The prospects for growth are strong at Siete, she said. Without that, the partnership doesn't mean anything." "You have to make sure there is a lot of mutual trust and mutual respect and an open dialogue so where there are disagreements, you can talk through them. "We have personal relationships and we work closely with the founders," Kenworthy said.
#Stripes group karen kenworthy series#
The investment company had a two-year series of conversations with the Austin company before striking the investment deal announced in January. Stripes, founded in 2007, works closely with consumer-oriented companies with high growth prospects.
Stripes partner Karen Kenworthy has become a Siete Family Foods board member, and her firm has helped recruit new senior executives to the company, including a chief financial officer. Those learnings have been valuable to us." "We needed the strategic thinking that (Stripes) brings and the pattern recognition that they bring. "We wanted an investor who we could feel comfortable inviting to a backyard barbecue," he said. "When we did our latest fund-raise, it was because we wanted a partner who could help us build a billion-dollar brand and who was on-board with our vision."Ĭhoosing a partner meant finding the right fit. "We never wanted to be needing (outside) capital," Garza said. It did take in a $1 million angel investment round in 2015 so it could buy needed food production equipment. The five-year-old company, for the most part, has avoided seeking outside capital investment so it has been self-sustaining. It is making plans to move into an expanded Austin headquarters next year, because it has outgrown its funky office space just off Burnet Road in North Austin.Īnd it is forging ahead with plans to add new natural products to its existing list, which include tortillas made with almond flour and tortilla chips based primarily on cassava, a nutrient-rich tropical root vegetable and other ingredients. Siete - which is named for the seven Garza family members who are full-time employees and part-owners - is adding more workers, including new key executives to help execute its growth plan.
RELATED: Siete Family Foods makes mark at New York's Fancy Food Show What's changed is that it has more resources for growth. The Garza family still proudly runs the company that is disrupting part of the Mexican-American food sector. The fast-expanding company, which makes natural Mexican-American food products, acquired a partner and $90 million in investment from New York-based Stripes Group in exchange for a minority interest in the company. That's not what happened, the chief executive of Siete Family Foods explains politely. Miguel Garza admits he gets mildly perturbed these days when he meets someone and is asked about the sale of his family business to an outside investment firm.
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