paid leave, maternity leave, and balance life and work.
Why investment? Well, Lindsey Taylor Wood had noticed something interesting in the way women invested and in the general patterns and habits that surrounded investments and venture capitalist firms. It was this: men are the recipients of what they create. As of recently, 2.3% of all venture capital went to women and female founders, meaning that around 98% of said capital goes to (for the main part) white cis-men. The Helm recognized that not only were women not getting their cut, but that they generally invested very differently.
Venture capital and angel investing so far has been an underutilized tool for women, and thus The Helm is creating systemic change and democratizing access to venture capital by bringing women together– both investors and entrepreneurs. The Helm is thoughtful and creative about getting women involved, creating communities that are only getting stronger.
Why does this partnership make sense to us?
As of today, 44% of the brands on our site are women-owned. More than anything, as a company co-founded by two women, supporting female-founders is a cause very close to our hearts, and is something we want to continuously pursue. Partnering with The Helm, and taking over their shop made sense to us because of the streamlining support we could offer these brands– putting women all under one roof, just for you.