As families across the U.S. prepare to celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday, Allison Stern is looking beyond a single day of appreciation. Stern has closed $10 million in commitments for her debut early-stage fund, Mother Ventures, which focuses exclusively on the mother as a consumer. “In the U.S., moms are responsible for 85% of household purchases and have $2.4 trillion in spending power,” Stern told TechCrunch. “The numbers say that moms are the buyers, and they really are a very unique economic engine.”
A Fund Built on an Overlooked Niche
Stern, a mother of two, is tapping into that spending clout by backing startups that reflect the needs of modern mothers. Since launching Mother Ventures two years ago, she has already deployed $4 million into 13 startups. Her portfolio includes Coral Care, which allows instant booking of pediatric specialists for children with developmental delays, and Tin Can, a Wi-Fi-enabled “landline” designed as a retro-style phone for kids.
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Before launching her own fund, Stern co-founded Tubular Labs, a social video analytics startup she helped grow to $25 million in annual recurring revenue prior to its 2023 acquisition by private equity. She also served as an operating partner at The Chernin Group (TCG), a consumer-focused growth equity firm. Part of TCG’s investment thesis included backing companies serving “overlooked unique audiences with spending power,” such as Barstool Sports, which originally targeted Boston sports fans, she said.
Why Mothers Are an Underserved Market
When Stern set out to launch her own fund, she identified mothers as a similarly underserved market with the potential to deliver superior returns. “I felt like motherhood is the ultimate niche that’s not really a niche,” she said.
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Stern convinced Tony James, the former president and COO of Blackstone and current board chair of Costco, to back Mother Ventures as an anchor LP. Other backers of the fund include Jessica Rolph, founder of the child development startup Lovevery, as well as female executives from Netflix, Rent the Runway, and Sesame Street, she said.
She argues that Millennial and Gen Z mothers expect a different set of products — from on-demand transportation services such as Zum, to ready-meal delivery from DoorDash, and fintech tools like Greenlight that allow parents to instantly fund a child’s debit card. “We want healthy things. We want subscription things. We want digital communities,” she said.
Beyond Parenting Tech: A Consumer-First Approach
However, Stern doesn’t want her fund to be perceived as one that invests only in parenting tech. “It’s a consumer fund, and we focus on the mom as the consumer allows us to be wider in our bets,” she said. This distinction is key: Mother Ventures is positioning itself to invest across consumer categories — from health and wellness to fintech and food — as long as the product resonates with the mother as the primary household decision-maker.
Conclusion
Mother Ventures represents a growing recognition in venture capital that demographic niches with significant spending power are often overlooked by traditional firms. By focusing on mothers as an economic engine, Stern is betting that a fund built around their needs can generate both strong returns and meaningful impact. With $10 million in commitments and a portfolio already taking shape, the thesis is now being tested in the market.
FAQs
Q1: What is Mother Ventures?
Mother Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund that invests in startups serving mothers as consumers. It was founded by Allison Stern and has raised $10 million in commitments.
Q2: How much spending power do mothers control in the U.S.?
According to Stern, mothers are responsible for 85% of household purchases, representing $2.4 trillion in spending power.
Q3: What types of startups does Mother Ventures invest in?
The fund invests broadly across consumer categories, including health, fintech, food, and technology. Examples from its portfolio include Coral Care (pediatric specialist booking) and Tin Can (Wi-Fi-enabled phones for kids).
