“There hasn’t been massive budgets behind these super-intricate campaigns before because it hasn’t felt like a great use of capital,” says Chadwick. “But at this point, it felt like it was a moment in time, and we couldn’t not [do our part].”
She continued, “We see our role as a queer older sibling incarnate, and the idea is that we can use our collective voice and our collective stance—and redistribute this capital to make a mouthy response.”
The ties that bind
While large corporations have made Pride a line item (of which many have swiftly abandoned in recent weeks), in the case of smaller companies like For Them, the history, values and sentiment around the monthlong celebration are indelibly connected to their year-round success and sustainability.
At a recent launch event for LGBTQ+ VC, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing the LGBTQ+ venture capital community, co-founders Tiana Tukes and Jackson Block mentioned to the crowd of founders, investors, and supporters how important having thriving businesses and building wealth within the LGBTQ+ community was to secure more political sway to combat legislative attacks and overall validation and protection for its members.
That said, the very existence of the nonprofit—who hosted their inaugural LGBTQ+ VC Summit last week—was necessitated by a dearth of support and capital for businesses founded by members of the community such as Freeman.
As a trans founder, Freeman shared with Adweek that despite having a background in business and being active in the VC space, their journey to finding investors for the brand was initially a difficult one, explaining that meetings were often hindered by the added burden of proof that was educating potential investors on “queerness” in general, before addressing the product and the challenge it provides solutions for. Chadwick added that an additional hurdle was getting them to recognize that the market being served was not niche.
For Them eventually found support through the incubator, Prehype, and has since received additional backing, which enabled them to develop and launch the binder that is now beloved by the community and received coverage from mainstream fashion publications such as InStyle and The Zoe Report. But both Freeman and Chadwick are heartened by the expansion of the VC space with companies such as the LGBTQ+ VC, Backstage Capital and others looking to fund LGBTQ+ and ally-owned businesses—which currently receive less than 1% of all VC funding, according to PitchBook.
It is that ongoing theme of support and fellowship that has powered the brand’s growth, the “Drag Is Divine” campaign and The Playground, the brand’s monthly, subscription-based, membership platform, which allows its community to access benefits including product discounts, pre-sale access, a gender tracking app which uses biometric data to check in on the health and wellness of transitioning members, and an active virtual community that provides the brand with feedback and recommendations for new products.
