Bam Venture Partners has started raising a second $30 million fund which it will use, in part, to invest in and incubate startup ideas thought of by Brian Lee, co-founder of the fund and chief executive of the Honest Co. of Playa Vista.
What capital isn’t used for the incubator will be invested in seed and early stage deals, similar to the sort of investments made by the first Bam Ventures fund, said Lee. The Playa Vista venture firm’s first fund was $6 million.
“We will be focused on what we know,” said Lee. “And, that’s really commerce, social platforms, and software that enables commerce.”
The first fund made early stage investments in L.A.-area companies, such as salary comparison website Comparably, and discount discovery tool Honey. Lee has co-founded LegalZoom, ShoeDazzle, Honest Co., and online dollar store Hollar.
A number of investors in the first fund are reinvesting in the second, said Lee, noting that Tony Pritzker and venture firm M13, run by brothers Carter and Courtney Reum, are limited partners.