Frozen foods startup, 8 Myles, has recently raised $1.05 million in seed funding. This investment will enable the company to expand its operations and bring on board a full-time sales and marketing manager.
The firm distributes and promotes a range of frozen macaroni and cheese dishes that consist of whole grain elbow pasta blended in cheese sauce and finished off with a breadcrumb topping. These meals are marketed as “clean comfort food” and are available at numerous retailers nationwide, such as Target stores, Whole Foods Market, and Sprouts Farmers Market.
Myles Powell, the CEO and Founder, has announced that the brand intends to undertake a substantial retail expansion this year.
Last fall, Mr. Powell made a pitch to a panel of investors on the set of the popular reality show “Shark Tank.” Despite not securing a deal during the unaired segment, he mentioned that the experience was “extremely valuable” and helped him move in the right direction.
“At the time I didn’t have a team; I didn’t have a co-founder,” Mr. Powell said. “It was a wakeup call that I had to make some changes” in the business.
In November, Zhanna Godkin was appointed as the Co-founder and Operations Director at 8 Myles. She formerly held a position as the operations head at Outstanding Foods.
“We want to continue building the team, even outside of our first full-time hire,” Mr. Powell said. “Maybe it’s another fractional role, maybe another intern.”
According to Mr. Powell, the fundraising landscape for early-stage consumer product brands, particularly those founded by entrepreneurs of color, is challenging. He highlighted that less than 2% of venture capital funding is directed towards Black-owned businesses, such as his.
“I want to do what I can to help increase awareness of other Black founders, minority founders and women founders in general, to give them a chance to get in front of the people who write the checks,” Mr. Powell said. “The hardest part is getting access and getting the conversation.”
Several entities participated in the seed round, including a16z Talent x Opportunity Initiative from Andreessen Horowitz, Virginia Venture Partners, The Enterprise Center, gener8tor’s Bronze Valley Investment Accelerator, Kompass Ventures, and a number of angel investors.
Tom Weithman, Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp.’s Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director of Virginia Venture Partners, said, “Going from a full-time civil engineering student to a full-time entrepreneur, 8 Myles Founder Myles Powell was a go-getter from the start. After being featured on Food Network’s ‘America’s Best Cook,’ he decided he was ready to take this passion for food to the next level. Powell’s impressive work ethic paired with a true passion paves way for an extremely successful company, and we are excited to see where 8 Myles continues to grow from here.”
