Rent the Runway Co-Founder Jenny Fleiss Joins Initialized Capital

Rent the Runway co-founder Jenny Fleiss has joined venture capital (VC) firm Initialized Capital as a partner.

Fleiss brings to the firm a depth of experience and work ethic that makes her an ideal partner for early-stage startups, Initialized Capital said in a Wednesday (Dec. 6) article posted on its website.

The post noted her experience scaling Rent the Runway and Walmart’s text commerce platform Jetblack, and working with early-stage founders.

“We set out to find a partner highly aligned with our team-centric, founder-focused investing approach who also had demonstrably been through the gauntlet of starting and scaling a company,” Brett Gibson, managing partner at Initialized Capital, said in the post. “It’s hard to image a better fit than Jenny.”

In another article posted on Initialized Capital’s website, Fleiss said she aims to be viewed by founders as “a dedicated partner, a guiding force, and a valued member of their extended entrepreneurial family.”

She added that she is aligned with Initialized Capital’s core values and that the company’s qualities include being entrepreneurial, founder-focused, dynamic and collaborative.

Fleiss added that she is especially interested in investing in businesses that help people optimize time, artificial intelligence (AI) accessibility, personalization and optimizing asset use.

“My alignment with Initialized’s core values and investment philosophy made me excited to join the team,” Fleiss said in the post. “Initialized champions a founder-centric approach that sets the standard in seed investing.”

Rent the Runway was founded as a web retailer allowing women to rent designer clothing at affordable prices. The company’s Netflix-like subscription service was well received by investors.

After heading up Jetblack, Fleiss joined Volition Capital, a firm focused on capital-efficient startup firms across a wide range of verticals.

“The thing I relate to is the idea that as a founder, you probably care deeply about a business, and you want to still feel like you have the control and the biggest voice at the table when driving the business,” Fleiss told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster in an interview posted in March 2021. “I think it’s blending that feeling with this real ambition and desire to grow.”