The Duchess of Sussex was seen in Montecito last week! I mean, big surprise, Meghan lives in Montecito. The general lack of photos of Meghan around town always pleases me though – she’s probably only been pap’d in Montecito about a dozen times in three years, which means that she really can fly under the radar and go about her business without the British media constantly stalking her. The only reason why we know that Meghan was out and about last Thursday is because a Sussex Squader put the pieces together. Meghan stopped by an event hosted by Greycroft, a venture capital firm. It was like a business conference at a ritzy hotel (the Rosewood Miramar Beach Hotel).
Working 9-5! The Duchess of Sussex was spotted networking on Thursday May 2 in her hometown of Montecito, California. With her hair loose and in her uniform of a shirt in neutral tones, Meghan sat front row at the event hosted by Greycroft, “a seed-to-growth venture capital firm that partners with entrepreneurs who are striving to build category-defining companies across intelligent consumer and enterprise applications, AI infrastructure, sustainability, and consumer products”. They have partnered with businesses including Bumble and Axios.
Held at the Rosewood Miramar Beach Hotel in Montecito, the event saw a speech by Brian Bustamante-Nicholson, a growth investor, who shared that everyone in the audience had been invited because “we want to work with you as investors and entrepreneurs, and we can’t wait to build with you all”.
Meghan’s appearance does not come as a surprise, as she has been forging her own path as a businesswoman since her and husband Prince Harry left the British royal family in 2021. Meghan has also invested in two small women-owned companies, coffee brand Clevr and financial services company Ethic. Clevr began as a “pop-up adaptogenic coffee bar” and its plant-based drinks contain many natural benefits. The brand is also socially conscious, relying on ethical and transparent supply chains, while also donating parts of their revenue towards “equitable food systems”.
Did Meghan attend the conference for advice or was this some kind of strategic move and she has some kind of connection to Greycroft which will be revealed at a later date? Neither option would surprise me. We’re generally assuming that Meghan’s American Riviera Orchard will be launched in the next month or so, and I imagine there will be a lot of “process stories” about who invested what and where things were made, etc.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.