Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber Of Commerce: We're Proud To Announce Our Series Seed Raise, Led By 1855 Capital And The Ben Franklin Tech ...

Press release from Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce:

August 03, 2021

Wilkes-Barre, PA, July 29, studio BE, a women-owned digital well-being solution for corporations, nonprofits, and individuals, has announced that it has closed a $500,000 seed funding round. The new capital will be used to drive the continued growth and development of studio BE.

The round is led by 1855 Capital and the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Private individuals are also investors in this round.

Due to the unprecedented and ubiquitous stress and anxiety caused by pandemic life and other difficulties, which impacts employees at all levels, studio BE Founder and CEO Jennifer Ciarimboli is especially pleased to earn the additional resources provided by this round. The investments will be used to further enhance studio BE’s custom technology platform for businesses and organizations, which is designed to support team members with “whole person” well-being resources.

These include live classes as well as a library of on-demand content featuring highly qualified global faculty members in the fields of mindfulness, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), yoga, embodied mindfulness practices, as well as experts in neuroscience, psychology, and cognitive, interpersonal, and social well-being.

Founder Ciarimboli notes that "the investor community recognizes that companies need modern tools to support the well-being of the whole person who is showing up at work. We are delighted to see a greater emphasis on and prioritization of emotional and mental health resources for teams. Executive leadership including Human Resources are navigating a challenging new reality as the dramatic changes wrought by COVID linger, and the most sought-after talent is demanding leaders who truly care for the health and well-being of their teams. studio BE’s timely solutions cultivate support and create community and connection with opportunities of meaningful downtime, which help to engage and retain valuable team members."  

"Our clients also use our tools to recruit top talent,” said Ciarimboli. “Investors are backing studio BE’s vision of encouraging companies to redefine what it means to truly care for their teams — prioritizing whole-health well-being as an essential employee benefit.”

Matt Rhodes, Managing Director of 1855 Capital, said “1855 Capital is pleased to join the studio BE team.  1855 Capital’s theme to ‘Invest in our community’ is further fulfilled by studio BE’s focus on helping individuals and corporations to develop and promote healthy and sustainable life and work styles. We have full confidence in the studio BE vision and ability to bring their unique offering to market.”

This press release was produced by Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.