Call it guerilla gay social events, call it an AARP for LGBTs, or just call it a nurturing community: however you choose to look at it, The Welcoming Committee gives members a chance to “take over” bars, sports venues, and even entire travel destinations. And now that they’ve raised some funding from entrepreneur Josh Schanker, Atlas Venture's Boston Syndicates and Maiden Lane, the local startup has big plans for expansion (the amount of funding isn't being disclosed for now).
It all started because Harvard Business School grad Daniel Heller identified a missing piece in this city’s nightlife: The LGBT community was limited to a very small handful of gay bars to choose from.
Heller was inspired by the Guerilla Queer Bar Takeover events in San Francisco and Washington D.C., which gave gays and lesbians the chance to make a traditionally “straight” establishment their own. Why shouldn’t the Boston LGBT community have the same opportunity?
“We’re at a unique point in LGBT history in that these people are ready for more, but they aren’t getting it,” Heller said. “There is an expectation now more than ever that the gap in social equality should be filled.”
And that is precisely The Welcoming Committee's mission. Since launching in 2012, the startup has steadily gained traction and today, there are more than 18,000 members. It’s no longer just a platform for providing LGBT people with new nightlife experiences, though. Those participating in this community also have the chance to explore new cultural and travel destinations that might ordinarily be off their radar or outside of their comfort zone.
As the website states: “Is it aggressive? No. Is it awesome? Yes.”
Expansion
It’s not just a Boston operation any longer, either. The Welcoming Committee opened a Philadelphia chapter in 2013, and Washington, D.C. came a few months after that. Soon after, Chicago, San Francisco, and Atlanta were all launched. Heller isn’t stopping there - he promises that the organization is heading to 10 more cities in 2015.
The recent funds raised via Schanker and Boston Syndicates are key in fueling this expansion. What’s unique about this invite-only syndicate, which was launched by Cambridge-based Atlas Venture at the end of last year, is that it allows top angel investors and entrepreneurs access to more capital for the deals they’re most passionate about. Once they decide to invest in a Boston-area startup, Atlas contributes up to $250,000 in additional funding. Essentially, it’s founders backing founders - not only with funds, but also with mentorship, advice and support.
“We don’t want to put up barriers for these angels - we want to empower them.”
Jon Karlen, the Atlas Venture partner who spearheads Boston Syndicates, said that because the angels are hand-picked for having proven good instincts, the syndicate never questions the ventures they want to invest in. So when Josh Schanker, founder and CEO of BookBub, led the round of recent funding for The Welcoming Committee, Boston Syndicates trusted his faith in the startup.
“Our philosophy is: if it’s good enough for him, it’s good enough for us,” Karlen said. “We don’t want to put up barriers for these angels - we want to empower them.”
And by empowering Schanker, Boston Syndicates is enabling their angel investor to empower Heller and The Welcoming Committee.
“It’s a win for the investor, it’s a win for the entrepreneur, and it’s a win for Boston,” Karlen said.
Next Chapter
So what exactly will The Welcoming Committee be doing with this funding? Heller said that a key focus for the startup this year is travel. The Welcoming Committee's #DestinationTakeovers have come a long way since the first Foxwoods trip, which had 50 participants. A more recent trip to the casino saw double the number of people, and more than 175 joined for another excursion to Mount Snow in Dover. The startup has a number of expeditions planned for this year, including a Ski Trip Takeover in Boston, Philly and D.C. Jan. 9-11, a spring break takeover in March and a cruise takeover in the summer.
Next up, Heller says TWC will be forging partnerships in the music industry. In May, the organization brought 725 LGBTs to a Red Sox game. Now the aim is to bring that kind of presence to concerts.
For Heller, one aspect of the fundraising process has been a pleasant surprise - and that is that investors are genuinely more interested in your vision than the nitty gritty logistics.
“The story that we tell our members is the same story that we tell our partners and the same story that we tell our investors,” he said. “Which is a really cool thing.”
See related story: Atlas Venture's Tech Arm Is Launching a Startup Incubator
