Kelly Washington expands her angel investment portfolio and is the lead investor in the pre-seeded round of Cheercee in the wedding market.
Founded in 2024 by Amy Shack Egan, Cheersy helped couples find day service wedding coordinators, raising a total of $550,000 from other investors, including Soul Cycle co-founder Elizabeth Cutler and Save the Date founder Jennifer Gilbert. Advised by Joanna Rothholm, former spokesperson for First Lady Michelle Obama, and Christina Tosi, founder of Milkbar.
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 has named himself as an angel investor alongside other Hollywood Titans moving towards the world of startups.
She is an investor on social website Spill, a black-owned alternative to X. She also supports eating disorder treatment startup Expime, who cut checks on Healthcare Company Solv, charity fundraising platform Omaze, and was once an investor at Wing, according to Pitchbook.
“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.
This work was updated to reflect who advised the round.