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Amber Atherton

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Amber Atherton
Atherton in 2022
Born (1991-02-09) 9 February 1991 (age 34)
Hong Kong
OccupationVenture capitalist
EmployerPatron
Board member ofGBx Global

Amber Atherton is a venture capitalist and entrepreneur. A partner at venture capital firm Patron, Atherton was born in Hong Kong circa 1991, before moving to the United Kingdom. In her youth, she started an online jewelry marketplace called My Flash Trash that she later sold, and other businesses. In 2011, she co-created the show Made in Chelsea and was one of the main cast members during the first season. She started social media marketing business Zyper, which was acquired by Discord, before joining Patron.

Early life

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Amber Atherton was born in Hong Kong[1][2] circa 1991.[3] According to Atherton, her father was a pilot for Cathay Pacific and her parents encouraged her to be entrepreneurial early on.[3][4] She started learning how to code when she was ten years-old.[2][5] Atherton started selling books and CD ROMs on the internet as a child[3][4] and did modeling as a teenager.[1][6] She attended a boarding school in the United Kingdom called Benenden School.[4]

Career

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In high school, Amber Atherton started a blog where she posted photos of her and her friends with jewelry.[4] This led to the founding of an online jewelry marketplace called My Flash Trash in 2007,[1][4] when she was 16.[5] According to Atherton, initially she was using the website to re-sell jewelry she bought on trips back to Hong Kong.[3] Atherton spent two years at the London College of Fashion.[3][7] She interned for Vogue and Hermès,[4] but left before earning a degree.[3]

In 2011,[3] Atherton played one of the main roles in the first season of the TV show Made in Chelsea.[3] Atherton was a co-creator of the show and was involved in casting decisions as well.[8] The My Flash Trash business grew after the princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, bought seven pieces of jewelry from the site in 2012 and wore them on the royal tour.[9] Atherton worked with angel investors and partnered with a factory in China.[6] In 2016, she sold My Flash Trash to the manufacturer for about £2 million pounds.[5][8][10] Atherton also started her own line of accessories that are sold in boutique fashion stores in London[1] and served as one of the judges in a TV show called Pocket Money Pitch.[4]

After selling My Flash Trash, Atherton founded Zyper,[11][12] initially through an incubator program called Y Combinator.[2][5] Zyper was focused on facilitating advertising through fans of a product.[13] Atherton moved the startup from London to the United States in 2017.[14] She raised £750,000 pounds in funding in 2017[15] and £2 million pounds in 2018.[5] Zyper was acquired by Discord in 2021.[2] Atherton then worked for Discord, as Head of Strategic Communities.[16]

In 2021, Atherton created an entrepreneurial award called The Atherton Award that is awarded to young girls for entrepreneurship.[2] She also published a book called The Rise of Virtual Communities and serves on the board of GBx Global, a Silicon Valley community of entrepreneurs from England.[2] Atherton currently serves as a partner of the venture capital firm Patron.[2][17] She has invested in more than 35 startups as of 2024.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d O, Clare (18 January 2016). "2016 30 Under 30 Europe: Retail & E-Commerce". Forbes. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Bhuller, Anoop (13 March 2024). "Amber Atherton on Entrepreneurship, Women in STEM, and Encouraging Girls to Think Big". Country and Town House. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "My perfect weekend: Amber Atherton, star of 'Made in Chelsea'". The Telegraph. 11 June 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Lynch, Russell (26 November 2015). "Entrepreneurs: Amber Atherton finds true calling with My Flash Trash". The Standard. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e Evans, Peter (7 April 2018). "Entrepreneur Amber Atherton". The Times & The Sunday Times. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  6. ^ a b Krentcil, Faran (27 March 2014). "Amber Atherton Flash Trash". ELLE. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  7. ^ Eames, Tom; Wightman, Catriona; Agius, Nicola (22 December 2018). "Made in Chelsea net worth". Digital Spy. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  8. ^ a b Woodward, Ellie (29 November 2017). "Here's How Much The Original 15 "Made In Chelsea" Cast Members Have Changed". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  9. ^ Hughes, Seren (9 August 2022). "The Made in Chelsea stars linked to royals through marriage and school". My London. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  10. ^ Geoghegan, Jill (2 August 2016). "My Flash Trash sold to Hong Kong manufacturing group". Drapers. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  11. ^ McDowell, Maghan (29 July 2019). "With Zyper investment, VCs are betting on "influencer fatigue"". Vogue Business. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  12. ^ "Zyper, the marketing platform that connects brands with their 'superfans,' raises $6.5M Series A". TechCrunch. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  13. ^ Strick, Katie (9 January 2020). "Amber Atherton wants to leave behind influencers to focus on superfans". The Standard. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  14. ^ Cheong, Charissa (23 August 2024). "I lived in Silicon Valley, New York, and London as a founder. If you're looking for a place to build a business, there's one clear winner". Business Insider. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  15. ^ Cook, James (11 September 2017). "A former 'Made In Chelsea' star raised £750,000 to help more people become influencers online". Business Insider. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  16. ^ McDowell, Maghan (25 January 2022). "How Discord became the "Soho House of Web 3.0"". Vogue Business. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  17. ^ Loten, Angus; Chernova, Yuliya (13 February 2023). "Startup Workers Wrestle With Stock Options as Company Exits Stall".
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