Kelly Washington is investing in the wedding market
Kelly Washington is expanding her angel investment portfolio and is the lead investor in the pre-seed round Wedding Marketplace Chiar Sea.
Founded in 2024 by Amy Shack Egan, Cheersy helped couples find a wedding coordinator for Day-of Service, raising a total of $550,000 from other investors, including Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi. Jennifer Gilbert, founder of Save the Date. Joanna Rothholm and former spokesman for First Lady Michelle Obama.
Washington did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
Shack Egan said he met Washington through the actor’s director of social influence. They both attended a dinner party in Los Angeles, where Shack Egan had a conversation. By the end of dinner, the director of Social Impact had provided a referral to Washington as a potential angel investor. Washington makes his own name as an angel investor Along with other Hollywood Titans I’m heading down the path to the world of startups.
She is an investor Social Website LeakBlack-owned alternative to X. She also supports eating disorders Treatment Startup Device Also, according to Pitchbook, Healthcare Company Solv, Charity Fundraising Platform Omaze, was once a Wing investor.
“Dinner was a few days after I was about to go home, but I knew I needed to be in that power player’s room,” Shack Egan told TechCrunch. “I extended my trip and went for dinner.”
From there, Shack Egan dealt with the rest of the fundraising market, an experience she called challenging. “I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I said yes to everything. I jumped on the flight. I took her, said no and put my feet in my mouth more than I could count,” she said.
This is Shack Egan’s second business. She also founded Modern Rebel, a wedding planning business in 2015. She founded Cheersy because Modern Rebel received so many requests to coordinate her wedding.
“Day-of Coordination is the most booked wedding planning service, so we responded to requests for this service that we didn’t offer in our handpicked recommendations,” she said, adding that she realized that the recommendations that provide her offering would simply be incorporated into the marketplace business. The outcome was like a joy.
Couples search for vetted matches that suit their budget, vision and atmosphere, searching by date, price, and specialty. The parties can then book a phone call and the couple can book a talent if everything is appropriate.
Shack Egan saw her small business background as a strength, but said it wasn’t “the easiest medicine to swallow” for investors who were looking for a major tech company on their resume.
“The fundraising journey is so lonely and it really knocks you on your mental health,” she continued.
She took part in the Power to Pitch program. The company will use this fresh capital to enhance the booking platform’s capabilities and recruit user experience designers and more. Shack Egan hopes to bring in a slightly higher marketing budget and introduce community managers as the company is about to expand to six new cities in the coming months. It is currently available in New York City and Hudson Valley.
“I started out as an event freelancer in this industry in 2015,” Shack Egan said. “I personally know the problems with this job and I love the idea that we are creating the experience of being someone who works in the wedding industry.