• Avoli’s $2.1M seed round included investments from athletic footwear founders, manufacturers, volleyball industry professionals and professional investors

• Seven of the top women’s college volleyball athletes have signed with Avoli, and will be featured in the brand’s marketing efforts throughout the 2024 season

• Avoli recently entered an exclusive partnership with leading sports retailer SCHEELS, making its footwear available for a limited time at select stores across the U.S.

PORTLAND, Ore., August 07, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Avoli, the first, and only, athletic brand dedicated exclusively to the performance needs and aspirations of women and girl volleyball athletes, closed its initial funding round which had originally been targeted at $1.5M. The company’s initial seed round raised over $2.1M with investments coming from a range of investors including athletic footwear founders and manufacturers, volleyball industry professionals, and professional investors. The proceeds will fund working capital and growth initiatives including new strategic hires, increased brand marketing and broadening the availability of its market-leading footwear.

The angel investors who have made personal investments in Avoli come from the arenas of tech, consumer products, volleyball, and respected founders in footwear manufacturing and innovation. They include: Ho Nam (Managing Director and Co-Founder at Altos Ventures), Blythe Jack (former Managing Director at both TSG Consumer Partners and Rosewood Capital), and Pete Saperstone (Partner at Greycroft Partners).

Avoli has also partnered with leading sports retailer SCHEELS to exclusively sell Avoli footwear in select storefronts across the United States. As a part of the partnership, a variety of colorways of the Avoli VOL I and Avoli VOL II are now available at the following SCHEELS locations: Billings, MT, Boise, ID, Eden Prairie, MN, Johnstown, CO, Lincoln, NE, Omaha, NE, Overland Park, KS, and The Colony, TX (Dallas).

"In our first year as a company, we’ve seen an unprecedented demand for our footwear amongst the volleyball community, and our partnership with SCHEELS will make Avoli shoes more widely accessible to women and girl athletes around the country," said Rick Anguilla, Co-founder of Avoli. "SCHEELS’ dedication to quality and an excellent customer experience aligns perfectly with our mission at Avoli, and we look forward to working together to grow the sport of volleyball."

With volleyball being the most popular team sport for girls in the U.S., the availability of Avoli products at select SCHEELS locations will provide convenient access to high-performance footwear that meets the unique demands of the sport.