L’ATTITUDE Ventures (LAT VC), an institutional venture capital firm that invests exclusively in US Latina/o led startups, hosted its Match-Up event at the fifth annual L’ATTITUDE conference. The Match-Up program comprises founder showcases, investor thought leadership, capital match-making, and a pitch competition for L’ATTITUDE Latino Startup of the Year.

Ahead of the event, L’ATTITUDE Ventures reviewed hundreds of showcase submissions and ultimately invited 23 companies to attend the event. This year’s showcases spanned three days and were grouped into three categories: CPG, Fintech, and B2B SaaS. Of these showcases, they selected Mooch, Cleverman, Mavity, and Nopalera to compete on the main stage for the Award, won by Nopalera.

Nopalera is a line of luxury Mexican botanicals for bath and body. Founded by San Diego native Sandra Velasquez who in less than two years has led the brand into a massive success amassing retail partnerships with Nordstroms, Credo Beauty and Whole Foods.

“Our investment in Nopalera is grounded in Sandra’s bottom-up product knowledge, data-driven discipline, and unwavering vision and drive to lead with cultural and personal authenticity. We are excited to bring the entire ecosystem of LAT VC to expand her growth, distribution, and success,” Kennie Blanco, L’ATTITUDE Ventures General Partner, and Chief Investment Officer.

Since last year’s Match-Up, L’ATTITUDE Ventures has deployed another $16M in Latina/o change-makers. In 2021, U.S. startups and companies with Latino founders received only around 2% of all VC funding. L’ATTITUDE Ventures aims to use its first $100M institutional fund to trigger a long needed change in the narrative around and flow of capital into U.S. Latina/os.