Black-owned events company POSH has secured $22 million in Series A funding to further its goal of connecting people through shared event experiences.
Founded by Avante Price and Eli Taylor-Lemire, the platform has garnered over 2 million users and facilitated more than $95 million in ticket sales. With thier remarkable year-over-year growth and new funding, POSH is in pole position to compete favorably with industry giants like Eventbrite and Ticketmaster.
“Eli Taylor-Lemire and I are ecstatic to announce POSH’s $22M Series A, led by Goodwater, with participation from FirstMark, Companyon Ventures, and EPIC Ventures, empowering us to accelerate our mission to bring the world together through social experiences. Human connection is fraying in our digital age, where social media often amplifies our insecurities and distances us from genuine interactions. At POSH, we believe in reversing this trend by creating a platform that champions real-world connections and meaningful interactions,” Price wrote on LinkedIn.
POSH intends to use the fresh funding to empower event creators and personalize event discovery. It will make it easy for users to start and grow their own in-person event communities, provide educational content and continuous product improvements, and individual event recommendations to help people connect meaningfully. The company previously secured $5 million in a seed round to expand its operations.
Unlike other platforms, POSH offers users customization to fit their brands. It features ticketing and RSVP tools, marketing tools, instant payouts, community management, and opportunities for attendees to become paid affiliates. POSB consequently empowers anyone to host events, making event creation more accessible.
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Price and Taylor-Lemire dropped out of NYU to launch POSH. The company was born out of their frustration working part-time in New York nightclubs. Price learned how to DJ from his father at five years old and participated in hip-hop, turntable-style competitions while growing up in Chicago.
Taylor-Lemire also grew up immersed in the events space and founded a freelance photo-video agency that produced content for major fashion magazines and musicians. The duo hosted small events for college students and young professionals until they realized they could expand their reach.
They have since leveraged their expertise in the entertainment field to revolutionize the event management industry. Price and Taylor-Lemire have managed to advance POSH into a management and ticketing platform that rivals industry giants.
“Think about your last week. What was the most meaningful moment? It probably involved spending time with people you care about, a powerful experience amid the monotony of daily life. By bringing the fundamentals of social media into the real world, we’re helping people create strong relationships, the foundation of belonging. Belonging is the key to happiness. If we can help our generation find a profound sense of belonging, we can reshape the world in unimaginable ways,” Price explained POSH’s mission.
