Stacy Brown-Philpot’s Cherryrock Capital Raises $172M for Diverse Founders

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Published by Stephen Oluwadara at February 21, 2025

Cherryrock Capital, a Fund for Underinvested Entrepreneurs

The venture capital firm, founded in 2023 by Brown-Philpot, provides Series A and B funding to underrepresented founders of software companies driving innovation. “Today, I’m thrilled to announce the launch of Cherryrock Capital, the first fund focused on investing at the Series A & B stages in underinvested entrepreneurs…We’re on a mission to change the face of wealth creation and build an enduring institution. We are looking for founders who have the courage to be audacious in their vision, accountable to their goals, and authentic to who they are,” the former TaskRabbit CEO wrote on LinkedIn.

Cherryrock Capital began its fundraising push during a brutal climate for venture investing. Fundraising for VC firms dropped by more than half last year compared with 2022, according to PitchBook data. Just 103 first-time funds launched in 2024, compared to 411 in 2022. Brown-Philpot acknowledged that fundraising took her far longer than expected — about two years from the start until she closed the debut fund in January.

Before Brown-Philpot’s stint at TaskRabbit, a gig economy startup acquired by Ikea, she was the head of Alphabet Inc.’s online sales and operations in India. She is currently a trustee at Stanford University and on the board of HP Inc., StockX, and Noom Inc. She was a founding member of SoftBank Group Corp.’s Opportunity Fund, a $100M investment vehicle focused on backing underrepresented communities.

What The Investors Are Saying

“She’s a brilliant woman with incredible experience as an operator and investor,” said Jamie Kramer, chief investment officer and global head of multi-asset solutions at JPMorgan Asset Management.

JPMorgan invested $10M in the fund through its Project Spark initiative, which backs funds managed by diverse emerging managers. Goldman Sachs also invested through its asset management unit.

Former Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and JPMorgan Chase & Co. committed $10M through its Project Spark initiative, which supports diverse rising managers.

A Cherryrock portfolio company must have early product market fit, which means generating revenue from customers who have committed to using your product for some period of time, say, a year, Brown-Philpot said.

The firm has already backed two businesses: Health care startup Vitable Inc., investing $7M, and invested $10M in software company Coactive Systems Inc.. As with those bets, Cherryrock Capital intends to lead or co-lead its rounds and take board seats.

Maim Image: Stacy Brown-Philpot, CEO, TaskRabbit Photograph by Michael Faas/Fortune (courtesy of Flickr)