Screen Skinz, a startup founded in Lakeland, has raised $1.5 million in seed funding.
The Houston-based company makes personalized and branded screen protectors. It plans to use the money to overhaul the company. Co-founder and COO Clay Canning lives in Lakeland and operates parts of the business there, he said.
“We want to get in the market and disrupt it a little bit, let people know screen protection is a real thing,” Canning said. “We’re not the small player anymore that we were.”
The investment comes from several early-stage venture funds, like Houston-based Starboard Star Venture Capital, Houston-based South Loop Ventures and New Mexico-based Abo Ventures. The funding also comes from connections in the Texas A&M angel network and across industries, like former NFL player Terrence Murphy, Wheelhouse Entertainment CEO Brent Montgomery, former NFL leader Michelle Micone, and two former Apple directors of accessories, Wayne Pfeffer and Brendan O’Donnell.
Clay Canning founded the company when he was in high school in 2017. He sold screen protectors on Amazon and realized there was a market for customizable protectors. He started making and selling laser-etched screen protectors for phones.
Later, Canning met his co-founder, RaShaun Brown, through a podcasting event. During the pandemic, Canning lived in Houston to focus on building the company. Screen Skinz had participated in several startup programs in Houston, as well as Lakeland’s startup hub, Catapult.
“I also invested in Brown and Canning as founders; their passion, drive and ambition are infectious,” Pfeffer said in a statement.
ScreenSkinz is licensed within the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS, WNBA, NCAA, Marvel, LucasFilm and WWE. Its distribution partner is sports retailing firm Fanatics. The company is now pushing profitability and seeking to bring in seven figures of revenue in 2024, Canning said.
