CaJE, the new era venture capital brand supporting Black female founders, recently announced its exciting launch. Established female entrepreneur Crystal Etienne and her husband and business partner Jean Etienne created the brand. CaJE will enable Black female founders to get the financial support they need to build scalable businesses.
Providing support to Black female founders
CaJE launches during a pivotal moment in society. The vast majority of female entrepreneurs and women of color face many challenges in securing venture capital. It’s no secret that Black women are highly educated yet highly underfunded. They received just 0.34 percent of the total venture capital spent in the U.S. in 2021. Crystal’s own journey as a female entrepreneur of color inspired this brand. CaJE will address this inequality and support the rising generation of women in business with a new category of venture capital called “Soil.”
“As a female founder and woman of color, I’ve personally experienced the vast inequalities Black women face when looking to secure venture capital,” said Crystal Etienne, Co-Founder of CaJE. “It is my dream to leverage my learnings and give back to fellow women looking to turn their business goals into a reality. My husband and I want to provide today’s leading Black entrepreneurs and visionaries with the capital, resources and guidance needed to help them win.”
Uncaging Black female founders
In 2016, Crystal founded Ruby Love (previously known as Panty Prop). Ruby Love is a femtech, e-commerce apparel company and pioneer in the period apparel industry. With very little funding, she bootstrapped the company from its humble beginnings to over $10 million within two years. She felt “cajed” many times while entering this new industry with very little help along the way. However, she overcame every obstacle. During this time, Jean ran his own transportation and delivery business when Crystal asked him to join the company. CaJE began as a startup in their basement and has rapidly turned into a $50 million business. Crystal is currently the CEO and Founder while Jean serves as Director of Fulfillment. Together, as a married couple, Crystal and Jean have mastered the formula in building aggressive and scalable businesses.
“As an entrepreneur, I know the ‘cajed-in’ feeling that a business can bring all too well,” said Jean Etienne, Co-Founder of CaJE. “After witnessing Crystal’s incredible journey in building Ruby Love, I have a strong desire to help Black women build generational wealth efficiently. This is the year for Black-owned businesses to support one another, and with CaJE, we are going to change the world.”
Helping Black female founders reach the next level
CaJE will offer a new category of venture capital called “Soil”. Soil will be available for deserving female-founded startups prior to pre-seed. At this point in a business’s development, it is common to feel “cajed-in” while scaling business ideas. CaJE enters the market as a new era angel investor providing a quick and simple solution to aid businesses in reaching the next level. Whether bootstrapping, qualifying for pre-seed, or seed-level financing from venture capital funds, CaJE is designed to build and create generational wealth through ideas and markets for Black women.
To learn more about CaJE, visit cajeandco.com.
About CaJE
CaJE is a new-to-market investment company aimed at supporting early-stage, women-led businesses. Crystal Etienne and Jean Etienne are the brand’s founders. Etienne is the founder and CEO of Ruby Love, a leading period apparel company. Jean Etienne serves as the Director of Fulfillment for Ruby Love and is also Crystal’s husband. CaJE is on a mission to create a new category of capital called, “Soil”. Whether bootstrapping, qualifying for pre-seed, or seed-level financing from venture capital funds, CaJE is designed to build and create generational wealth through idea and market for Black women.
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