Stella & dot founder launches AI marketing startup Marklo with $5m seed funding

Jessica Herrin, founder of Stella & Dot, has launched Marklo, an AI marketing startup, with $5 million in seed funding. The company, based in Burlingame, California, helps brands plan marketing campaigns using sales, inventory, and past marketing data. Forerunner led the round, joined by Freestyle Capital and angel investors including former Klaviyo and current Shopify leaders. Marklo’s software identifies successful promotions, suggests products to promote, and drafts campaign briefs using AI. Over 100 brands, including Away and Latico Leathers, are already using the platform in a pilot. Herrin emphasized the need for broader context in marketing decisions, noting that traditional tools often lack this. She highlighted how Marklo integrates data from Shopify, Klaviyo, and other platforms to provide a unified view of sales and promotions. Herrin, who sold Stella & Dot after the pandemic disrupted its business model, aims to make Marklo accessible to small and medium brands. The company plans to charge a monthly subscription fee and will expand its customer support. Kirsten Green of Forerunner Ventures praised Herrin’s experience in building brands, which informs Marklo’s approach to helping brands make data-driven marketing decisions.